Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Steffan Ihegboro.
Hi, Dr. Ihegboro; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a self-employed physical therapist who owns a cash-based Physical Therapy clinic in Austin, Texas. I started my interest in PT in high school as a multi-sport athlete. I wanted to be involved in a profession where I could help injured athletes return to playing at a higher level. After exhausting my limitless options (doctor, lawyer, engineer) allotted to me as the son of a Nigerian immigrant, I locked in on Physical Therapy. I graduated from Texas Tech in 2013 with a BS in Exercise Sciences. I then graduated with my doctorate from Texas State University in 2018. I then completed a post-doctorate program to earn a fellowship in manual therapy in 2022. After school, I had a crossroads: I had to move back home to the DFW or stay and take the job that could catapult my career. I chose to stay in Austin and work for what many students in my position would have considered the dream job, working alongside 5 highly experienced PTs and mentors and seeing a niche population of active athletes, specifically runners. After 5 years of learning under the best professionals and sharpening my tools, I decided it was time to carry on the dream that came to me 10 years before building my own PT practice. I launched my company as a side hustle, then became so busy that it became time to jump and make it my main gig. I was treated everywhere: concierge, parks, homes, gyms, home gyms, before I finally found my current and cozy home inside the House of Gainz in Austin. I am fortunate to have recently held a part-time Adjunct Professor position at Texas State University. This was a full-circle moment for me since I have always enjoyed teaching. What better subject than my career and no better place than my alma mater?
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to where I am now came with its fair share of obstacles. In college, I received bad advice from a counselor and took a whole extra semester of classes that didn’t count toward graduating. I struggled to find internships due to the limited opportunities to shadow in Lubbock. I ended up at a small run-of-the-mill PT clinic that I initially dreaded but ultimately came to appreciate. I waited 3 years into college to shadow a PT clinic, and I wouldn’t say I liked the first clinic I shadowed. I considered changing my major. But ultimately, I found other settings that I wanted. In PT school, I was 1 of 2 black students in 42. I felt alone, out of my comfort zone, and often misunderstood. I had huge financial hardship throughout college and PT school. In grad school, I went to school in the daytime, taught classes in the afternoon, and worked at a bar at night to pay bills. I was constantly worried about being evicted. I went through a fellowship program during my first job, which was hours intensive and limited my social life, friendships, and travel opportunities. I missed many birthdays of my family and friends. The first gym I chose to run my PT clinic out of closed a few months after announcing my clinic. Huge shock. I had to shuffle patients, treat them out of my apartment gym, do concierge, and eventually find a new gym home. For the last 3 years, I have been competing in natural, amateur body-building, and the time and diet restraints alone were a challenge to function and run a small business.
As you know, we’re big fans of Zeek PT PLLC. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
Zeek PT was created as an evidence-based clinic the Austin community needed. We are a cash-based PT practice specializing in manual therapy and movement analysis. We are known for working with some of the best athletes in the world, to your weekend warrior and desk jockey. The niche population is bodybuilders, runners, and weekend warriors. We chose the cash-based model because we want to avoid the restraints placed on patients by their insurance companies despite them paying monthly. By removing the insurance from the equation, we can focus on the quality of service, providing 1-hour one-on-one visits from a fellowship-trained manual therapist. This gives us the power to get people better faster than the traditional model.
The name “Zeek” is a double entendre. As bodybuilders, you can fix your Physique with Zeek. But it comes from the nickname of the first Nigerian president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, or “Zik,” as he spelled it. He was a well-educated newspaper editor and politician who led with a revolutionary spirit. He believed in mental emancipation, freedom, and unity. He had several famous quotes, but one that has always stuck with me: “There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity.” This is symbolic of the care Zeek PT provides. We provide the best patient-centered care (no slight to other clinics because there is plenty of room), and we want our clients to be their best and not settle for average outcomes. This is a spirit that I embody and hope to instill in every client or colleague I come in contact with.
We can treat nearly all types of pain and neuromuscular injuries head to toe. We offer several services, including manual therapy, joint manipulations, dry needling, sports therapy, movement analysis, cupping, scraping, e-stim, corrective exercises, pain science education, and telemedicine. We also offer work site ergonomic assessment and intervention and concierge PT services.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I have a huge passion for art and music. I started songwriting around 8 years old and have continued to create in some form. Most recently, I had the chance to perform with some fellow artist friends for NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, opening for Rick Ross. I am a first-generation. My parents were born and raised in Nigeria before coming here to pursue an education and start a family. Most of my extended family still lives in Nigeria.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zeekpt.com
- Instagram: @zeeksportsphysio
Image Credits
Nicolas Restrepo, Christian Haines
