We recently connected with Diana Wang and have shared our conversation below.

Diana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The mission at Open Mat Physio is to build better grapplers. As Jiu Jitsu athletes ourselves, we saw how underserved our community was when it came to quality rehab education and proper return to sport plans. Most healthcare providers aren’t even familiar with the sport itself, which led to negligent pieces of advice like “find a different hobby”, which completely dismisses the role Jiu Jitsu plays in many of our lives.

We took it upon ourselves to fill that gap, and through our mission, we have been able to serve hundreds of Jiu Jitsu athletes by helping them return to the mats, and live the quality of life they always wished for, and more.

Diana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Diana Wang. I currently train at Logic Jiu Jitsu HQ in Arcadia, CA as a Blue Belt. I am also a Doctor of Physical Therapy & Certified Athletic Trainer. This year it’ll be 6 years as a Physical Therapist and 8 years as an Athletic Trainer. Time flies.

I am the owner, and founder of Open Mat Physio, a rehab and sports performance company focused on building better grapplers.

The story of how Open Mat Physio started was a bit of a coincidence. The collision of the two happened at the perfect time in my life, and since then, I’ve never looked back.

As someone who’s been active my whole life, after PT school, I was looking for a new activity where I could be a beginner again, and challenge me in different ways. One day, when I was taking a cardio kickboxing class, I saw a group of people rolling around on the mats in what looked like pajamas. Intrigued, I went over to speak to the coach, signed up for a trial class, and the rest is history.

At the time, I was working at an outpatient PT clinic, but was burnt out and unhappy with the environment. After many months of the push and pull in my mind, I realized that I had a deep sense of purpose that had to be fulfilled so I bet on myself, and thus Open Mat Physio was born.

Open Mat Physio has been the most rewarding endeavor I have ever pursued, sometimes more than I ever imagined. I am so grateful for all of our clients and supporters who continue to move and grow with us on this journey. It’s truly a blessing to wake up every morning knowing I get to serve the community that I love, in the way that I feel proud of.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what helped us build our reputation was just showing up. Showing up, being curious, being open to learn and genuinely caring for our community laid the foundation for trust. Without trust, there is no reputation.

Talking about medical histories, and injuries is quite vulnerable for people so building a sense of trust and creating a safe space is how we can open up these conversations to serve our people in the way that works best for them, and for us.

I just try to lead and approach everything in life as a kind and compassionate human. The world seems to function better that way.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Coming from an immigrant family, there was a sense of stability that was always stressed growing up. So obviously, after going to school for what felt like a million years, getting my doctorate, solidifying a couple stable jobs, and THEN deciding to quit all of them to build a business led to many eyebrow raises.

I had to do my best to block out the noise, and just keep pushing forward, with the support of my immediate family who have always believed in me.

The first couple steps of building the business were tough. Creating a business structure, growing a social media following, and desperately looking for clientele took a toll on my mental health. We had many projects that failed, and early iterations of businesses that didn’t work out. There were many times where I questioned whether or not just finding a hospital job was easier and better for me. But I always had that little voice that told me to just keep trying.

This September is going to be 2 years of Open Mat Physio, and I’m proud of my resilience thus far. I’ve built a life new grad me always dreamt of, and I get to enjoy the financial and time freedom to live the life of my choice.

I think what I’ve always prided myself on was having grit in the face of adversity. No matter what and as long as I have a very specific goal in mind, I’m willing to do the work and let whatever happens happens. So far so good.     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.openmatphysio.com
• Instagram: @openmat_physio