Huntington Beach orthopedic wellness center helps clients get on the mend
Repair Sports Institute owner and founder Chad Beauchamp thought he was destined for a career in professional football.
His body had other ideas.
After graduating high school in 2004, the Michigan native got recruited to play NCAA Division II football at Grant Valley State University by current LSU coach Brian Kelly. When Kelly was hired at Central Michigan, a Division I program, Beauchamp followed him there.
But the safety and punter couldn’t overcome the bevy of injuries that led to ankle reconstruction and sports hernia surgeries. He then shattered his hand, and his dreams of professional football were similarly fractured.
“I was just super-hard on my body,” said Beauchamp, who graduated from Central Michigan in 2008. “My body was breaking down, which ultimately led me to go down a path where I wanted to provide this service and education to younger athletes. I guess it’s somewhat of a life mission. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through and have their dreams shattered.
“Ultimately, I wanted to play professionally, and I think I could have. All of the injuries and lack of education and care just didn’t make it possible.”
Beauchamp switched course like a receiver who he formerly had to worry about. He attended graduate school for physical therapy at USC, which led him down a new career path.
After a residency with the University of Cincinnati football team, the doctor of sports physical therapy moved back to Southern California and started working at a clinic in Newport Beach. But Beauchamp, now 37, had bigger goals.
He opened the Repair Sports Institute in Huntington Beach in 2018. Wanting to build more than just a physical therapy space, Beauchamp hired acupuncture therapists and chiropractors, massage therapists and personal trainers for his orthopedic wellness center.
“We really try to do a collaborative approach,” said Beauchamp, who lives in Newport Beach. “Patients come in and we do a full head-to-toe functional movement screening. If you’re coming in with a knee injury, we’re not just looking at your knee. We’re really getting to understand, what do you do if you’re an athlete or for your job? Do you have a movement dysfunction, are your hips weak and that’s what’s causing your knee pain? We’ll get to a very specific diagnosis for your knee, but we’re also looking at what’s causing it. We’re going to address the entire body.”
Beauchamp said his clinic made it through COVID-19 without having to lay anyone off, and it continues to thrive and build. After Beauchamp heard about the Better Business Bureau’s new program BBB4Good, he applied. Repair Sports Institute, a purpose-driven business, was recently accepted as the first BBB4Good verified business in California.
He said working with local youth in the community, and those who may not necessarily be able to afford high-end care, is a key part of his mission. To that end, he partnered with nonprofit Community HealthCare Resources, and he’s also worked with the Orange County Sports Commission.
“BBB4Good helps advocate what our mission is and helps get us connected with different organizations in the community that can help support us,” Beauchamp said. “I want to be able to educate everybody, no matter what your socioeconomic status is, to understand that playing sports is important for growth. But, also, taking care of your mind, body and spirit is also extremely important.”
Beauchamp said he advocates for both Western and Eastern methodologies, focusing on a holistic approach. He treats both athletes and non-athletes, including some big names.
NFL Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens is a client. Owens has been retired from the NFL since 2010 but maintains an active lifestyle and plays several sports — which means he still gets dinged up from time to time.
“For me, I like to get on the field and do the actual work,” Owens said. “I’m not a coach by any means, but I like to physically get out there and show guys. Sometimes you can’t get through to them verbally … sometimes a lot of people can get more out of seeing things.”
He met Beauchamp through a mutual friend a few years ago and soon started making the trek south from his home, in Century City at the time, to Huntington Beach.
Owens said if you look at some long-lasting athletes in their sport like LeBron James, the late Kobe Bryant or Tom Brady, it’s more than just physical ability that sets them apart. To Owens, it comes down to three words — desire, dedication and discipline.
“They have the athletic ability to do what they do,” said Owens, whose son, Terique, plays receiver at Missouri State. “But in order to prolong that, taking care of your body is very key. When you have the right people who can move in and really know what they’re doing, as far as athletes or even non-athletes, that makes a big difference.”
Beauchamp shares that belief. Five years into running his own company, he is working to help others make their dreams a reality.
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