Aug 14

Aug 14 Oaktree Health - Martin & Emilie

Oaktree Health
oaktreehealth.ca
Instagram//Facebook //Youtube//Locations// 613-680-4325

Interview + Photography: Marianne Rothbauer, Rothbauer Studio

Tell us a little about yourself?

Well, my name is Martin, I own Oaktree Acupuncture & Chiropractic with my wife Emilie. I didn’t always start out as an acupuncturist, I was actually working in the corporate world as a public speaking coach. It wasn’t until I started noticing the negative effects the 9-5 world had on my health that I made the jump to acupuncture.

As a husband & wife team you started Oaktree Health, did you initially envision working together and building your business?

At the time Emilie was studying Chiropractic health and I had always been interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture. Having seen the positive effects of natural medicine on my health I thought why not study acupuncture and we can grow something together, helping other people improve their health in a natural way.

Martin, you mentioned that his is your second career. How has leaving the corporate world working for your family and for Oaktree?

It’s working very well! I have more time for my family. I love spending time with them, being more of a present figure in their lives. Growing Oaktree with Emilie has been such a rewarding experience, watching it go from a small idea into the two locations we have now with many more future plans in the works, its been incredibly gratifying.

You work with a few other practitioners at your Oaktree locations do you plan to add additional professions and specialties to the Oaktree family?

Not at the moment. We try to focus solely on Acupuncture, Chiropractic care, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. By keeping our services narrow we’re able to invest in these skills and work towards perfecting our craft. This ensures we provide the best possible service to our patients.

When you aren’t working with patients or running the business what do you do for fun?

I love spending time outside with my family being active. Aside from staying active, my side project would be my Youtube channel. I love creating videos which contribute to the natural health & wellness conversation. I think Youtube is such a great way to connect with people from all over the world. I made a video outlining my Top Health Tips as I’m constantly being asked by friends and family, you can watch it here .

It sounds like you are both very physically active with a love of the outdoors. Is there a favorite place to relax?

Yes, that would be our cottage up in Gatineau. We spend a lot of our summertime up there exploring with our kids or even just laying out on the dock. It’s so much fun to see them experience the outdoors, I love watching them run, play and just be kids.

Do you have a place that you love to grab lunch at on a busy day?

I always make time to make my own meals. We are pretty good at cooking in large quantities so that we have leftovers for a few days. There’s nothing like a warming meal that you know you’ve cooked, but on an off day I feel like eating out my go to is pizza from Colonnades.

How has Ottawa supported your business?

Ottawa has been a great place for an acupuncture and chiropractic business. We have found the people to be very receptive to our services. It’s trendy being healthy and we’re happy to see more people jumping on that wagon.

Building Oaktree Health in Ottawa couldn’t have been easy. Were there any challenges in being business owners when you were getting things started?

Of course, there were! Building any business is hard work. There are ups and downs even now but that’s just the way it goes. If anything being a business owner has taught me to remain patient and to work hard, really really hard.