Photo: Contributed
Okanagan Edge and the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce are partnering to showcase some of the region’s most exciting entrepreneurs through the “Top 40 Under 40” program.
Sponsored by BDO, the “Top 40 Under 40” recognizes high-achieving professionals in our community and showcases their accomplishments. This marks the sixth year the chamber has conducted a “Top 40” showcase. Honourees will be featured throughout the year on Okanagan Edge.
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Brandt Fralick started his career as an athletic performance coach based out of Kelowna. Prior to being an athletic performance coach, Fralick was an internationally ranked sprinter and had represented Canada multiple times, competing in the European circuit as well as in the world junior championships.
Fralick began his athletic performance company, Nitro Velocity, in 2008. He currently sponsors more than 1,200 local youth athletes and teams annually, while working with more 3,000 different athletes from many different sports, including football, track and field, hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, field hockey and more. These athletes range from local, developmental, amateur, provincial, national, international, semi-professional and professional. Fralick has assisted more than 125 athletes to obtain full and partial scholarships and compete at the highest levels of sport, including NHL, CFL, NFL, NLL, IFBB, world championships and more.
In 2014 Nitro Velocity expanded further and created another division of itself, called PRIME Physiotherapy and Performance. PRIME was comprised of a small physio clinic and a boutique gym with only one athletic performance coach. Within two years of starting PRIME, Fralick expanded the company into a multidisciplinary, specialty medical facility where physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, kinesiologists, clinical counsellors, psychologists, pain specialists, pharmacists, surgeons, fitness and nutrition experts as well as other allied health-care practitioners come together to serve one incredible need for one extraordinary demand with one exceptional purpose and one phenomenal mission: to unlock human potential through integrative and enhanced health-care models centred around the greatest inpatient care.
PRIME provides sideline and injury assistance as well as medical support and physical training at practices and games for TOFC soccer, KSS Football (Grades 9-12), Kelowna Minor Football Association, T2 VolleyBall, Shockers Basketball Academy as well as other teams and individuals and tournaments that may need assistance throughout their season in Kelowna minor hockey, and Kelowna minor baseball as well as several of the men’s and women’s rec soccer leagues.
PRIME is passionate about donating hundreds of hours a year in their own commitment of time as well as making financial contributions to these leagues and associations to help cover costs for kids who need assistance to play the sport they love.
PRIME was awarded the Consumers Choice Award as an exclusive group of companies recognized as one of the best in its field across Canada in the pain and rehabilitation therapy category.
Q & A with Brandt Fralick (conducted April 15)
How are you approaching the current situation?
Times have changed for many, and in health care I think we all are learning that there are many elements and metrics to our profession that we have to learn and be willing to adapt with, advance to, and adjust for. In extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary decisions and changes must be made, or you may or may not survive the fallout.
Costs of running health care are some of the highest of any industry. In times of economic and societal stress, this burdens not only the patients and clients, but it burdens their access to the quality of care they need and deserve, and puts tremendous pressure and stress on both the health-care practitioners and owners.
As an example, moving toward virtual appointments or tele-health is great. And I understand that the world is going more tech and online. But the one thing virtual will never accomplish and will be lacking in our care giving and in health-care’s social interaction is that you cannot connect in the same way or as a ‘human’ with someone you cannot touch or feel and exchange simple feel good chemicals with. The certainty and confidence of a handshake, the affection of a hug, the encouragement and high energy exchange of a hard high five on the sports field … these chemicals we pass through interaction (oxytocin and serotonin) will eventually be void (in many ways) throughout our society, and I do truly fear those implications.
So do we change for our current situation of COVID-19? Yes. We do and have. Do I also fear the world (business owners) will be too afraid to go back and become more virtual? Yes.
Favourite quote?
“The most important thing is to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice everything of what you are for what you could one day become.”
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