Today we’d like to introduce you to Vander Castillo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Vander. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Fresh out of college in 2012 I was still stuck in that “you need more experience” label sadly, so I went ahead and got my Master’s degree from CSULB and did more internships and got a variety of experience in pro sports, hospitals, physical therapy clinics, collegiate tournaments and elite high school. I started networking with other Athletic Trainers and saw what other types of positions they were in and that’s when I caught a break and started working at Disneyland as an Operations Athletic Trainer. That experience leads me to another job with Anheuser Busch as an Industrial Athletic Trainer.
After some time, I got offered a position with Coca Cola as an Industrial Athletic Trainer and after taking all the things I’ve learned I noticed there was a need in the market for the hospitality industry. Overuse musculoskeletal injuries are one of the leading causes in increased workers compensation cases and the growth is in the billions according to OSHA. I learned what great patient care should look like in a flawed health system and with the motivation of shows like “Shark Tank” and “The Profit” I decided to start my own business with my friend Ardy Riego. Athletic Trainers bring a great value to the healthcare field and are often underutilized because of misguided information. We bring a different set of skills from Physical Therapists and our degrees carry more weight than a Personal Trainer.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not smooth. But the entrepreneur mindset took the “L’s” into Lessons. Since we were going into a new niche market, explaining our services were difficult to the common person. I called restaurants and bakeries who thought I was trying to open a gym at their location, which made no sense. Introducing our services to a new population and showing management our value, we bring to their business was tough while I was just cold calling. I continued to network via social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram to seek interest, a lot of no’s and no call backs. Learning the back end of creating a business was difficult as well as I didn’t go to school for those things such as HR, Law and Compliance and Licensing etc. I am very thankful for Ardy for being proactive and diligent on those matters. While I was building the industrial athletic training side, I still wanted to stay true to athletic training and built a list of athletic clientele who would see me privately to supplement the business.
V Six Industrial Athletic Training – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
V Six Industrial Athletic Training is team made up of Certified Athletic Trainers that are bringing the way we take care of our professional athletes to the hotel industry and helping their employees with preventing and managing their musculoskeletal discomforts. We specialize in first aid, injury prevention, ergonomics, risk assessments, industrial athletic training and CPR Certification. Our professional athletes and athletes in general receive a great amount of attention to any pain or discomfort, but in the regular population those hard working blue collar workers are working to the bone to put food on their families table, but their pain and discomforts are often overlooked. Pain is universal and no matter what area in healthcare you work, if you’ve learned how to relieve a person’s pain and discomfort, it should be shared. I am most proud of the relationships we’ve built with our current clients and their employees and seeing my vision of allowing athletic trainers to help prevent any injuries is amazing to me. I still remember our first hotel event which was Housekeeping Appreciation Week and seeing my vision come to fruition made me very emotional thinking that I started this business from nothing to what we have now. What sets V Six apart from others is our people, athletic trainers are versatile and resourceful and the way we can build repour with our clients is something to be proud of. Our “Why” is to showcase the value athletic trainers bring and continue to grow our profession in different environments, not just sports.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in LA, Torrance more specifically I was a HUGE Laker fan. My family roots had doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, military etc. So, I knew my path was leading me to some type of sports medicine route. Growing up I was a quiet kid for the most part and didn’t grow my comical personality until high school and college. I learned that “Closed mouths don’t get fed” and “The squeaky wheel gets the oil” so I learned how to build relationships and networked because everyone has a different story and has something to bring to the table.
Contact Info:
- Website: vsixindustrialatc.com
- Phone: 4249995749
- Email: vsixindustrialatc@gmail.com
- Instagram: @vsixathletictraining
- Facebook: @vsixindustrialatc
- Yelp: @vsixathletictraining
Image Credit:
Vander Castillo
Ardy Riego
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