We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Natasha Hastings and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Natasha, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wanted to provide physical therapy and strength training in the same realm, while giving clients the quality sessions they deserve. I used to work for physical therapy corporations/companies who unfortunately only saw patients until they were deemed “functional” by insurance, and then were discharged, leaving this vast opportunity of strength & conditioning lost. I wanted to help people who want to get better and stay active. My niche is field & court athletes, as well as functional strength training athletes. I thrive in the athletic environment, and when you believe in something so strong, living it day to day, the passion combined with knowledge will undoubtedly get your clients to where they want to be. So I branched out on my own, starting a cash-based hybrid physical therapy/strength & conditioning business, aka Athletic Edge Physical Therapy.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Athletic Edge Physical Therapy of San Diego is a hybrid business combining Physical Therapy AND strength & conditioning coaching. I’ve been doing this for 9 years, specializing in pre/post-operative rehab for sports injuries including ACL repairs, achilles, shoulder, etc. I also specialize in treating CrossFit athletes, and field/court athletes (such as soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball). You DO NOT need to have an injury to see me. That is the beauty of having the strength & conditioning coaching available. I provide programming and training for individuals who want to improve their speed, strength, and fitness. It is not easy to get to this point of my career, if it was, everyone would do it. Financially you have to set yourself up right, unless of course you’re sitting on a giant pile of cash already or have investors who are willing to help you. I worked for every penny, working 2 part-time jobs while seeing clients outside of the jobs.. I’ve had to fore-go sleeping in on the weekends, going on trips, hanging with friends instead to set up random tents on the beach in hopes of catching a new client’s eye, paying to be a vendor at 5k’s on holidays, doing whatever I had to do to grow this business. Lessons learned: you have to be obsessed with whatever goal/vision you have in mind, or you won’t make it. I sleep, eat, & dream about my business and how I can grow it to help others. You have to be outgoing and willing to take risks! Sure it’s scary and intimidating to go up to random people & just put yourself out there, but if you don’t, you won’t grow. And biggest lesson of all, it’s not about me, it’s about the client & those around you. I have learned to listen to clients instead of pushing my own agenda on them. I love learning and reaching out to other gym owners, clinicians, & coaches to learn what they know, because I don’t know everything!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting, we would start the vacation off with a workout at CrossFit PB. Then we would do brunch at Fig Tree Cafe, JRDN, or Konos Restaraunt. Followed by a beach day in Pacific Beach, and some drinks and food later at Waterbar, 710 club, or Mavericks. We would do morning yoga with Nama Steve one day then go hike Torrey Pines, Followed by some tasty brews from Duck Foot Brewing, Ballast Point, Killowat, or one of the many MANY other breweries. I’d take her to Balboa Park and check out all the sites there. We’d also check out the Little Italy’s Farmer market and Seaport Village. We would for sure head up to Temecula Valley for a wine day. And if we had time, we would catch the sunset at Sunset Cliffs in OB, then head over to OB Noodle House or THC for amazing drinks and food.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
God & my faith: 100% if I didn’t have a strong faith, knowing God has something awesome planned for me, knowing He will do what I can’t do on my own, I would have stopped doing this shortly after I started. Ben Hastings: my husband who has woken up at 4:30 am to go set up tents in the rain for 5k races just so I can be a vendor and market my business, and is always encouraging that I can do this. He actually sparked the idea of owning my own business initially, when I used to always say “I will never own my own business that’s too much work.” My family & friends: always getting encouragement from them, and advice. As well as friends being my clients whether it’s for physical therapy and/or the strength side. F*CK Insurance By Danny Matta: I read this on a plane after months of hating working for a corporation, and after I read that book I made my decision that I was going out on my own. Full Draw Consulting Group- Dr. Sarah Haran & Dr. Kate Blankshain. My mentor group of cash based, CrossFit, women physical therapists who have guided me on this journey including business coaching. Institute of Clinical Excellence (ICE): a group of extremely knowledgeable physical therapists, specializing in treatment of CrossFit/functional strength training athletes. They opened my eyes to a whole new world of physical therapy, incorporating strength training.

Website: athleticedgept.com

Instagram: athletic_edgept

Linkedin: Dr. Natasha Hastings

Twitter: @tashahastings11

Facebook: Natasha Hastings @athleticedgephysicaltherapy

Yelp: Athletic Edge Physical Therapy

Youtube: Dr. Natasha Hastings DPT, CSCS

Other: Google: Athletic Edge Physical Therapy (of San Diego)

Image Credits
Shawn Paone Photo (Pacific Beach) Celina Kenyon Photo

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