Meet The Disruptors: Dr Jonathan Leary Of Remedy Place On The Five Things You Need to Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview with Fotis Georgiadis
Be Authentic — Don’t try to be someone you are not. The more authentic you are to yourself, the happier you will be. The happier you are, the more successful you will be in every aspect of your life.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jonathan Leary.
Dr. Jonathan Leary is the founder and CEO of Remedy Place, the world’s first social wellness club dedicated to bringing their guests back into balance. He graduated at the top of his class with a Doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine that provided him with an extensive foundation in anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, clinical nutrition, and rehabilitation. Dr. Leary spent a decade researching and developing Remedy Place’s cutting-edge techniques that optimize the body’s natural ability to heal. Throughout his career, he has brought his professional expertise to a wide range of celebrities, professional and Olympic athletes, and patients from all walks of life.
As a pioneer in the holistic health and wellness space, Dr. Leary is paving the way for wide-scale transformation of the $10+ trillion healthcare industry, one of the sector’s that is most poised for disruption in the coming decade. His visionary leadership, deep network of industry professionals and capital, as well as years of clinical experience place him in the ideal position to see around corners and capitalize on the next wave of healthcare trends.
In addition to leading Remedy Place, Dr. Leary is a highly sought after global health and wellness speaker whose expertise has been featured in a wide range of prestigious media outlets, from Forbes and ABC to Vogue. He has given corporate wellness talks for Fortune 100 companies, such as Delta Airlines, as well as hosted retreats at the Cannes Film Festival and across the globe.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path
I knew that I wanted to work in healthcare at a very early age. But the journey from that point to where I am today was a very circuitous one. Working and volunteering in hospital settings through high school and college was a big wake up call in understanding what our modern healthcare system was like. Honestly, it almost scared me out of the industry. I knew that the type of care that I wanted to offer was very different from what I was seeing, but had no idea how to go about doing this, or if it was even possible to do so. What I did know was that I wanted to establish a practice that did not exclusively rely on medication and surgery as the first line of intervention for any given health issue ( with the exception of emergencies) . I knew that there had to be better and safer solutions out there, and I was determined to either find them, or create them.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Our modern healthcare system has led people to be reactive about their health, meaning the average person only sees their practitioner when something is wrong. This ultimately makes a patient dependent on their doctor to feel better, rather than having the tools in place to take control of their health before they are in need of intervention (i.e. medication or surgery). It is my goal to teach people how to be independent and proactive about their health. There is a time and place for all surgeries and medication, but it is my belief that the first line of intervention for most health concerns should be alternative. At the end of the day, as your healthcare provider I cannot make you healthy, only you can make you healthy. It is our job just to give you the plan, the support and to help facilitate. The most important tool that enables people to establish autonomy over their health is through education. It’s ultimately why I created Remedy Place.
Through Remedy Place, we are not only disrupting the modern healthcare system, but we are overhauling the standard of human interactions and raising awareness on a term we have coined “Social Self-Care”. During the first five years of my private practice, I was commonly told, “Dr. Leary, my problem is finally gone and I feel incredible, but now my social life sucks. How am I supposed to date? How can I still go out at night? What happens when I travel? What am I supposed to do when I hang with this group of friends? Etc.” This made me wonder why almost everything we do to socialize is surrounded by temptations or toxins, and if there was a way to make a healthy, balanced lifestyle and an active social life one in the same Furthermore, during this time, research began to show how important meaningful human interaction is for our health, and how isolation/loneliness has a significant negative impact on our overall well being (which has continued to prove true, especially now as we begin to emerge from the pandemic).
Remedy Place reimagines the world of self-care by pairing it with the benefits of socialization. We give people the tools and support they need to take control of their health by integrating self-care into their daily and, most importantly, social lives. By changing the norms of socialization, we have created a toxin- and temptation-free space where one doesn’t need to choose between self-care and having a social life: instead they go hand-in-hand. Remedy Place brings together top alternative medicine doctors, ancient practices and modern technologies to offer holistic, social self-care around remedies such as: the world’s first commercialized breathwork ice bath class; hyperbaric changers; a signature chiropractic experience; cupping and acupuncture; functional medicine and more.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Planning a photoshoot and a corporate outing on the “expected 1st day” of opening the club. At that point in time, because I had never missed a deadline, I thought there would be no way we would be behind… However, funnily enough construction is never on time.
The night before the opening, our contractors left the last 5% of the finishing touches undone and left at 5pm. We had a major editorial shoot and a huge corporate outing for Nike planned at the club for the very next day. At the eleventh hour, my team and I pulled an essential all-nighter putting things together and trying to make it look as presentable as possible.
Somehow we pulled it off and our opening day went off without a hitch, but I definitely learned to expect the unexpected and that, no matter how well you plan ahead, there are some things that will just be out of your control. In that moment, you just have to pivot and keep moving forward.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
This is kind of a crazy story, but my patients became my mentors. Over the years I have been fortunate to meet and work with some of the most brilliant minds and incredible individuals from all over the world. I spend an immense amount of time with all of my patients, and often I am working with them to overcome a very difficult time in their life . Getting to know each other on this deeper level and establishing trusting patient-practitioner relationships has been mutually beneficial. When it came time to open my Remedy Place and further grow my network, my patients were some of the first to point me in the right direction and provide advice along the way. Some have even become investors over time. Honestly, I would not be where I am today without the patients that entered my life.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Being disruptive is not always good. The only time you want to disrupt something is when it is wrong or when something could be better. This is when innovations must be made, so we can change and grow.
For me and my career path. I have always wanted to be in healthcare and to help people, but the healthcare system that I witnessed was not the type of care I wanted to offer and the typical work environment and lifestyle of doctors was not something that I admired. So for my future patients and myself I wanted to disrupt the industry and make it the way that I always dreamt it would be.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- Be present and enjoy the process — I have worked with a lot of individuals that have been extremely successful in their own endeavors and they all say the same thing. The money is great, but they would do anything to be back in my shoes. All the excitement, hustle, hard work and building of your business is the most fun part of the experience. We are always so focused on the end goal that we often forget to enjoy the journey along the way.
- Be Selective Who You Do Business With — At the end of the day, you are responsible for selecting who you surround yourself with. Time is valuable and you need to be strategic on who you do business with and who you allow to have influence in your circle. Surround yourself with like minded individuals who have yours, and your company’s best interest in mind. At the same time, you should enjoy and feel uplifted by the people around you and your company. For me I just want to do cool things, with cool people and make a difference in this world. I pinch myself every day that I get to authentically do this through Remedy Place.
- Be Authentic — Don’t try to be someone you are not. The more authentic you are to yourself, the happier you will be. The happier you are, the more successful you will be in every aspect of your life.
- Follow your gut — Trust your instincts. Humans have a very strong intuition, and although we don’t fully understand the science behind it, you should always listen to what your body is telling you.
- Always have an even energetic exchange — Make sure to always pay it forward! If you only give, or only take, you will lack balance in any endeavor. It is important to take care of the people who have taken care of you.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
You will have to wait and see! Remedy Place has huge plans, well beyond clubs and our events! In true Remedy Place form, we plan to go far beyond the typical scope of a wellness brand and are excited to continue sharing with the world unique, unexpected experiences and offerings.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Dr. Zach Bush has done some podcasts that have really blown me away. The man is a genius and I love his mission to change the world. I love to see other doctors standing up for what is right, and working hard to make a lasting impact that serves to help others. It is so inspiring and motivating!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Change the way you look at things.
And the things you look at change.
Life is a lot simpler than we make it. We hold all the power for our lives, we have the ability to control our health, determine how we handle the situations life throws at us and beyond. The more I dive into my manifestations and make a point to have intentions set behind everything I do, the stronger and more powerful my actions are. I have found that it is so important to find the good in every situation and do what I can to show up as the best version of myself at all times.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Change healthcare by providing accessible education to allow people to regain their health independence and further inspire confidence. The world is ready to start taking care of themselves; they just need to know how to properly do so!
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: @drjonathannleary
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Meet The Disruptors: Dr Jonathan Leary Of Remedy Place On The Five Things You Need to Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
