Meet Allie and Ryan Pack | Rolf Work, Massage Therapy and Esthetics/Skin Care

We had the good fortune of connecting with Allie and Ryan Pack and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allie and Ryan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Working under someone always poses a certain level of restriction, in terms of what you can offer and how you operate. While the motivation surrounding starting our own business is multifaceted, the primary reason for starting our own business was being able to run the business our way.  Meaning, being able to focus on our clients in the way they deserve. To us, our clients are friends/family. We have built lasting relationships and we have a vested interest in their well being. We bring a combined 40 years of experience, which assists us in offering exemplary treatments. While we are not technically a spa, it is important to us to create a comfortable, warm, inviting, safe, and relaxing space for our clients to unwind and heal. It has always been part of our mission to ensure that the work we offer is viewed as a necessity and not a luxury. We do our best to make this an experience that is attainable for everyone. We are able to set our own schedules so that we can offer the full time on treatments (a one hour session equals 60 minutes not 50). We don’t upcharge for things that we feel aid the process, such as: hot stones, essential oils, massage gun, and minor cupping and scraping.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

How did we get to where we are today professionally?

Ryan is a Rolf worker and Massage Therapist. Many of his personal life experiences have led him to where he is today. He was involved in a rock climbing incident in 1994 and suffered a broken sacrum. A few months later, he was involved in a severe car accident sending him to the hospital where he was placed under a medically induced coma for 6 days. He sustained a traumatic brain injury and whiplash. From this he dealt with memory loss and a headache (that lasted 7 years). Ryan started receiving physical and occupational therapies that offered little positive results. He finally decided to try massage therapy. This form of treatment offered Ryan the first signs of relief from chronic pain. Shortly after this experience, Ryan enrolled in massage school, and from 1996-2001 Ryan practiced solely massage therapy. While massage therapy kept his headache manageable, he believed his healing had plateaued. In 2001, he began to seek out new therapies and received his first Rolf session. Rolf Work exposes habitual holding patterns in the body and encourages positive structural alignment. The whole myofascial system is segmentally addressed through a 10 session series that is thoughtfully designed to unwind the body.  By Session 7 of Ryan’s 10 series he was so impressed by the positive change in his body that he knew he wanted to become a Rolf worker. It did however take Ryan some time to reach this goal, he continued practicing massage until 2011. In 2011, Ryan met his goal and completed his Rolf work training.

Allie is a Massage Therapist and Esthetician. Allie has always had back pain, neck pain, and headaches with no real understanding as to why. She believed it to be something that everyone dealt with but later in life she discovered she had scoliosis. In 2004, Allie became a mother to her first child and pregnancy and the elastin in her body caused her hips to shift out of place fairly regularly. Her hip pain continued after pregnancy, in addition to the continued back pain, neck pain, and headaches. After seeing a Cortiva Institute commercial she decided to inquire and discovered she had the option to start school within the month or start the following semester. She decided to take the leap. It did not take long for hands-on work to begin. Allie’s first massage experience was a demo performed on her by her first massage therapy teacher. This short demo of sub-scapular work was one of the first times Allie experienced real relief from her chronic pain. It was at this point she knew she was on the right path. In 2008, she started working at Massage Envy where she met Ryan who would one day (11 years later) become her husband. In 2016, a chiropractor that Allie had  established a friendship with, invited Allie to join her practice. Allie started working for herself part-time and maintaining employment part time. Allie and Ryan re-established a friendship in 2016 and in 2018 they entered a relationship. At this point Allie started working out of Ryan’s office space. On August 16, 2019, Allie and Ryan were married! Ryan encouraged Allie to pursue her long term dream to become an esthetician. In September 2019, Allie enrolled in school and graduated from Aveda Institute as A-list and Valedictorian in February 2020.

With the business doing fairly well, we decided to enter into a larger location, going from a single room to a two room suite with a lobby. We decided to merge our individual businesses and became one entity–Impackt Bodyworks. Unfortunately, one month after moving into our new location COVID struck and we were forced to shut down our business for three months. Allie was still employed part time and this business was also temporarily shut down due to COVID. Upon work restrictions being lifted, Allie decided to make the leap and let go of her employment position all together to focus solely on Impackt Bodyworks. COVID certainly has posed its challenges for our business but we feel honored and blessed that we have been able to maintain our business while many others have not been able to.

In 2021, business was actually doing very well, and it is a huge surprise that our business is still being impacted two and half years later. This has been one of our greatest challenges.  But we are very passionate about what we do and we love it to the core. Continuing to see it through and do what we do, is the only path for us!

Was it easy?

No part of moving into our own business has been easy, but it definitely has been worth it. Between budgeting, book-keeping, marketing, offering retail, offering specials, running group-ons, joining networking groups, hiring marketing/business coaches, hanging door hangers on hundreds of doors, naysayers, we have had financial struggles and have had problems with our office spaces and so-on. Needless to say, we have learned things to do and many things not to do.

How have we overcome challenges?

We believe in overcoming challenges by examining an issue from all angles and determining how to address it. There is a constant ebb and flow. With facing challenges head on, we are forced to learn and grow. Sometimes we fall and then we have to get up and find a new path. Determination, drive, and stubbornness keeps us moving forward. But we are passionate about what we do, so there has been a natural progression to where we are today. We have to fight for it everyday! There are times when it seems like it might be easier to move in another direction but ultimately that does not seem like a route that is possible for us to take. We live and breathe what we do. It is a part of us and while running a business is incredibly difficult it is also incredibly gratifying. To see what we built. To love setting foot in our workspace everyday. To have our days fly by without counting down the hours because we love to be there and love what we do.

Lessons we have learned along the way:

There are so many lessons we have learned along the way: to appreciate the people who keep you going, to always keep a smile and allow what brings you joy to blossom, to both examine a situation and make wise choices yet don’t be frightened to take a leap. One of the largest lessons is to never become complacent and to always be a student!

What do we want the world to know about our brand?

We are passionate about caring for people. It is important for us to build a community and to build strong and lasting relationships. We take the time to  learn about the people who walk through our door. We are a healing practice that aims to transform people’s lives in a holistic manner. We believe Bodywork is more than a luxury, it is a necessity. It is a form of maintenance, it is a form of repair. Skin care goes beyond beauty. The skin is the largest organ of the human body and it is important that we care for it as such. We strive to make these services attainable. We hope to make you feel comfortable and that our space is a safe space. We strive to break the mold and move away from a cookie cutter experience to that of a customized experience.

Currently we offer Body work, including: Rolf Work (structural integration), Massage Therapy and many modalities within that, such as trigger point therapy, myofascial, Swedish, deep tissue, sports massage, injury recovery, headache relief, chronic pain relief, whiplash recovery, minor lymph drainage, and pre/post-natal massage. Esthetics, including: facials, chemical peels, micro-needling, dermaplaning, and waxing. We are very detail oriented in all of the above treatments. It is important to us that we do not become “stuck in a routine” and that we are always learning and growing.

It is truly our passion to help people – we want to see people heal.  It is not a competition. We always want to help people find what works for them. A future goal is to incorporate additional practitioners so that we are a full circle wellness clinic, where people can achieve optimal health and wellness in one location. Currently we are a family affair. We became a husband and wife team merging our individual businesses into Impackt Bodyworks. Together we offer Rolf work, massage, and esthetics. Now we are happy to begin incorporating our daughter who has completed her esthetics training. We are also welcoming our mom as she sets off on her own personal training journey!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some things we enjoy to do with our family and friends are taking a day trip to Estes Park, enjoying old timey photos. Going to the Ride-a-Kart fun center – where you can enjoy go-karts, mini golf, the miniature train/railroad, bumper boats, bumper cars, batting cages, Bungee trampoline and arcade. This is one of our favorite spots as it is in such a beautiful location, it is reasonably priced and it never seems like you have to wait in crazy long lines in order to have fun. We love going to the “Beef Jerky Outlet” and it is a great place for good SaltWater Taffy.

We love taking the 3.5 mile walk around McIntosh Lake, this is also a great spot for kayaking and paddle boarding. They also Have 2 playgrounds!

We like Hiking Rabbit Mountain in Lyons.

Going to the Swim Beach at “Carter Lake” and “Horse Tooth Reservoir” (also good locations for kayaking and paddle boarding).

In Ft. Collins we love eating at “Jessup Farms”, a delicious farm to table experience and they have a small boutique type shopping center.

We have found our favorite tacos at “Vatos Tacos” they have a location in Ft. Collins – This location is a fun social location. You order in-doors and then you can eat on the covered patio (sometimes rooftop) and then there is a shared courtyard between multiple restaurants! There is also a location in Loveland (more of a dine-in experience) right next to the “Metroluxe Dine-In” Theater. This is our preferred movie theater, they also have delicious food!

Loveland has “GlowGolf” that we enjoy!

Jefe’s tacos in Longmont is also a favorite! They have the best Queso!!

We love going to Colorado National Speedway if you enjoy racing. We personally like to try and catch Trains, Figure 8’s, Monster Trucks and Demolition Derbys.

We enjoy going to Idaho Springs for the day to enjoy a soak in the spring or private baths, vapor caves and mudroom, at “Indian Springs”.

For a weekend trip we love going and taking people to Glenwood Springs. Iron Mountain Hot Springs is an amazing experience with 16 geothermal soaking pools (different sizes and temperatures). This Hot Spring has a very Zen, Spa-Like Vibe but they also have a family pool and hot tubs on they opposite end that are very fun for the kids (and do not disturb the zen vibe on the other end). One of our favorite restaurants here is the “Pullman” they have an eclectic menu that often changes based on what is seasonally fresh and available. It encourages you to try new things! There is a small yet fun ski resort “Sunlight Mountain”. Lastly we always got to Glenwood Cavers” It is an amusement park on a mountain. Beautiful location and great bang for you buck”. You can experience a gondola ride up the mountain, rides including but not limited to ” The Alpine Coaster”, “The soaring Eagle Zip Ride” and “The Canyon Flyer”. They also have two caves in which you can tour. If you are in to the power of gems and minerals “High Country Gems and Minerals” is pretty cool. They have a vast selection and they are reasonably priced.

On our way back we have always loved hiking up to hanging lake. This hike is about a 3.5mile hike but it has some sections that are very steep and involve some climbing but the lake is more than worth it. This Crystal blue glacial lake is a sight to be seen. You can also continue on a few yards higher to the “Spouting Rock falls”, where you can walk behind the falls or through the falls if you choose (it is freezing)! I however do not know what the state of hanging lake is at this time or if they have reopened or if it was ruined in the mudslide.

We also love a weekend in Colorado Springs, where we enjoy. “Garden of the Gods” and endless natural wonder and playground of rock formations (and this experience is free). “The Cave of Winds” never stop being amazing even if you have toured it several times. They have a wind walker challenge, climbing wall, Bat-a-pult and panning for gems. “Cheyenne Mountain Zoo” is our favorite Zoo to date – On a beautiful mountain side, here you can relax and see the whole zoo from the ski lift, walk with the wallabies, hang out with the goats and feed the Budgies/Birds and Giraffes. here you are having such a great time you don’t really realize until the end you have been getting a workout walking up and down the mountain. We love going to “The Rabbit Hole” this is a cool underground restaurant with an Alice in Wonderland theme and an eclectic menu with different game. We also enjoy “Springs Orleans”.

Here in Longmont we enjoy going to the St. Vrain Creek (Parking at the Dickens Farm Nature Area). While you can tube all along The St. Vrain Creek, this area has 3 widened areas that serve somewhat as pools. People set up umbrellas and chairs and bring their coolers full of food. It is a wonderful and fun, free activity. From 8am to 1pm on Saturday you can enjoy the farmers market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. In the October months we enjoy going to the “Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Patch”, here you can enjoy selecting from an array of pumpkins, grab your roasted chilis, select fresh produce, get fresh ciders and enjoy small fair like activities including; small rides, hay maze, petting zoo, pony rides and of course pumpkin painting!

There are so many things to do in Colorado we are always kicking around trying to find new activities to enjoy and share with people. These are just a handful of the places and things!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our Families, friends and clients have pushed and encouraged us to move forward in our careers without them we would have no foundation. I (Allie) also owe a shoutout to Wendy Shimer of Shimer Chiropractic, she is the reason why I even considered starting my own business.

Website: https://impacktbodyworks.com

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Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/impackt-bodyworks-longmont-2?osq=impackt+bodyworks