Meet Our Staff

Owner and Board Certified Chiropractic Physician

Ah man! Do I have to do this?! I hate talking about myself... You know when you wind up in a circle of new people where everyone has to introduce themselves to the group, give like a 10 second life history (which is a TOTALLY insufficient amount of time), and share some stupid fact?

Just thinking about that is giving me anxiety.

BUT I suppose it’s only fair that I share a bit about myself as my job is to try to learn as much about you as I can, eh?

All this began in Tiffin, Ohio.

From an early age I was always encouraged by my family of engineers to learn how things worked and so then you could figure out how to fix them. That thought process paired nicely with Chris Monsour’s biology classes in high school.

At 18 years old, I thought that this was the perfect time to commit my entire life to one defined path and do that whole doctor thing!

I made it one semester into Wright State University's biology pre-med program and pulled the rip cord.

There was something about scheduling the next 15 years of my life working 100+ hours a week that just didn't appeal. I didn't think I was meant to be a doctor. I switched programs and spent the remainder of undergrad between communication courses and practicing martial arts.

That there is a combo for a success story...

When I was training competitive Judo and this wild Russian martial art called “Systema” things just made sense. I was learning the elements of biology and medicine that actually interested me: the mechanics of human movement, improving my ability to function day-to-day, healing injuries, the connection between physical and mental health, how to eat to feel better, and most importantly... lessons in what not to do in life from the people who came before me.

So naturally, I finished WSU with a communication degree and settled nicely into middle management corporate positions because that's what we're supposed to do, right?

A few years in corporate America brought these recurring thoughts:

1) I'm not wired for this shit. This desk/phone/email work will kill me, slowly between the lack of movement, perpetuation of fabricated stress, and absence of creativity and positive impact on the world. There has got to be something else.

2) I have to move somewhere with better access to wilderness and just a different pace. The pacific northwest might be nice?

3) I miss the sciences and the martial arts. I really enjoy spending my time solving problems; creating things; moving my body; talking, listening, and learning about science, movement, health, and just life in general... There has got to be a way to blend this all of these things together, but how?

Slowly, the pieces started to come together.

I spent a lot of time talking with my co-workers and listening to their health problems. Every day I would see these patterns in their lives that clearly were causing their problems and yet they just didn’t see it. I found myself drawn to the wisdom of older folks, who despite their age, were physically doing better than I was.

Lightbulb!

With further education, I can put all of this together. This was around the time I met my wife, Alex, who inspired me to pursue this route as a chiropractor rather than in academia.

As a seasoned dentist, she told me, “You’ll hate your life teaching at a university, they’ll try to cage you. You are wired to be a provider.”

(Thanks Al, you were right)

After a little planning, we decided to buy a camper, sell our house, quit our jobs, and travel around the country until I found the right program and we found a city that we would want to settle down in for the long haul.

That was February 2020.

We made it a good month and half on the road before the world shut down. We somehow survived and kept working toward our goal.

For some reason we kept getting drawn back to Portland, and after I was accepted to University of Western States, our fate here was decided.

We found home out here. We found nature at our fingertips. We found a community of good friends. We found a place where we could let our hair down a bit and really just be ourselves.

Alex established her dream dental practice and I found a way to bring all of my skills together. I locked in at UWS and things came full circle.

I finished school not only with a doctorate, but circuitously enough, a human biology degree as well.

Looking back, when I didn't think I was meant to be a doctor, it just wasn't meant to be that kind of doctor.

Funny how life works like that. After graduation, I knew from my time corporate America what I didn't want, so I started the down the path of creating my own practice.

I wanted to find someone who has been doing this a while and could help me hone this in to make the most out of a practice. Shortly after is when I met Dr. Jasmar Reddin.

She was ready to retire and was looking to pass along her years of experience and patient base with the right person.

From day 1 she pushed me harder than any other teacher or coach ever had.

She challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone and to not be afraid to try, fail, and try again until I got it.

She taught me how flawed the American health insurance system is and that I could better help people operating outside of it.

She is also one of the many other older folks I’ve met over the years who are living proof that a long healthy life is possible and that we all have the tools at our disposal, we just have to learn how to use them.

That's how I got here.

When I’m not in the office, you’ll find me occupying my hands with some other sort of project whether it’s in the kitchen, shop, under a car, playing music, hiking with Alex and Otter, traveling, and just trying to enjoy the little time we have in this life.

With this work that I do, I call on all of these experiences to be a catalyst for positive change in your life. I like my life and I like the work I do. And I really look forward to sharing with you what I've picked up along the way to help you feel better and enjoy your life more.

Andy