Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Kottwitz.
Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Thanks for the opportunity! I am a pediatric neuro physical therapist and the owner of 3rd Gear Pediatric Therapy in Fort Worth. My journey is probably not the typical story of how someone lands on becoming a physical therapist, much less a pediatric physical therapist. I guess I should start by giving some of my educational and employment background.
I finished high school in 2000 with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I went to college because that’s what I thought you were supposed to do. They eventually made me pick a major, which ended up being psychology because it was interesting, though I had no interest in pursuing it as a career. I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2004 and sought employment in industries having nothing to do with my degree. During my time in (and out of) college, I worked several jobs including but not limited to: corrections officer, group home manager for MHMR, gas station attendant, Walgreen’s photo guy, bootleg t-shirt printing, the list goes on. Nothing ever stuck and I wanted to find a career where I could work with people. I have always been a workout junkie, so I decided to give personal training a try.
I landed a gig as a personal trainer in 2006. I was a decent trainer and was relatively successful in this industry. I had great relationships with my clients, and they tended to stick with me long-term. I eventually started my own business doing training. However, I never saw the training thing as a long-term career, and I was eventually ready to move on to something else.
I met a neuro physical therapist named Becky when I worked at the gym. Adult Neuro PTs work with patients who have suffered injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, MS, Parkinson’s, and many more. When I talked to Becky about her day, it sounded a lot more interesting than mine. I expressed interest in exploring physical therapy as a career, and she invited me to do observation at her clinic. I knew after a few hours of working with patients suffering from TBI that this is what I wanted to do. Too easy, right? Not so fast, time to pay the dues.
When I started looking at the requirements to get into PT school, I realized that my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology lacked a huge amount of the pre-requisites to get into any of the programs. Back to school, we go. I moved to Denton and attended UNT because most of my family lives in DFW. I spent about a year and a half finishing the prerequisites while shooting out applications to all the PT programs in Texas. UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth liked what I had to say and accepted me into their program.
I was 32 when I started PT school. I was the second oldest in my class. PT school was tough, but it’s doable if you take care of business. The program is about 2 years of didactics and another year of clinical rotations/internships. As a student, you are assigned to 4 different settings. I was lucky enough to have made a connection with a pediatric home health company, and they gave me an opportunity. I had some experience working with kids as a trainer, but never envisioned myself working with kids as a career. On the first day of my rotation, I worked with a little girl with cerebral palsy, and I knew this was the direction I wanted to go. I think I have a knack for approaching things outside of the box, and I felt like I was making an immediate impact on many of the patients I was seeing. During this rotation, I got a lot of work with a wide variety of medical presentations, and my clinical instructors gave me the autonomy to incorporate my personality and creativity into my treatments.
Fast forward to 2017: I earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy and my license to practice. I immediately got a job working for Early Childhood Interventions, working with children aged 0-3, teaching motor skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling, cruising, walking, and climbing. I worked with children with developmental delay and medical presentations ranging mild to severe. My patient population included children with diagnoses such as: cerebral palsy, spina bifida, shaken baby syndrome, prenatal drug exposure, torticollis, spinal cord injury, osteogenesis imperfecta, SMA, and many more. I enjoy working with at-risk populations and I learned a ton in my time at ECI both through research, hands-on experience, and mentorship from seasoned therapists.
After ECI, I briefly worked for Cook Children’s Home Health before being recruited to work at a huge neuro PT facility in Fort Worth. I built the pediatric program at this clinic. I spent a couple of years there getting great hands-on experience, studying, and developing my own treatment approach. I had a great team helping me with the kids until Covid-19 intervened, and the clinic shut down. Management laid off the therapy staff. Even worse, all our kids were left without a PT facility. This was terribly disappointing, but sometimes God has a funny way of delivering blessings disguised as bad news.
I went back into home health in August 2020, working for 3 companies, one of which was my own. I have been blessed with the most amazing patients and families. They stuck with me and kept me on my feet at this time as I was working in their homes, and I am forever grateful to them. I also met my beautiful wife around this time. I floated the idea of opening my own clinic and she was on board in helping me get it going.
I started my own LLC, and we began making plans to open a clinic. We opened 3rd Gear Pediatric Therapy in May of 2022. We started out in a small office space in West Fort Worth and have since expanded to a larger space. I have brought on the best PTAs from my previous clinic, and we are in the process of bringing on another PT and OT. My wife has done a fantastic job managing the clinic. We have a great team atmosphere and I love going to work every day. We are hiring, by the way, so feel free to reach out!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We started this business with relatively minimal capital. Making good decisions about scaling in this economy is challenging, but I think we are doing a good job so far. We have also had to drop a couple insurance providers due to poor reimbursement, but I believe we have found a good balance in this aspect. We have learned a lot on the fly through doing. My graduating class also has a disproportionately high number of clinicians with their own private practice so we help each other out. Building a private practice whether in a clinic or in home health is not easy but it’s attainable if you are willing to put in the work. With greater sacrifice comes greater reward.
As you know, we’re big fans of 3rd Gear Pediatric Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My clinic works with people from birth throughout the lifespan. We currently offer physical therapy and occupational therapy services. We specialize in pediatric diagnoses and neurological injuries from childhood, including but not limited to cerebral palsy, spina bifida, down syndrome, genetic anomalies, TBI, and developmental delay. We recognize and understand the needs that this patient population will have throughout the lifespan, and we are equipped to serve them throughout every stage of life. We welcome children and adults of all ability levels as well as the medically complicated population. Our services are aimed at improving functional motor skills and mobility as well as independence in activities of daily living, participation, overall health, fitness, and quality of life. No matter the complexity of the patient, we will get them moving! We work hard, but we also have fun. I truly have the best job in the world, and I cannot imagine doing anything else!
What does success mean to you?
Success for me is providing the best possible service for the families I work with, and somehow making a positive impact in their lives. Success for me is also making a positive contribution to the DFW healthcare system and the community at large. I do not see other PT clinics or home health companies as competition but rather vital resources for this patient population. There are more kids in need of help in this area than there are resources. That said, the resources that we have in the area are top-notch. I encourage families to try out different facilities and therapists to find the situation that best fits their unique needs. Our clinic stays relatively full without advertisement. I have found that if the families you serve find value in what you do, the business side will take care of itself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.3rdGearPediatricTherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3rdgearpediatrictherapy/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/3rdGearPediatricTherapy/
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Image Credits
Stephanie Gann
Lally Sandoval
Erin Bates
