We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Krysta Bryars a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Krysta, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I always dreamed of having a wellness studio, but the concept of a wellness studio when I was graduating with Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2008 wasn’t an option. Many of my experiences during grad school has influenced what I’m doing now- health promotion in diabetic patients and research in saunas. I had student loans from grad school and knew I had needed to get a job. Fast forward 15 years later, I started to feel less and less in alignment in the current health care model with the business aspect and lack of quality care related to COVID. I worked with COVID patients and I didn’t want to see chronically ill anymore. I had a few sad events in 2022 that I quite honestly had to sit in some grief with for a while, but that quiet time stirred something inside of me that led to the me deciding to open my own practice in 2023. I met with my now friend Maggie Goldhammer with Somos Studios to establish branding and how I wanted my wellness studio to feel. I felt that good branding would carry my marketing, and it has for me in my market. One thing that surprised me that is that it simply takes time to establish a clientele, and be patient with that. I’m currently in the process of expansion with hiring and I have to continuously remind myself to not be afraid. Looking back at it, I wouldn’t change much. I’ve been fortunate to be taking action at the right time with the right experience in the past. I would tell any young professionals to be patient in your career. Looking back, I’ve had several pockets of time that I wasn’t really sure what I was doing or the purpose of different experiences, but now I can understand how those years have purposedly shaped me and influenced my story and trajectory.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a physical therapist turned business owner/entrepreneur. I would identify as a runner and ran D1 cross country and track and my desire to be faster, stronger, better influenced my interest in health and wellness. Through different experiences working in direct patient care, having a harmonious relationship in physical and mental health greatly influences our quality of life and I began to feel more out of alignment in “healthcare” and started to pursue working in wellness in late 2022/2023, which is what I originally set out to do in 2007/2008. It took time. I’m a physical therapist and I focus on manual lymphatic drainage, face, and localized cryotherapy. When I was starting, it was relatively new concept and I felt a lot of uncertainty, but I had a gut feeling to go for it. I’m most proud of trusting my intuition. I’m so grateful for the relationships I’ve developed that have been great referral sources and honestly friends. I’m currently in the process of building a wellness short term rental in Ames, Iowa. It will be a great extension of my wellness studio and I’m excited to diversify my brand.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had a complicated relationship with my mom, I would say she was a narcissist. I’m grateful I was intuitively able to start putting space between us in my 20’s and really spent my late 30’s unlearning my family dynamic that I grew up in. Having my own family and changing the generational dynamic that is passed down has been so fulfilling for me.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think it’s easy for business owners to dismiss branding. You can have all the best training, but having good branding and presence is what will differentiate you from the business down the street and help tell your story to help people identify with you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cryowellnessstudio.com
• Instagram: cryowellness.studio
• Facebook: CryoWellness Studio
• Other: www.elmandhearth.com
  my wellness short term rental

Image Credits

Ella Walker