“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” -Henry David Thoreau Has it really been five years? In early 2013, the dream and future vision for KAW was firmly in my head, but I was happily working for SolSpring and assumed that the reality of opening my own business would be at least 5 years down the road. Then their main location unexpectedly closed and I realized that the time was NOW to make my move. My dream was to offer the highest quality massage therapy and personal training in the Kalamazoo area, with a special emphasis on athletes. I also envisioned partnering with a chiropractor, health coach and sports psychologist – in short, to provide a “one stop” health and wellness facility to support athletes and the general public. The first 2 years was rough – I won’t lie! I think I gained about 20 pounds! Start up money was minimal and the challenges/stresses of starting up a new business and raising a new family were very real. I was feeling confident in what we were doing, but was also frustrated at the snail pace of growth. However, I persevered with the help and support of my family and friends – and here we are, celebrating five years! And the best is yet to come!
In February 2019, we are planning to move to a new, expanded location on S. Westnedge Ave, in partnership with Antoniotti Chiropractic. Our new facility will have more therapy rooms, giving us the opportunity to also add a sports psychologist – another piece of my initial dream of providing comprehensive, all-inclusive, personalized, holistic health and wellness services under one roof. This move will involve changes – which are often hard and uncomfortable, while they are happening. But the end result will be worth it all! I am very proud and humbled by the great team of people who have come together to make Kalamazoo Athletic Wellness so successful. I want to give a shout out to everyone here past and present– I could not have done it without you! And a big “THANK YOU” to all our clients (both individual and corporate) who have taken a chance on KAW and allowed us the opportunity to work with you – especially the Western Michigan University football team. Without you, we would have surely perished in those first few years! One lesson I have learned over the last five years is to say “Yes” more often. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has been fun. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring! Stay Healthy!!
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AuthorNicholas Garman, LMT NSCA-CPT Archives
March 2022
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Kalamazoo Athletic Wellness | tHE kaw bLOG |