Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Calhoun and Ross LaBove.
Jacob and Ross, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Ross and I came to work in a paralysis recovery center in the Dallas area around the same time (Ross started in 2012, and I got started in 2013). We both came from different backgrounds. Ross came from a background of personal training and managing gyms in and around the Dallas area. I came from working a short time in sports performance facilities, then into physical therapy clinics. Eventually, we both found the positions at this paralysis recovery center out of the blue. We both absolutely loved working with specialized populations in recovery. You get fulfillment and a balance that you don’t get working in everyday performance or fitness. At first, there is a high anxiety level because of the safety aspects of training individuals dealing with different paralysis diagnosis, and you aren’t experienced with that. The attention to detail needed was completely different than anything I had done leading up to that, and it took a lot of time and worked to adjust. The job was more stressful at first, but you could not ask for a more fulfilling and meaningful job to enjoy. The clients were amazing, and the impact of seeing people progress, achieve independence, and the everyday atmosphere was addicting. How could you not be excited to see someone stand independently for the first time in years? Or hear them talk about picking their niece up for the first time? Addiction may not even be a good enough word. You saw people in the worst and best moments of their lives and realized you had a huge part to play in that. You developed real relationships with your clients just through training. It was a blessing to be a part of it. One of our clients, at the time, was a young man named Brooks. He had suffered a spinal cord injury in January of 2013 while riding motocross. Brooks was an avid Motocross racer that grew up in the Sienna area outside of Houston. His parents (Mark and Cindy), worked extremely hard to find recovery options for Brooks, and as is normal for most people that are dealt a traumatic injury like a spinal cord injury, struggled to find many in their area. Despite being in such a major city like Houston, the options outside of insurance approved therapy can be rare and expensive. They found us in Dallas and would make the trek from Houston to Dallas regularly because they loved the atmosphere and approach that Brooks got with us. They even got an apartment to be able to save money on all the hotel stays.
Eventually, the facility we were at began to make changes in their model and the Dremely’s saw a chance to bring something like what we had back home to the Houston area. They approached Ross and me with the opportunity of building a similar facility, and it was immediately clear that opportunity was put before us for a reason. So we jumped on it. In December of 2014, we opened Project Walk Houston with an unfinished building and just the two of us as trainers. We immersed ourselves in the community and spent the next five years working to grow our exposure in the paralysis community of Houston and provide a much needed option to people without many. One of the biggest (not best) things that happened to us in those five years was that Brooks is no longer with us. He was a light to so many people, including Ross and myself. And his loss has been a really painful one for a lot of people, but his attitude and fight for recovery are the reason that hundreds of people have been able to come to Project Walk of Houston to fight for their own recovery. He has always been, and will always be a part of what we do, and the story of Project Walk of Houston. In 2019, the Dremely’s came to Ross and me with the offer to take over ownership of PWH, and continue it on into the future. We couldn’t be more blessed to have been a part of Brooks and their lives, and are excited to be able to continue his legacy and PWH going forward.
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?
It has been smooth in many ways, and not so smooth in many others. The loss of Brooks obviously affected everyone involved in the business in a huge way. The origin of PWH, even being here, was Brooks and his recovery. Emotionally, it changes a lot of what your motivation is. There were always going to be business struggles (developing clientele, earning the respect of the local medical community, training and growing staff, etc), but nothing was a bigger obstacle than losing Brooks.
Please tell us about your work.
We are a paralysis recovery center. Another way of describing it would be to call it an adaptive training center. We work specifically with clients that have paralysis diagnosis (spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, transverse myelitis, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and a wide variety of other diagnosis) and focus on providing an option for them to come to for both recovery, and corrective issues. We are a staff of trained specialists that work one on one with clients in a sometimes intensive training program that is different than your typical setting you might find for people in these special populations. We are focused on client safety and are proud of the record that we have of providing safe and effective training programs, but we are also proud of the approach we take to recovery and the atmosphere within which we work. We believe that recovery from a traumatic diagnosis of paralysis is possible, and the more options that clients have access to on their road to recovery, the better. Our specific training methodology is based on human developmental movements, as well as specific “pillars” of training that we believe provides the most benefit to clients. However, each training protocol is different to each client. No two client or diagnosis is the same, nor is their recovery.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
With us taking over ownership recently (December 2019), we are excited to be able to participate and benefit the community in more ways. Create and generate scholarship funds for clients. Host and participate in fundraisers for clients in all areas of the community. And as always, provide a meaningful recovery option for the Houston area that all people know of.
Pricing:
- Our service provided is an hourly rate of training of $110 per hour. The training sessions are scheduled specific to what each client
Contact Info:
- Address: 11275 W. Sam Houston Parkway S., Suite 175, Houston, Tx, 77031
- Website: www.projectwalkhouston.com
- Phone: 281-741-7412
- Email: inquiries@projectwalkhouston.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projectwalkhouston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectwalkhou/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectwalkhou/
Image Credit:
Jacob Calhoun (left) and Ross LavBove (right)
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