Most clinic owners talk about taking risks. Andy actually did it. He bought a declining osteopathy clinic, rebuilt it from the inside out, then opened a second business across the road with no plan, no sleep, a newborn child and a stomach ulcer. Now he runs one of the most interesting blended MSK + strength clinics in the South West.

In this episode, Michael Schumacher sits down with Andy to unpack the real story: the messy acquisition, the resistance from inherited staff, the Notion systems that eventually saved him, the accidental launch of a gym he didn’t intend to run, and the burnout that forced him to rethink his entire approach to work.

This episode covers the side of clinic ownership most people never admit publicly.

• Buying a clinic from a retiring osteopath who stayed on and blocked every change

• Trying to modernise a business run entirely from someone’s memory

• Implementing Notion as the backbone of operations and finally getting staff buy-in

• Spotting a high-street unit, pitching it on the spot, and accidentally winning it over Costa

• Running validation tests to see if a gym + rehab concept would work

• Getting 150 signups in days and having the local press push the project into reality

• Launching mobility, resilience and osteoporosis classes and hitting full capacity

• Using VALD, strength testing and data tracking to keep patients engaged

• Why older adults love measurable progress more than any marketing campaign

The conversation goes deeper into where MSK is heading: diagnostics, DEXA, wearables, gamification, VO2 tracking, normative data, and why the future of private practice will rely heavily on measurement and behavioural change.

Michael also pushes Andy on the hard bit: burnout. Andy opens up about the ulcer, the fear, the workload, the second business, the newborn, the failed partnership, and the realisation that his ambition was outpacing his health.

• Why taking over an existing clinic is harder than starting from scratch

• How to test demand before investing a penny

• How recurring revenue stabilises an MSK business

• Why strength training and S&C are becoming essential, not optional

• How to use tracking, data and wearables to improve retention

• Why most owners ignore burnout until something breaks

• What the next five years of MSK will look like

• Clinic owners considering expansion

• Practitioners thinking about buying their clinic

• Anyone curious about adding S&C, classes or diagnostics

• Owners who feel close to burnout

• Clinicians who want a realistic picture of what growth actually costs

Guest: Andy

Profession: Osteopath and Clinic Owner

Businesses: Motion Clinic (MSK + Strength)

Location: South West England

Website: https://motion-clinic.co.uk