The Alimond Show

Donnie Shim Owner of Peak Performance Massage and Recovery

• Alimond Studio

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Embark on a journey with Donnie Shim, the innovative mind behind Peak Performance Massage and Recovery, whose specialized approach to massage therapy is changing the game for athletes and those in need of medical massage. Our enlightening chat delves into how Donnie's dedication to quality service and expansion strategies have positioned his practice at the forefront of the field. With a new location in Fairfax and a team that mirrors his passion for excellence, Donnie's story is not just one of business growth but of personal evolution—from an inspired high school athlete to a therapist committed to the wellness of others.

Tune in to learn about the cutting-edge techniques that are transforming modern massage therapy, techniques that Donnie and his team are mastering. Discover the critical role of fascia in muscle function, the relief that comes from neuromuscular massage, and how therapies like cupping can lead to rapid recovery and pain management. As we explore these advancements, Donnie also sheds light on the creative ways he uses social media to connect with clients and share the healing potential of his work.

Wrapping up, Donnie shares a wealth of knowledge on fostering client relationships, particularly with athletes, and the organic growth that comes from thoughtful sponsorships. Beyond the treatment room, he opens up about his passions and the values instilled by his family, offering sage advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Our conversation is a treasure trove of insights for those interested in the synergy between business acumen and the art of healing. Don't miss out on the invaluable advice and heartfelt stories from a man who's not only mastering his craft but also riding the wave of business success.

Speaker 1:

My name is Donnie Shim. I own Peak Performance Massage and Recovery. We are a massage therapy company that is more medical oriented and sports massage oriented, so I don't want people to mix us up with like a spa, because we definitely can do like a Swedish relaxation, but that is not our specialty. Our thing is to work on people who play sports, who want to compete, or people with injuries and pain.

Speaker 2:

That is a good clarification there, because I do kind of see that intertwining together and have it be like a common misconception that people have. So thank you for clearing that up. I also saw that you also help expectant mothers as well. Is that correct?

Speaker 1:

You can also work on prenatal. We do a lot of different modalities that are therapeutic or medically needed, so prenatal massage. We work on a lot of female athletes, so eventually they do become pregnant and they continue to work out, continue to train and try to stay in shape and massage goes really well with that, even if you don't train just that whole process of carrying a child and body, changing the added weight and things like that. Prenatal massage is very beneficial.

Speaker 2:

Okay, and then I saw that you opened up a new location in Fairfax. I think it was in November of last year. Tell me about when you made that jump. How did you know it was time to open another practice? Like for any business owners right now who are listening when they're thinking like, should I open another practice? Like what are the things you look for when you're like you know what it's time?

Speaker 1:

Well, even before I started my business, I had a big picture, I had small goals and I had a larger goal and my goals were to provide this type of therapy at multiple locations, because I know a lot of massage places are lacking in this and I wanted to put my practice inside of medical facilities, physical therapy offices, chiropractic offices, competitive gyms, things like that nature where it is more therapeutic and medical oriented.

Speaker 1:

So you know, I've been very lucky to have a lot of support and a lot of clients who have followed me through the years.

Speaker 1:

So I was very lucky to be able to start kind of quick and start fast and my business built pretty quickly at Leesburg and I had multiple other business owners like chiropractors, physical therapists, reaching out to me to try to figure out if we can partner up or collaborate and I could have jumped in quickly and just open up multiple locations. But I wanted to guarantee quality and I didn't want to just hire as many people as possible and I was handpicking on my therapist. So it took a little longer but luckily I had a very good like pipeline of therapists, because I've been a massage therapist for 20, almost 20 years, 18 years, and I've worked at a handful of different massage places, businesses and I was very lucky enough to work with good therapists, make friendships and network and I kind of handpicked all the therapists I remembered or knew or people I trained previously. So I really handpicked all my therapists for the Leesburg location and I've been very lucky that it's worked out very well.

Speaker 2:

Yay, congratulations to that Thank you.

Speaker 1:

And so, even though in two and a half years or three years I opened up a second location, it seems kind of fast, but I definitely did take my time and I wanted to make sure I had the proper people in place. And so when I had that core nucleus that I trusted with quality therapists, I opened up the second location and I'm kind of using the same game plan where I'm going over to that Fairfax location and building it up and finding the right therapist and that's the part that takes the time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's the number one thing. When we ask business owners what's been a challenge or struggle for them, it's always finding those right, whether it's employees or partners, and finding that trustworthy good work ethic. So what is something that you're looking for when you're hiring, like massage therapists or just staff in general, like that you're like I need this in my office.

Speaker 1:

I need. Well, I want people that are similar to me, people who want to help, people who love what they do. That's number one. If you love and enjoy what you do, that energy kind of comes out. You know, and once you do that, once I can find someone like that, then they have to have professionalism, responsibility and, foremost, a skill set. But skill set I can teach. But if they have the rest and they have a good touch and a good base, I can work with them and mentor them and help them. Because at my two previous jobs or actually three previous jobs before I started my business, I was always like an elite therapist or a manager and I've always had that responsibility, trying to bring up the therapy or the therapist's skill sets and keeping quality up.

Speaker 1:

So I feel pretty comfortable working with therapists and sharing different modalities and skill sets in my experience and knowledge. So the training part is a little bit easier. It's just finding everything coming through.

Speaker 2:

Yes, okay, and tell me a little bit about your story or your history. Did you always want to be a massage therapist? Are you working with sports directly because you love sports and you wanted to combine both of those worlds? Tell me from the start.

Speaker 1:

So in high school I played a lot of sports, but just for high school. I played football and I wrestled and both sports are very contact sport, very physical, and a lot of tweaks and a little injuries, and the school and the couple of different schools I played for had trainers, athletic trainers, and I was a kind of scrawny kid growing and I always wanted to play with the big boy and so, especially playing football, there'd be little tweaks and little injuries and the athletic trainers made a big impact in my life.

Speaker 2:

Oh wow.

Speaker 1:

And you know, even in wrestling there were a lot of times the athletic trainers really helped me in different ways, not just, you know, wrapping me up and taping me up and working on my joints and muscles, but they're more like mentors while I was playing sports, and they had a very big impact on me. And so I wanted to do something similar. I wanted to work without athletes, I wanted to help people and my family wanted me to go into, like the medical field. They were happy about that, but they wanted me to become a doctor. Yeah, and that's not really what I wanted to do.

Speaker 1:

So we kind of came to an agreement I'll try physical therapy because it seems similar and so within the first two years I could tell just from shadowing and doing a couple internships and luckily quickly I could tell that's not the way I wanted to go. So I actually took a break from school and a friend of the family became a chiropractor and he asked me. He knew I was interested in something to do with the medical side of you know my career and so he said why don't you come and work for me as an assistant, see what I do and see if you like it?

Speaker 2:

What a great opportunity Wow.

Speaker 1:

I had no clue what chiropractic care was then and when I started working for him, I didn't realize this. But he was a massage therapist first, then became an acupuncturist and then he got his chiropractic doctorate and he was helping a lot of people. He was doing everything himself soft tissue work and this was like over 20 years ago. He was like way ahead of his time, just bringing everything together, and I just saw him help so many people and people leaving his office in better shape, way better shape, you know, feeling better, and I could tell this is something I could do, yeah, and as I was working with him, he came to me and told me hey, you know, you have a very good touch, you do well with my patients. You don't belong as an assistant.

Speaker 2:

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1:

And he was like why don't you go to at least just go to massage school, get certified, work as a massage therapist for a few years, really get in tune with the muscles, then go to chiropractic school and then we come partner up.

Speaker 2:

Oh, look at that, what a great like. You couldn't have asked for a better like little he definitely helped me go in this direction.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and so I did what he said and I became a massage therapist and I started to work and it was. It was interesting because my my vision was not to stay a massage therapist, but every company I worked for or every practice I was a part of, I became like either the most popular or like the best, or I just did very well.

Speaker 2:

I saw you won some awards. I was gonna ask you about that.

Speaker 1:

And so part of me was like should I go to chiropractic school?

Speaker 1:

Yes, right, but you know, at the same time I was enjoying what I was doing, I was really good at it and you know kind of life happens. You know you buy a home, you buy a car, you go into debt and it's hard to just drop everything and go up to a different state to go to school. So I decided, you know, I'm gonna stay a massage therapist and one day open up my own business and working for different businesses small businesses, franchises I realized there was pros and cons with every different business and I try to pick like what was good about every business and I try to learn what was bad about every business and try to learn from those situations so that when I open up my business, I could use that experience to try to be successful.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that is so awesome. I really like that story because, like you didn't really know where you wanted to go and just like like kind of gave you this path, like yeah, we're opening these doors for you. You better do something with that. I've been very lucky. Yeah, good for you, I'm happy for you, and now you got your second office.

Speaker 1:

you're probably gonna expand some more, so I'll be like good job, that's the dream, you know that's hopefully I'll be able to, but even if I don't, I'm very happy right now the way things are going.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you should be proud and just opening a second business like for small, you know, business owners that's a, that's a huge thing. So, yeah, congratulations to that. I saw also online that ambiance is like a important thing for you guys to feel relaxed. Does that show through in your office like? Can you describe it a little bit?

Speaker 1:

Ambiance, so some of my therapists are better at that than I am At least you're honest. I am more. I tend to play just random music and when I know my clients that I know what they like, I'll just kind of switch to a play that's kind of they like. Sometimes it could be very relaxing, sometimes it could be hip-hop and sometimes it could be heavy metal.

Speaker 2:

I love that it depends on the clients you know.

Speaker 1:

If they're, you know, older coming in for pain management, they just need to relax. Or someone coming in that's like corporate and they just need to decompress. I play a little more mellow music. It's one of my professional or amateur athletes and they're younger, they're teenagers and they want to listen to something that's whatever's on the radio, or Tom Tiktok, or whatever. I might not even know what it is, but I'll play for them.

Speaker 2:

That's part of the ambiance, that's unique, that's awesome that you like cater to each person and their lifestyle. I feel like that makes you feel more trusting, because you're kind of like okay, I'm about to get my bones cracked or something. Play something, I know. Oh, I love this. Okay, cool. You know what are some common things that your clients come in for, especially in the sports world.

Speaker 1:

Well, sports world. So I am. I actually work with a lot of bodybuilders. The amateur bodybuilding scene and pro bodybuilding scene has grown pretty drastically in the area in the past few years. So with them it's usually like shoulder joint issues from just heavy lifting, low back issues from posing, also just lifting very heavy, and also fascia issues. So fascia is a layer of tissue that there's a superficial fascia, there's skin superficial fascia, fascia and then the muscle and all those layers are supposed to collide.

Speaker 1:

Okay and sometimes over training or dehydration or stress those things, those tissues get kind of sticky, and when that gets sticky you feel tight. So no matter how much you stretch, you don't really feel loose and it causes a little bit of dysfunction. Wow, so when, especially for bodybuilders, they have to pose and try to look wide or big as possible and they can't get that mind muscle connection because of that fascia, and so that's one of the things that we specialize in loosening and breaking up to give those type of athletes a little advantage in their competition, their sport.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

And then we also work with a lot of high school athletes and we do work with a handful of the Washington Commanders. Oh wow, so them? It could be all sorts of things ankle issues, calves, hamstring those explosive sports. Yeah, could be all sorts of issues, but you know, for those type of sports it's mostly like lower back or down just because they're being so explosive.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the type of stuff that they are doing with their bodies. Oh my goodness, I find it amazing that you guys like a massage, can like change so much. Like what a massage? Because to me the concept is kind of crazy, even just like cracking your mumbling.

Speaker 1:

Right, I mean we do have. You know, most people think, oh, when someone says they're getting a massage, it's like, oh, lucky you, you're going to get that's what I'm thinking, to be honest with you. But I would say 80, just 70 to 80 percent of our massages are going to be a little bit uncomfortable, a little bit painful.

Speaker 2:

Give me an example Like what's something crazy that cause I'm thinking like, yeah, rob, you're back with a stone and like that kind of stuff that is definitely more like a spa massage. See, I have that misconception.

Speaker 1:

And don't get me wrong, spa massages, relaxation massage are very helpful also. It still helps with circulation, helps you de-stress, it still helps you sleep and those are big things with recovery, right. But to break up scar tissue or break up adhesions or figure out issues with muscle dysfunction because certain other muscles are, or compensating muscles are too tight, those type of issues will cause. Well, you can't really do much to those type of issues with a relaxation massage. You have to go much deeper. We do different types of modalities like neomuscular massage, deep trigger, deep tissue, trigger point. We do like fascia release, myofascial release. We use tools like scraping tools, we use cupping and we are just introducing infrared heat and lights to help with pain management and inflammation.

Speaker 2:

Okay, can you tell me a little bit about cupping? I have been seeing that so much and it just looks like people got punched in the back Like what's that about and why is it? Why does it suck it Like what?

Speaker 1:

So cupping is a very old, old treatment. It's been around for years. But I think Michael Phelps kind of brought that to light in the Olympics when he came out with those cupping marks right before his event and so many athletes wanna give it a try and now they've tried it and they love it because they can tell it makes such a big difference. Cups are used for different reasons. You can use cups as an assessment tool. So different colors that your skin changes after you place the cups on there Can tell you if there's been dysfunction, toxins, like how tight, how bad the circulation is, and so you can tell. You can assess the area by doing the cupping. Also, you can do just regular static cupping helps pull the old blood up to the surface in a tight muscle and that brings new blood to that muscle and that helps bring oxygen and with oxygen, faster healing.

Speaker 2:

That is amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and then you can also do. I like to do dynamic cupping, where you put cups on the body or body part and you put the client through specific movements to activate that muscle where the cups are on, and that causes a different result. Basically, you still bring the blood up to the surface and bring more circulation, but now you're hitting the fascia. By moving the body part and with the suction pulling, you're tearing the fascia off to each other. Wow, and then you feel so much looser.

Speaker 2:

That is so cool, like I think about, like all the technological advancements, but just like all the advancements just with massage. Do you need any instruments for the cups or they just cups?

Speaker 1:

or, like you, can use all sorts of different types of cups. We're going cups, glass cups.

Speaker 2:

And, like you said, this has been around for a while. So in my brain I'm just like they were ahead of their time, because, wow, what a technology for the body with human, and that's just amazing. Your stuff's back in the business, yes. And then as far as marketing and social media for your business, how do you go about that?

Speaker 1:

Um, you know it's funny because you know I'm a little bit on the older side so I'm not that good with social media, but I've been trying to keep up with the times.

Speaker 2:

You're proud of you.

Speaker 1:

And I noticed, you know social media influencers and a lot of companies using them. So I kind of try to do that with my business.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, five or six years ago I came up with an idea to sponsor an athlete for another business that I worked for Okay, and where I was kind of a lead therapist and it started to kind of take off and it kind of grew the business very quickly, wow, um, and I was like, oh, okay, so this is one of the things we can do to help grow businesses. So I already had that in my little you know your back pocket toolkit. Yeah, and when I started my business, um, I've already worked with so many different athletes so I kind of hand chose and picked a couple clients that I knew they're my regulars already.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I know, even though they're my regulars and they're paying clients um, it was worth sponsoring them and giving them free massages as a thank you.

Speaker 2:

And you're building relationships too.

Speaker 1:

But for now, they're talking about me on social media as a business now and it just built and it just kind of snowballed because, um, that's where I decided how I was going to sponsor my athletes yeah, athletes who are already coming to our business, who are showing that they trust us and they we can make a difference in their life and they like our product. So eventually I kind of rotate and thank them and sponsor them for a year and, um, I think the athletes themselves are very thankful for it. So they really do a great job. That's awesome, without me having to, like you know, make crazy contracts or like asking them to do this or do that. They just um, it's just natural.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, okay. And have you ever thought cause I know you said you worked with some of the commanders have you ever thought about like doing like a mashup, like online? That would be cool, so, like other Redskins fans can see that and they can see like, oh, wow, look at the, the commanders go here Like I think that would be something cool for you to put online.

Speaker 1:

Um, it would be tough to do. Oh, it would be tough to do because, um, some of the so the rookies or the younger guys or the uh, the players that don't have the big names they would love any type of like uh, you know, they're very friendly and they're willing to take pictures with us and do stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but the bigger names.

Speaker 1:

um, we have to go through their manager. Yeah, we have to pay they. They actually, even though we want to do something and sponsor them or do something like that, they actually ask for money.

Speaker 2:

Oh dang.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I clearly have no idea how big it is, like yeah.

Speaker 1:

Small business like me, I can't really afford, yeah, even though I do work on them and do have a relationship. Yeah, I mean, I get it. They're athletes and their careers are short. Yes, um, so they have to maximize, um, whatever they can get during that short five, 10 years of their career. Okay, so they they kind of ask us to.

Speaker 2:

Not yeah, okay, got it Understood, so now I know too, that's good for my little.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, the younger guys, they're all. They would love to do this. Uh, that's a good idea.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they like like future commanders and that way, when they maybe make it big, well, who knows, maybe they'll be like thanks, guys, we appreciate it. Um, I was going to ask you something who are you outside of work, outside of business? What do you like to do?

Speaker 1:

Um, I, I do have a lot of hobbies. Um, I love to ride motorcycles. Um I, I train, I like to work out and I have competed in bodybuilding. Okay, so I would like to continue if I can. It's a it's a hard sport to keep up with.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Um and then my main thing is my family.

Speaker 2:

Um.

Speaker 1:

I have a daughter and I have a son and, uh, um, I have a great girlfriend who's so supportive and a beauty and she has a beautiful son. Um, they are my priority, Um, yeah the kids are mean everything to me.

Speaker 2:

Um, that's beautiful. Shout out girlfriend, shout out kids. All of you guys Um terrain. If you could give advice to anybody who wants to start their own business, what advice would you give them?

Speaker 1:

Don't be afraid, take the leap. Sometimes you have to put yourself at risk and that danger of failing will push you to succeed. If you keep trying to have backups and waiting for the right time and have another backup job and don't feel that pressure, sometimes it'll take much longer or never happen, and that was with me. I always had a fear of failure.

Speaker 2:

I think we all do.

Speaker 1:

It's very normal. My biggest thing is go after whatever your heart and your mind says. Don't be scared. Failure isn't the end of everything You're right.

Speaker 2:

Oftentimes I get scared. I'm like, okay, this is it. I failed, I flopped, that's it. I need to stop having that mentality. You can go on.

Speaker 1:

It's better to try and fail and then learn from it and do it again, better than to always be scared and never try.

Speaker 2:

Yes, this is good advice for me. Thank you, and where can people find you? What is your website? What is your Instagram?

Speaker 1:

My website is ppmrnet. That's the initials for peak performance massage recovery. My Instagram that's okay. Just look it up. If you look up peak performance, massage and recovery, we should pop up.

Speaker 2:

I'm sure it's on your website too. If you've got a little Instagram, then you click it. And if you could leave listeners with one message, or any potential clients who are like, hmm, this hurts, should I go there? What would you like to tell them for your business?

Speaker 1:

We help and facilitate healing and recovery and pain management. So, regardless if you're in PT or chiropractic, we work very well with those type of ways of getting better. Even chiropractic they may do adjustments on your spine and joints, but muscles are what holds those bones in place. Physical therapists will put you through rigorous exercises to strengthen weak areas or compensating areas or injured areas, but while they do that, sometimes they cause more irritation and more pain. It will fix the issue, but during that time you may have more pain. But if you put massage with it, we will help with the pain management while you get better.

Speaker 2:

All right. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate your time and all your wisdom so thank you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for having me.