The History of the Active Life Centre
We opened our Massage Therapy Clinic in St. Albert over 35 years ago and we are still going strong!
Way back in 1986 Kip, along with a fellow classmate, partnered up to open the first official Massage Therapy clinic in St. Albert. Together they established the “Athletic and Relaxation Massage Clinic” and set up in a small room on the second floor of a noisy racquetball/squash club in the downtown area. Kip’s wife Shelley was on maternity leave from teaching at a junior high school in St. Albert and she was busy caring for their new born son. It was a huge leap of faith for both of them to expect that this venture would ever succeed….
The first few months were rough as Massage Therapy was not very accepted by the hesitant public back then, especially from two fellows with very limited experience. It took a lot of hard work, volunteer efforts, PR and loads of patience to eventually convince a few clients to give it a try. Back then they only charged $28 per hour and $15 for thirty minutes. Within six months, Kip’s business partner took on another occupation and Kip decided to carry on solo.
Kip built therapy tables, he worked with the local pro soccer team, then became the Sport Massage Therapist for the Edmonton Oilers for a while. He hired several other therapists to fill in during his absence and try to keep the business afloat. He was determined to make this clinic situation succeed and he returned on full-time basis and the business soon began to grow.
In 1994 the clinic was relocated to the second floor of the Associate Medical Clinic building and the space expanded to 4 rooms and a few more therapists were brought on to meet the increasing demand for their services. In 2000, a larger space became available on the ground floor of that building and a further expansion took place and the clinic was rebranded as the “Active Life Centre”.
Shelley retired from teaching in 1996 and she took on a major role as the administrator of the clinic, at times challenging especially when Kip was on one of his many long-haul international sporting ventures. She accomplished this all while continuing the important task of raising two amazing kids (Bryn and Karli). Shelley also authored a children’s book on ‘Brain Gym’ and became the main groundskeeper of their beautiful acreage.
In 2008 Kip and Shelley decided to relocate to a brand-new building, a facility which they designed and built for themselves in Campbell Business Park where they are presently situated. They have assembled an amazing staff with a wonderful receptionist, Louise, and 7 excellent Registered Massage Therapists.
Kip and Shelley have lived on an acreage north of the city for over 30 years and love their life tucked away in their amazing sanctuary! They have 4 grandchildren (Calvin, Daisy, Oliver and Jasper) and love to spend time with them and watch them play and develop. Kip has an intense passion for restoring antique furniture and creating an array of woodworking projects in his shop where he loves to spend any free time that comes his way.
Way back in 1986 Kip, along with a fellow classmate, partnered up to open the first official Massage Therapy clinic in St. Albert. Together they established the “Athletic and Relaxation Massage Clinic” and set up in a small room on the second floor of a noisy racquetball/squash club in the downtown area. Kip’s wife Shelley was on maternity leave from teaching at a junior high school in St. Albert and she was busy caring for their new born son. It was a huge leap of faith for both of them to expect that this venture would ever succeed….
The first few months were rough as Massage Therapy was not very accepted by the hesitant public back then, especially from two fellows with very limited experience. It took a lot of hard work, volunteer efforts, PR and loads of patience to eventually convince a few clients to give it a try. Back then they only charged $28 per hour and $15 for thirty minutes. Within six months, Kip’s business partner took on another occupation and Kip decided to carry on solo.
Kip built therapy tables, he worked with the local pro soccer team, then became the Sport Massage Therapist for the Edmonton Oilers for a while. He hired several other therapists to fill in during his absence and try to keep the business afloat. He was determined to make this clinic situation succeed and he returned on full-time basis and the business soon began to grow.
In 1994 the clinic was relocated to the second floor of the Associate Medical Clinic building and the space expanded to 4 rooms and a few more therapists were brought on to meet the increasing demand for their services. In 2000, a larger space became available on the ground floor of that building and a further expansion took place and the clinic was rebranded as the “Active Life Centre”.
Shelley retired from teaching in 1996 and she took on a major role as the administrator of the clinic, at times challenging especially when Kip was on one of his many long-haul international sporting ventures. She accomplished this all while continuing the important task of raising two amazing kids (Bryn and Karli). Shelley also authored a children’s book on ‘Brain Gym’ and became the main groundskeeper of their beautiful acreage.
In 2008 Kip and Shelley decided to relocate to a brand-new building, a facility which they designed and built for themselves in Campbell Business Park where they are presently situated. They have assembled an amazing staff with a wonderful receptionist, Louise, and 7 excellent Registered Massage Therapists.
Kip and Shelley have lived on an acreage north of the city for over 30 years and love their life tucked away in their amazing sanctuary! They have 4 grandchildren (Calvin, Daisy, Oliver and Jasper) and love to spend time with them and watch them play and develop. Kip has an intense passion for restoring antique furniture and creating an array of woodworking projects in his shop where he loves to spend any free time that comes his way.
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A personal note from Kip and Shelley….
We would like to pass along our sincere appreciation to everyone who has attended the ALC for your Massage Therapy treatments over the past 35 years. We hope that we have met, and in many cases, surpassed your expectations! We truly feel that and we continue to provide a service that is of the highest quality and is delivered with the greatest integrity! We sincerely appreciate your loyalty and we value your referrals and we certainly welcome each and every new client that comes our way! Who would have ever imagined that our original vision of a long standing and highly respected Massage Therapy Clinic would continue to be a reality to this day and still be in full operation to serve the many loyal clients in the St. Albert area? It has been everything that was imagined…and much more!! |