The official ribbon-cutting February 21 for the opening of Rewind Physio marked not the end of a dream for Chris Koskoletos and Amir and Julie Haghandish, but the beginning of the next stage of their goal to provide very much hands-on treatment of the physiotherapy needs of the residents of Russell Township and neighbouring communities.
The dream began when Chris Koskoletos and Amir Haghandish met while each were working on Master’s degrees at the University of Ottawa. Their first connection was being two students whose main language was English enrolled in a French-language program as part of their degree studies.
As their business website noted the two soon-to-be fast friends and business partners « were not afraid of a challenge ».
A mutual interest in playing soccer helped cement their friendship as they shared many games with other physiotherapy students during their university days. When not on the soccer field or attending lectures and labs, Koskoletos and Haghandish shared after hours study time, helping each other improve their knowledge and skills.
After graduating with their new Master’s degrees, the two stayed in touch as they each worked on their own separate personal career goals.
Haghandish became the clinical director of a successful private physiotherapy clinic. During his time there, in addition to supervising a team of physiotherapists, he was also responsible for managing the clinic’s registered massage therapists and rehabiliations specialists, along with student trainees in physiotherapy.
Koskelotos continued on at university to pursue a second Master’s degree in related fields of physiotherapy with the aim of achieving « the highest qualification of manual therapy that a physiotherapist can have » while at the same time he was handling a full case load of clients in private settings.
But even as they pursued these personal goals, Koskelotos and Haghandish knew that, because they were both « big dreamers and high achievers, » they were well-suited to work together sooner or later to achieve their career dream goal of their operating their own physiotherapy clinic.
Flashforward a few years and with the support of Brent Harden, a major regional entrepreneur, and Jean-Paul Lafrance, owner of Notre Dame Place in Russell Township, the mutual dream of Koskelotos and Haghandish became a reality with the opening of Rewind Physio.
Joining the two friends in their dream-made-real is Julie Haghandish, Amir’s partner in life and business, who holds a Master’s degree in health sciences, specializing in physiotherapy from the University of Ottawa and also holding a Major achivement in psychology studies from the University of Manitoba. She has more than a decade of practical experience in physiotherapy treatment, including working in hospital wards dealing with orthopedic surgery patients, seniors in need of help dealing with the disabilities of old age, and also working in private clinics dealing with sports medicine clients.
Julie Haghandish’s continuing career goal is « to deepen her knowledge in order to help provide advanced care to individuals » as she provides physiotherapy care to clients at Rewind Physio.
Outside of the clinic, all three maintain very active physical lifestyles, enjoying a variety of winter and summer sports, ranging from solo activities like snowshoeing to team sports such as soccer. Amir and Julie Haghandish’s big Labrador also helps keep them on the run.
