Meet the Team
Soroush Peyvandi, MScPT
"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston S. Churchill
Hi! My name is Soroush Peyvandi and I am the Co-Founder of PT Business Corner. I have completed my Master of Science in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. I had previously completed an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology & Health Sciences and my pursuit for physiotherapy began in my first year of undergrad. I had the privilege of interviewing a local physical therapist in my first year of university and this was the beginning of my journey to becoming a physical therapist! Through research, personal experience as a patient and volunteering, I realized that the core values of this profession paralleled my own. Throughout my time learning about the profession and studying physical therapy, I started to realize exactly what I wanted to do upon graduation. I really enjoyed the business curriculum and the entrepreneurial aspect that the profession had to offer. I decided that my goal would be to work in private practice since this combines my love for physical therapy with my deep interest in business. In the future I hope that I can set up and run a successful clinic that not only brings excellent patient outcomes but also provides an environment that other healthcare professionals truly enjoy working in. Additionally, I aspire to be an innovator and to integrate technology within our practice to revolutionize how we deliver our care and to improve access to this care.
Besides my aspirations within this profession, I love to spend my time following the markets, learning about new technology, as well as watching sports. I grew up watching soccer and this is easily my favourite sport. If I'm not trying to catch Bayern Munich play, I'm definitely trying to learn how how to bend it like Beckham. I may not be a serial Netflix binger but if you suggest a good show, you can bet that I'll be done watching it within the week. Currently working on my 4th round of Friends but also chipping away at Suits, Shark Tank, and Dragons Den. I don't like to brag but I do want to mention that I was the recipient of the Milk Monitor award in grade 5.
I'm excited to be exploring business within this profession and I can't wait to share this journey with you all!
Slava Blokhin, MScPT
"Success is no different than any other skill." - Grant Cardone
Hi, my name is Slava and in Russian, it means "glory". As the Co-Founder of this platform, I am excited to take this glorious journey with you in developing business knowledge and application in the profession of physiotherapy. My first real experience with business came after university. I became a Director of TAC Sports, a children's sports camps company and we were able to grow the company to four times its size within a year with two of my friends. We did it by implementing systems for business operations, hard work and always putting the client first. However, I always wanted to make a difference in the medical field and physiotherapy was a perfect fit for me. I love interacting with the patients and helping them with their problems. I also love innovation and there is a lot of opportunity to contribute to this profession. Currently, I am completing a Master of Science in Physical Therapy at University of Toronto.
In my spare time, I follow my two passions of self-development and soccer. When I was exposed to books by Tony Robbins and Grant Cardone, it absolutely changed the way I look at life. They are on a completely different level and I pre-occupy my time trying to raise my game every day. Speaking of games, I have an intense passion for soccer. As a goalkeeper, that mostly involves yelling at my teammates to position themselves properly on the field and I might save a shot or two.
Let's get excited to advance the profession of physiotherapy together and make a massive impact in the world!
Justin Mah, MScPT
“The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.” – Will Smith
Holla! My name is Justin Mah and like the rest of my colleagues, I have completed my Master of Science in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. My interest in entrepreneurship and business stems back to my undergraduate days when I participated in a social venture competition at the University of Waterloo. At the time, as a Medical Science student at Western with no prior experience with the competition or business, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. However, my team and I identified a social issue and knew we had the potential to make a positive change in the university community. This led to the creation of uFit, a social media platform initiative designed to help university students connect with others of similar fitness interests so that they could pursue their fitness journeys together. We called it the Tinder of exercise and fitness, and while our team didn’t win the competition, this whole experience kick-started my journey into entrepreneurship and my passion for inspiring others to improve their lives through fitness and exercise.
I am extremely excited to not only improve my skills as a future clinician and physiotherapist, but also to develop my business and leadership skills as well. I’m always fascinated by new models of technology and innovation to improve the way we deliver care and I hope to continue challenging the current status quo in rehab to move our profession forward for the better. I believe in the growth mindset: challenging ourselves every single day and putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations to grow and develop on a personal and professional level. If someone were to ask me a year ago about doing a podcast and being a part of this platform, I’d laugh because speaking on a podcast is definitely not one of my fortes and I could never see myself doing something like this. But this is what it’s all about - challenging our own comfort zones because that’s where the magic happens! Start getting comfortable with the uncomfortable!
You can usually find me in the kitchen cooking up entire 11 course meals at 2 am on weekdays or finishing up my latest posts on my educational blog, @artofmobility, on Instagram. I look forward to growing with everyone here!
Umtej Cheema, MScPT
"I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.”- Estee Lauder
Hi, my name is Umtej Cheema and I have recently completed my Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. Previously, I graduated with a Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. As a high school athlete, my interest in physiotherapy was sparked with multiple hours spent in physiotherapy clinics, receiving treatment for various sports injuries. After volunteering and further research, I knew physiotherapy was the perfect career to integrate my passion of exercise with human anatomy and physiology.
As I’ve come to learn, physiotherapy is an incredibly diverse and evolving field, encompassing more than simply rehabilitation. During my time at UofT, I’ve been fascinated by the Business and Practice Management theme. In particular, I’ve been enthralled by the role of technology and its impact on healthcare and business. The advent of social media has made it possible for clinic owners to reach more patients than ever before and it’s an amazing phenomenon to explore!
Ultimately, I’d like to challenge myself to create an environment to provide quality care for patients and grow not only as a clinician, but also one day as a small business owner.
In the meantime however, I’m looking forward to exploring all that physiotherapy has to offer and the never-ending pursuit of honing my business acumen!