Inside Sports Clinic joined the former Kansas City Chief lineman Will Shields at his 68’s Inside Sports to combine an unorthodox combination of businesses – a fitness club and a fitness rehabilitation clinic.
Members in clubs are always going to have the ongoing issue with soreness and injury. For clubs, this can be worrisome – if a member stops coming to their club for a short time, it increases their potential of never returning. Dr. Anthony Phillips, owner of Inside Sports Clinic (ISC), discovered a solution to this situation.
“My practice has always specialized in active adults and athletes,” Phillips said. “Having my practice on a street corner was what I thought was the norm for a chiropractor. One day it hit me: why am I hoping that active adults will find me when I could put myself directly in front of them all day long? The model has proven to be a successful move.” In January 2008 Phillips moved his practice inside 68’s Inside Sports located in Oakland Park, Kan. – a club founded by former Kansas City Chiefs lineman Will Shields.
Every day members are leaving clubs sore and possibly injured. With Inside Sports Clinic located physically inside 68’s Inside Sports club, members don’t have to worry about being beat up and left to tough it out on their own. Phillips has given club members, and non-members, the opportunity for physical therapy and chiropractic therapy within their club. “We took on a philosophy that locating the clinic in the fitness center was with purpose,” Phillips said. “We stress the importance of correcting pain-causing conditions but more importantly, either starting or returning people to an active lifestyle.”
Phillips had been in practice for 13 years prior to moving to the fitness center. “It made sense to move the clinic to a location where active adults and athletes frequented,” he said.
Both the clinic and the club have helped each other tremendously. Many of the athletes and members of the club have started using the clinic, and many of the clinic users have become members of the club. Members receive discounts at the clinic, but the clinic must also pay for its location. “It increases the club’s bottom line with space leasing,” Phillips said. “A fitness center can increase their revenue between $5,000 to $9,000 a month”
Members of 68’s Inside Sports don’t need to be injured to receive the benefits of ISC. The staff at ISC has been well trained and is free to give advice and instruction to members who are having physical pain or problems with their workout. Members only need to take a quick step inside the clinic to get answers to their questions from trained professionals. “The ISC staff takes ownership of the process,” Phillips said. “They buy into what we’re trying to accomplish. Patient coordinator/Wellness Specialist, physical therapist, Athletic Trainer and Chiropractors, all have specific jobs and are held responsible for their duties.
“Our success is driven by having a sound process. We developed procedures from the bottom to the top; from the moment a prospective patient steps in from the fitness side or calls on the phone.”
The idea of putting a sports clinic inside a health club was a little outside the box. Phillips said that it was important to get their message across to members and the general public. “We had to show people we were different and make ourselves completely accessible,” Phillips said. “We hosted open houses, tours, held demonstrations and seminars and they all gave us the opportunity to reach out to patients.”
Phillips and Inside Sports Clinic are on the front line of redefining the health club market. They’ve taken wellness to a completely different level by focusing on the physical effects of exercise and helping people stay active, longer. There are a lot of steps clubs can take, and it’s probably not always easy to find business owners like Phillips within every city. However, Phillips has shown that thinking a little outside the box can go a long way and boost both businesses simultaneously. -CS
