BEST OF DURHAM
Team Effort
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personal trainer, and his father, Dr. Derick Coe, a physical therapist, began brainstorming ways to combine their passions of helping others pursue their wellness goals through a shared fitness and physical therapy facility in fall 2019. “DJ was brought up around ABOVE DJ encourages Seth Friskney as he trains fitness and rehabilitation, watching me work on the battle ropes. BELOW DJ Coe and Dr. Derick Coe. on people, and had always been an athlete,” Derick says. “So we just put our heads Readers’ Favorite together.” Place to Get in Shape “We had also recently and New Business learned that we have ancestors who were part of the Black Wall The BodyGames Street movement in Durham Center in the early 1900s,” DJ says. “It gave me an even greater sense of purpose, that we should be here continuing to serve our people.” The father-son duo planned to open The BodyGames Center in early 2020. “We weren’t expecting the pandemic, but we found pivot points, [like] livestreaming free classes on Facebook to get the word out,” says Dominique Coe, DJ’s wife and a trainer at BodyGames. “Virtual coaching was something I had never done before, and I love one-on-one and group interactions in person,” DJ adds. “It definitely took us out of our comfort zone, but it was for the better.” “Like most therapists, we also did telehealth with patients,” Derick says. “The key to our collaboration between fitness and physical therapy is beginning recovery as soon as possible after an injury occurs.” Derick describes himself as a body mechanic, analyzing position, gait and mobility to improve posture and identify muscular imbalances. “Showing people things that they could do from home was a great tool in getting them on a safe road to recovery,” he says. 50
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