I started working as a physical therapy aide during undergrad in 2005. I was a sponge soaking up my surroundings at Alvorado hospital and I noticed a white tube that the therapists were using with their patients known as a foam roller. I had never seen one before and at that time the foam roller was only uses in clinical settings. Once I learned the application of the foam roller I instantly knew it would be in every household in America. At the time there were only 3 versions of the roller. White was the softest foam, blue was a medium density and black was the most dense which all three were used for different applications and progression. I went to my friends and family with an idea of making different types of rollers with different ridges, vibrating rollers, collapsable rollers, heating rollers etc. By importing them from china the cost of the goods would be very low the profit margins would be spectacular.

All of my friends and family though I had lost my mind. They would look at this cylindrical tube and tell me things like “it’s not going to work” “what is this thing and why would anyone want it” and my favorite “you’re crazy Shaz.”

Fast Forward 10 years and foam rollers are in every gym and every home in America. Point of my story is become THE expert in your industry and if you see something that you know will work then go for it.

I opened Stretch Dr in May of 2021 before I graduated from my Doctorate in Chiropractic program. I was in my last quarter and it was towards the end of the pandemic where all my classes were online. I was working at a chiropractic clinic at the time where I felt under-appreciated and over worked. I saw a neche in the market where other companies are failing yet they are expanding quickly in the assisted stretch category. I knew I can come up with a better more effective program for a wide catogory of patients.

With $2000 left in my savings account I quit the clinic I was working at and found a room big enough for 1 massage table and started Stretch Dr. San Diego’s premier assisted stretching studio. For the first 6 months I would see patients from 8am-8pm 7 days a week. In the evenings I worked as a bouncer in the Gaslamp quarter. I am happy to say the beginning of 2022 I expanded my office to twice the size and we took on 2 stellar employees. This growth has been organic and through mostly word of mouth.

Our sessions are 45 minutes where we take you through a full body stretch starting with your calves and hitting every major muscle group all the way to your neck. We follow up with using two hypervolt massage guns along the posterior chain starting from the traps all the way to the calves. We finish with using compression therapy on the extremities which push the fluid from the arms and legs back to the heart which allows fresh blood and lymph fluid to pool into the arms and legs.

These sessions are great for recovery, posture, injury prevention, inflammation, athletic performance and a whole list of other benefits. We see everything from elite athletes to grandparents and everything inbetween. Everyone knows the benefits of stretching but nobody takes the time or know how to do it properly with consistency.

Creating connections within the local fitness community has been the backbone of Stretch Dr. The fitness community in San Diego is a small community and you can only rely on your reputation. We set up “pop ups” all over town at our partners studios. We offer a free 15 minute high quality assisted stretch session at our pop ups that is therapeutic as well as preventative and increases performance. Some of the partners we work with are F45 East village, F45 Little Italy, F45 North Park, F45 Hillcrest, Pure Indoor Cycling, Stride, Sweat Salt, CorePower, Elevate and more!