Meet Andrew Geil | Athletic Trainer and Sports Medicine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Geil and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process started with a realization: The traditional healthcare model is designed for insurance companies, not for athletes. I saw high level performers in Fort Lauderdale getting stuck in “physical therapy mill” clinics where patients are just numbers, treatments are generic, and recovery is agonizingly slow. I knew that if you wanted elite results, you couldn’t rely on a system designed for the average person.

I started AVION Sports Rehab to bridge the gap between clinical medicine and elite human performance.

I wanted to create the #1 Sports Rehab destination in South Florida by focusing on two non negotiables:

The Patient Experience. We eliminated the wait and see approach. By bringing in Diagnostic Ultrasound and Regenerative rehab, we give patients answers in minutes, not weeks.

The Provider Environment. I believe that to provide world class care, your Doctors of Physical Therapy must have the freedom to be world class. I built an environment where our DPTs aren’t burnt out by paperwork. They are empowered to use cutting edge movement science to do what they do best…. get people back to their lives faster.

My goal wasn’t just to “fix injuries.” It was to change how Fort Lauderdale views recovery. We don’t just patch you up, we use a three step process of Diagnosis, Regeneration, and Strength to ensure you are more resilient than you were before the injury. When you walk into AVION, you aren’t just a patient, you are an athlete in a high performance lab. That shift in perspective is exactly why we’ve become the go to for the Fort Lauderdale community and beyond.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets AVION apart isn’t just our equipment, it’s our System. Most clinics are dependent on one “star” therapist. I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve created a clinical framework that delivers elite results regardless of which Doctor of Physical Therapy you see.

We’ve also declared war on the “administrative friction” that plagues modern medicine. We integrated AI-driven systems for seamless check ins and automated paperwork. By the time you walk through our doors, the boring stuff is done. This ensures that every second of your 60 minute session is focused 100% on your care, your movement, and your recovery not on a clipboard.

The path to where we are today was anything but easy. Business wise, we faced the Triple Threat of entrepreneurship. Construction delays, landlord disputes, and the steep learning curve of scaling a specialized service. There were moments when the building itself seemed to be working against our timeline.

I overcame these challenges by staying obsessed with the end result. When the physical space was a mess, I focused on making the clinical process perfect. I learned that you can’t market your way out of a mediocre service. You have to build a product so good that the marketing becomes an extension of the truth.

I want the world to know that AVION is the Standard. We are a prestigious practice with unbreakable results. We didn’t build this to be another neighborhood PT shop, we built it to be a high performance lab for the human body. Our story is one of relentless improvement. We believe that whether you’re a professional athlete or a busy parent, you deserve a smarter recovery. We’ve removed the guesswork, the wait times, and the friction, leaving only one thing: Results.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The short answer is probably play some golf, Jacaranda or Fort Lauderdale Country Club have some of the best greens. Followed by dinner and drinks at Moxies. Their steak bites are to die for and the mile high pie is unreal. Some of my favorite places in Fort Lauderdale include Las Olas and Flagler Village, we have so many great restaurants and activities in the area. There are run clubs we are a part of such as Tropical Run Crew that runs in Holiday Park on Wednesdays and is a great way to meet exciting people.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
While many mentors have shaped my clinical skills, the true “North Star” for AVION Sports Rehab is a patient named Shawn Cheshire. Shawn is a world record holding blind athlete, a cyclist and hiker, who pushes the absolute limits of human performance. But more importantly, she is the reason AVION exists today.

Working with Shawn for over six years was transformational, but it was also heartbreaking. She shared stories of her experiences with the highest levels of healthcare. From Olympic teams to “modern” physical therapy clinics. Time and again, she was dismissed. They treated her like a disabled person rather than the elite athlete she is. They were more concerned with how much can I bill? Than how far can we go?

I watched a world class athlete get terrible, dismissive care simply because she didn’t fit into a standard insurance box. It was unacceptable. It was the moment I realized that if the system wouldn’t change for her, I had to build a new one.

Shawn’s drive to prove people wrong became my why. She taught me that the role of a clinician isn’t to hold a patient back or tell them to slow down, it’s to ask, how can we do this? That shift in perspective, moving from a guessing game to unwavering belief, became the blueprint for AVION. I built this practice so that every single person who walks through our doors in Fort Lauderdale gets what I call the Shawn Level Treatment. Whether you are a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, you deserve unwavering Confidence, a team that believes in your goal as much as you do. Precision Care, no more generic exercises. We use the same elite-level programming we used to help Shawn set world records. An authentic Connection to build a relationship on trust, not on billing codes.

So, I dedicate this shoutout to Shawn. She changed how I deliver healthcare. Because of her, AVION isn’t just a sports rehab center, it’s a dedicated team for anyone who refuses to let an injury, or a dismissive doctor, hold them back. We are here to change the standard of care for everyone.

Website: https://www.avionphysicaltherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avionpt/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avion-pt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AVIONPT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AVIONPT