Exploring Life & Business with Courtney Smiach of Rebel Cycle/ Rebel PT

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Smiach.

Hi Courtney, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
While in undergraduate school studying exercise science, I knew that one day I would love to work in a facility that combined fitness and physical therapy. My dream was to be able to teach group fitness classes, collaborate with fitness professionals, and be able to treat patients once I became a physical therapist, all under the same roof. After getting accepted to PT school and gaining more clinical experience, I quickly realized that jobs like this were difficult to find. After accepting my first full-time job as a physical therapist, I also learned that my day-to-day job differed from what I had hoped for.

My main reason for becoming a physical therapist was to solve complex problems for people to help them return to living their best pain-free life. This was extremely hard to do while working under insurance restraints, where money, numbers, and insurance rules must drive your decisions regarding patients rather than what is best for them. I was beginning to feel unsure about the career path I had chosen, but deep down, knew that being a PT was what I was meant to do. I decided that for me to be happy as a PT, I would need to pave my own path forward. I proceeded to find a job that was a much better fit for me. This job led me to NC and provided me with the opportunity to complete an orthopedic residency program to become a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist with mentorship from an outstanding PT in the field. While completing the residency program, I encountered some health challenges, which led me personally to pelvic floor PT. 

Through my own personal experience with pelvic PT, I quickly realized that the pelvic floor was an often-overlooked area in orthopedics and at times, held the missing link as to why someone’s pain would continue to return. I quickly began to expand my knowledge base around pelvic PT and am so thankful I did. Progressing my knowledge in pelvic PT opened the door for me to start my own cash-based physical therapy practice. I am now the owner of Rebel Cycle and PT in Fuquay-Varina, NC, with the help of my husband, and I could not be happier. I love that I get to share my love of group fitness and physical therapy with this town. My main goal with Rebel PT is to educate the community on how pelvic floor physical therapy can help women overcome many things that society has taught us to accept as normal.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It could have been a smoother road to business ownership. We jumped into business ownership much earlier than planned, as we found the perfect space for our hybrid business and could not let that slip away. As most small businesses do, we initially ran into various permit and code issues, which took a lot of work to overcome when trying to finalize our clinic/fitness space. While starting Rebel, my husband and I were both still working full-time jobs, which made the process exhausting. The biggest challenge we faced was opening in the middle of a large covid spike during the winter of 2022, but with added safety measures and community support, we were able to kick off the new year with a strong opening. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
Rebel Cycle and Rebel PT are the same company and share the same location in downtown Fuquay-Varina, NC. The front half of the space is a small indoor cycling studio where group cycling classes are offered a few evenings and mornings throughout the week. The back half of the space is the physical therapy clinic, which offers one private treatment room and gym space for treatment sessions.

Rebel Cycle offers small classes with 10 bikes. Loud music, music that everyone loves, and fun lighting set the atmosphere to make cardio more fun. Instructors offer classes that are modifiable for all skill levels, and Rebel requires no memberships so that people can drop in as they please making it easy to add cycling into their exercise routine.

Rebel PT is a cash-based physical therapy clinic that treats patients individually and specializes in orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapy. We take pride in a cash-based model because it allows us to put patients first and make decisions based on what they need to overcome their symptoms. I am extremely proud to bring pelvic floor PT to Fuquay-Varina because until I opened Rebel, there were no other pelvic floor physical therapists in this town. Pelvic floor physical therapy is an important but underutilized service, which I hope to change. I want to ensure that all women experiencing pelvic pain, urinary leaking, and pain during or after pregnancy have someone to help guide them through their situation. I also highly enjoy assisting women in staying strong and active throughout their pregnancies and enjoying guiding them in their return to fitness postpartum. At this time, Rebel PT offers in-person and telehealth services to anyone in NC.

Do you have any advice for those just starting?
My advice to anyone starting a business is to ensure you have a clear vision. It can be easy to get overwhelmed in the business planning process. The best advice given to me was to make sure I had clear goals and a clear mission to help me stay focused. When I started to lose sight of my goals or felt overwhelmed by the challenges we faced initially, I always went back to the reason I was starting my business to regroup myself. It is also crucial to have a good support system behind you. I could not have started this business without the help and support of my husband, friends, and family along the way. We thoroughly enjoy running both Rebel Cycle and PT together as a team and have been very thankful for the immediate support we have received from our community. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rebel-nc.com/
• Instagram: @rebel.pt @rebel.cycle.nc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebel.pt.nc https://www.facebook.com/rebel.cycle.nc