All Star Physical Therapy
Bill Atkins
All Star Physical Therapy is a real Fallbrook success story. In just seven years, the company has grown from two to 26 offices in southern California. “We are committed to making sure that everyone who comes through our doors will leave better-off because they touched our company, and that includes both patients and staff members,” said Bill Atkins.
Bill cannot remember if he was one or two years old when his family moved to Fallbrook. They settled on 12 acres and planted an avocado grove. They property was near Live Oak Park and had a pond next door at Atkins Nursery. “Farming was a good life,” Bill Atkins explained. “We felt like we lived far from town but everybody knew everybody else in Fallbrook. There was a deep sense of community and that is still the case today.” Bill remembers himself as being an overweight kid until about the 6th grade. That is when an inspiring Fallbrook Physical Education teacher, Bill Waite, encouraged him to go out for basketball. Atkins did that and found he really enjoyed sports. He became an athlete and both his body and his life changed for the better. Incidentally, Bill Waite’s son is now a partner in All Star Physical Therapy.
“I learned capitalism by watching my father and my uncle,” said Atkins. His father was a master at building relationships and promoting the business through friendly ambassadorship. He taught Bill that patience and effort upfront are required for later success. “My uncle valued ethics in business so Atkins Nursery guaranteed their trees,” Atkins said. Root rot struck one year so the business refunded all of the customers. “That nearly bankrupted the nursery but it was the right thing to do,” he said.
Bill Atkins completed his studies in Physical Therapy at California State College Long Beach and became Director of Physical Therapy at Fallbrook Hospital. He started his successful practice, Rancho Physical Therapy in 1984. He cared for Fallbrook patients for many years. During that time, he volunteered to give back to his home town by coaching Fallbrook youth teams from the youngest players through High School athletes, Pop Warner Football and Boys and Girls Club Basketball. He attended Fallbrook High School games and provided triage, along with Orthopedist Dr. Robert Pace, for injuries on the field. He opened his clinic for injured players and provided personal training and sports performance training. He was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Fallbrook High School, was president of the Fallbrook Football Boosters and a Rotary member. Generations of Fallbrook athletes have benefited from Bill’s generous donation of time and skill.
Through unfortunate circumstances, Bill Atkins left Rancho Physical Therapy and had to start over in business from scratch. In 2013, he joined Occupational Therapist Paul Demeglio and with two partners, John Waite and Greg Smith, made All Star Physical Therapy into the award winning practice it is today. Bill credits his faith in God, family and the town of Fallbrook for supporting him through the difficult early days of opening a new business. His wife Lori helped in the front office. Sons Andrew and Aaron both became therapists and now work in the practice. Hometown girls and therapists Carrie Loomis and Amanda Lucy followed Bill into his new company. Loyal Fallbrook patients tracked down Bill and brought insurance contracts to the new business. Dr. Robert Pace referred patients, as did Fallbrook Hospital when they closed. “Fallbrook knew me and supported me and that is the blessing that allowed the business to grow.”
