E864 | 60 and Unstoppable! What Two PT Patients Taught Me About Longevity

Every once in a while, a week on the road gives you more than just business insight—it gives you life lessons. That’s what happened when I spent time in Washington, D.C., visiting four different clinics owned by PT Biz clients.

We spent entire days in their spaces—talking with staff, observing patient sessions, and just soaking up the energy. And while I came home inspired by their clinics and culture, what really stuck with me were two conversations that had nothing to do with marketing, pricing, or systems… and everything to do with longevity.

The 60-Year-Old Who Crushed Me in Pilates

At Mind the Mat, a Pilates studio run by Megan Brown (one of our PT Biz subject matter experts), I joined one of her classes. It was tough—high intensity, biomechanics-driven, and full of people who clearly knew what they were doing.

The woman next to me? It was her 60th birthday. And she absolutely crushed me.

After class, I went over to wish her a happy birthday and ask how she stayed in such great shape. She told me she’d gone through Pilates teacher training just two years earlier—not to teach, but because she was curious and wanted to learn more.

When I asked her for her secret to staying young, she said something that hit me hard:

“You have to stay curious. You have to keep learning new things.”

That stuck. She wasn’t just strong physically—she was sharp, present, and full of life. It reminded me of something my grandfather used to say: As soon as you stop learning, you start decaying.

The 60-Year-Old Training for a Marathon PR

The next day, I was at The Fit Collective in downtown D.C., run by Ashley Speights. One of her patients—a 60-year-old man—came in for some pre-race bodywork.

He was training for the Marine Corps Marathon that weekend. The last time he ran it? He was 33 years old.

Now, nearly 30 years later, he wasn’t just running it again—he was trying to beat his old time.

When I asked what his secret was, he didn’t give me some complex recovery protocol or supplement list. He just said:

“Prioritize sleep and drink water.”

Simple. Free. And the thing most people don’t do consistently.

This guy had spent years as a chef, running a high-end restaurant. Late nights, constant dehydration, poor sleep—it wrecked him. So when he changed his lifestyle, those two habits became his foundation. Sleep. Water. Repeat.

Simple Habits. Massive Impact.

Between these two conversations, I realized something: the formula for longevity is pretty simple.

• Stay curious.

• Keep learning new things.

• Sleep.

• Hydrate.

That’s it. These habits are free, accessible to everyone, and yet most of us overlook them. Especially entrepreneurs.

If you’re running a clinic, raising kids, managing stress, and trying to make payroll—it’s easy to forget that your mind and body are your most valuable assets. When you neglect them, everything else eventually breaks down: your health, your relationships, your business.

Lessons for Clinicians and Entrepreneurs

1. Be a student again.
   Pick up a new hobby, course, or skill that challenges you. Being a novice humbles you and reignites your growth mindset.

2. Ask better questions.
   When you meet a patient or mentor who’s thriving, ask them what they prioritize. Reverse-engineer success.

3. Audit your longevity.
   How’s your sleep? Water intake? Movement? Learning? Rate yourself and make small changes that stack up over time.

4. Pour back into yourself.
   You can’t build a sustainable business if you’re running on fumes. Protect your energy like it’s part of your P&L.

Why This Matters

It’s easy to get caught up in scaling your practice, hiring staff, or growing revenue. But the truth is, your business can’t outgrow you.

If you’re burned out, sleep-deprived, and chronically dehydrated, your creativity, leadership, and longevity will suffer.

You have to treat your health like your most important investment—because it is.

“You have to pour back into yourself just as much as you pour into everyone else.”

That means giving yourself the same compassion, discipline, and accountability you give your patients.

The Bigger Picture

We all want to age well—to be the 60-year-old who’s still crushing workouts, setting goals, and inspiring others. But that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built one decision at a time: the next workout, the next glass of water, the next hour of sleep, the next book or course that sparks your curiosity.

So the next time you meet someone who’s living the way you want to live, ask them how they got there. Then start applying it now—because your 60-year-old self is watching.

Free Resource for Clinicians

If you’re ready to create a business that gives you more time, more energy, and more impact, check out our free training:
👉 PT Biz Part-Time to Full-Time 5-Day Challenge 

We’ll help you get crystal clear on your income goals, map your path, and design a one-page plan to take your practice full-time—without burning yourself out.

About the Author

Doc Danny Matta is a physical therapist, entrepreneur, and founder of PT Biz and Athlete’s Potential. He’s helped over 1,000 clinicians start, grow, and scale successful cash-based practices across the U.S.

Follow Danny on Instagram @dannymattaPT  for daily insights, clinic stories, and practical tips for building a business—and life—you love.

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Ready to elevate your practice? Book a call at the link below with one of our expert consultants today and start your journey to delivering unparalleled physical therapy.

Podcast Transcript

Danny: [00:00:00] Hey, what's going on? Danny Matta here with PT Biz, and today I [00:00:05] wanna share some lessons in longevity that I learned this past week when I was in [00:00:10] Washington, dc. So this past week I [00:00:15] was in DC with a few of our, uh, clients that we work with, [00:00:20] that own clinics in the area, and we were up there. Uh, spending a full [00:00:25] day in each of their clinics.

We were in four different clinics. Um, and [00:00:30] it was awesome. It was so fun to get onsite and, and, uh, [00:00:35] you know, in the, in the clinics of the people that we get a chance to work with because, [00:00:40] you know, we, we are so fortunate to be in this [00:00:45] profession. Let me just say that and I'll have more to say in that separately, but we are so fortunate.

[00:00:50] We get to work with amazing people. We get to help those people. Live, [00:00:55] you know, amazing lives outside of the clinic and really, uh, you [00:01:00] know, be a facilitator of helping them achieve what they wanna do from a physical, in [00:01:05] many cases, mental standpoint. And, you know, to go to these different clinics. And, and one of 'em is not [00:01:10] clinic, one of 'em is a Pilates studio by the way, but run by a, uh, physical therapist, um, who [00:01:15] really teaches.

The way she teaches her class is very, it's like group physical therapy basically. [00:01:20] Right? Um, but to just engage with the owners, their [00:01:25] staff, and in this context, more importantly, their patients. Because [00:01:30] one thing that, um, I, I miss very much about patient [00:01:35] care is the patients. It's, it's the people that we get a chance to [00:01:40] interact with.

They're so. They're, they're just, they're so amazing to learn [00:01:45] things from and to help and to, to really like, [00:01:50] be a part of progress with another human being, uh, helping them achieve things. It's just so, [00:01:55] it's so amazing. Something we should not take for granted. But while I was in DC [00:02:00] I had two very unique interactions with 60 year olds [00:02:05] that left a, a, a pretty big, you know, impact on me.[00:02:10]

Uh, enough for me to share what I learned from them today on the podcast, but really something that, that high was a highlight of my week, [00:02:15] and I'll tell you about both those in the first one. I was at Megan [00:02:20] Brown's, uh, Pilate Studio, which is called Mind the Mat, which is in [00:02:25] Alexandria, Virginia. Uh, they actually have a couple locations.

She is one of our subject matter expert [00:02:30] coaches at PT Bs. She's amazing. If you haven't seen her stuff, you gotta check it out. She even [00:02:35] has her own, uh, certification for Pilates, the way she teaches very unique, uh, it's very, [00:02:40] very like biomechanically heavy and very physi physical therapy sort of skewed, [00:02:45] uh, the classes.

You know, very interesting. They all know how much hip extension we're supposed to have. They're, they're [00:02:50] learning about, you know, areas that they're, they're strengthening or, or they're, they're, uh, improving [00:02:55] flexibility in the whole time. It's, it was, it was really cool. And I got a chance to do one of her classes, which by the [00:03:00] way, crushed me.

Um, you know, I've done Pilates in the past. It's always hard. [00:03:05] Uh, this was like much more of like a, like a, almost like a higher intensity Pilates class [00:03:10] at that. And it was, um, super hard, great workout. The lady next to [00:03:15] me, it was her 60th birthday. Not only was it her 60th birthday, [00:03:20] she crushed me in this workout by the way.

Her daughter was there, uh, as well. [00:03:25] And she just was in fantastic shape for her age. She seemed like [00:03:30] super, just like happy to be there. Uh, tons of energy. And [00:03:35] I had a chance to talk to her afterward, you know, 'cause they highlighted it was her birthday. So I came up to her and said, happy birthday and [00:03:40] how'd you get into this?

And, uh. She was interesting. She, um, [00:03:45] actually went through the certification to teach Pilates and she just, you know, [00:03:50] wasn't, um, she wasn't teaching, she was just a, you know, attending class. Uh, that's what she does, part of what she does [00:03:55] for, for exercise. And she like, just seemed [00:04:00] physically far younger than that.

Mentally. She was just so, you know, you know, high energy and she was [00:04:05] locked in and very present and I asked her, I was like, you're kind of an outlier [00:04:10] for. Being 60, right? Like, you just crushed me in this workout. Number one, like, you're obviously in very [00:04:15] good shape. You're, uh, you know, you're, you have this great relationship with your daughter, uh, you're, you're there [00:04:20] together.

And, and they, they seem to like really, uh, you know, just have a great time [00:04:25] together. And I was like, I would love to know what's, what do you think the secret is to being, you know, to [00:04:30] kill it at 60? And she said, you always have to keep learning [00:04:35] things. You have to stay curious, is what she said. You have to stay [00:04:40] curious and learn new things.

And she said that she went through this Pilate certification [00:04:45] because she was interested in it. She wanted to learn more about it. And that was only like two years ago when she did that. [00:04:50] So, you know when, when I meet somebody that I think is, um. [00:04:55] Doing something that I hope to be able to do when I'm their age as well.

I always want to ask them about it [00:05:00] and sh and, and what she told me. I, I've seen patterns of this, and this is actually something that you, [00:05:05] you can take this into your own clinic. When you have patients that are on a [00:05:10] trajectory you hope to be on as well, ask them. What, what, what have you learned? [00:05:15] How did you get here?

What is it that you prioritize? Like you can reverse [00:05:20] engineer a lot of these things. And for her, and we talked for probably 15 minutes after the class, [00:05:25] and I mean, she was like. Obviously super interested to share. She was, I think [00:05:30] you know anybody that you're asking questions about, like something that they've done well, they wanna share that with [00:05:35] you.

And you know, for them it also reinforces like you're crushing it. Good job, man. Keep going. [00:05:40] You know, this is amazing. And this is something that I think is more and more of a positive trend. We're seeing more now [00:05:45] than ever, like this person's kind of an outlier now, but I don't think we'll be that case. In, [00:05:50] uh, you know, 10 years, 20 years, there'll be a lot more people like this, uh, like this lady.

But, but even in your own [00:05:55] clinic, you can find these like outliers, whatever you wanna call 'em. We work with a lot of them, by the way. And, [00:06:00] and ask 'em. Ask 'em about their life. Ask 'em about how they got where they are, like what they prioritize, how, how they ended up [00:06:05] in a place that you hope to be as well.

And, uh, and. And what she said, I think is spot on. Never [00:06:10] stop learning. Always stay curious. My grandfather said something very similar to me. Always keep learning, keep [00:06:15] learning, keep learning. And as soon as you stop learning things, you know, that's, that's, that's when you start to, [00:06:20] uh, to, to decay. You know, that's when, when you're going down the wrong path, like you always [00:06:25] gotta flex that brain muscle just like your, your, your, your physical body, right?

Your, your, your mind has to [00:06:30] continue to grow. And if you can find things that you're interested in and you're, you're curious about. [00:06:35] Lean into those. Like why? Why at, you know, whatever age you have to stop [00:06:40] learning. You don't. And one of the great benefits of our profession is that you have to be [00:06:45] a lifelong learner.

I hope you're okay with that because that's just the way it is. That's what we signed up for [00:06:50] and we're almost forced to continue. To do that. Otherwise, our skillset just slowly erodes [00:06:55] over time. And the best clinicians are the ones that continue to learn and learn and learn, and they're [00:07:00] curious and they're open-minded to learning new things and not feeling, you know, [00:07:05] dumb about not knowing something.

They wanna lean into that and learn more about it. The second person I met, this [00:07:10] was the following day, I was at Ashley Spate Clinic, which is the Fit [00:07:15] Collective, which is, uh, just north of the White House in Washington dc. Really cool location, really [00:07:20] cool, uh, you know, spot. She has amazing, um, amazing facility and, and [00:07:25] staff.

And she had a, uh, a patient come in who was, uh, coming in to get a [00:07:30] little bit of work done before he, uh, ran the Marine Corps marathon, which [00:07:35] was. The weekend after, you know, the, the, the week that we were there, basically that [00:07:40] Sunday, so this was a Tuesday, so he was coming in just to get a little bit of manual therapy work [00:07:45] in and, and, uh, as he was tapering down to, to the race this individual [00:07:50] 60 years old as well.

And what was very interesting about this guy is [00:07:55] the last time that he ran a marathon was the Marine Corps Marathon, which is in Washington, DC. [00:08:00] He was 33 years old, so 27 years later, [00:08:05] he was training to beat his time when he was 33. Now, [00:08:10] that's a pretty awesome goal to have when you're 60, right? Like he hadn't really run [00:08:15] at all for decades, and he decided not only am I gonna run this race again, I'm gonna [00:08:20] beat my time almost three decades ago.

That's a long time. Some of you listening to this [00:08:25] may not even be 27 years old. Think about that for a second. This is a ambitious [00:08:30] goal. This is an impressive thing to hear and see. This person I could have sat in the room with [00:08:35] for hours just talking to him about, you know, his views on health and longevity [00:08:40] and what he prioritizes.

And while he's laying there and, and [00:08:45] you know, Ashley's working on his hamstring. I asked him, I said, Hey, man. What's [00:08:50] your, what's your advice? You're kind of an outlier. Like you're 60, you're literally trying to beat your time [00:08:55] from 27 years ago in the Marine Corps marathon, and that's not what the average person is thinking about doing.[00:09:00]

And what he told me was actually, you know, very basic advice and [00:09:05] very, uh, e easy advice to follow free, actually advice. [00:09:10] He said prioritize sleep and drinking water. That [00:09:15] was it. Prioritize sleep and drink water and. What he [00:09:20] said backstory to him is this guy's a chef. He used to run a restaurant, like a high-end restaurant, [00:09:25] and he eventually, uh, closed the restaurant down and he does like more [00:09:30] private dining things now because he wanted be able to control his schedule better.

And he said in a restaurant's very hard [00:09:35] to, uh, number one. Con control when you're gonna be home and, and [00:09:40] your sleep environment and you know, you get to bed really late and sometimes you have to be up early for other events and things. And so his, his [00:09:45] sleep was wrecked for years and he's like, the other thing is you're just constantly in a hot environment and you're getting [00:09:50] dehydrated.

And, uh, so he probably was dehydrated for a very long time and also drinking other things. [00:09:55] So he's like, if you just replace, you're drinking with. And that's it. You, you're, you're in a great spot, and if you can [00:10:00] prioritize your sleep, you're gonna feel so much better. And these are two basic things that everybody has access to, which [00:10:05] I, I just, I just love, right?

Like it's, and it's simple advice. [00:10:10] And anybody listening to this is probably like, yeah, no doubt, right? But not everybody does it. And that's the [00:10:15] funny thing about it. Between these three things, they're all free. Stay curious, keep learning new [00:10:20] things. Be be excited to be a new [00:10:25] person, to be a novice. So many of us, we are, we're like, oh, I'm gonna feel like an idiot 'cause I don't [00:10:30] know how to do this.

I don't know how to do whatever. I've never done, you know, I've never played [00:10:35] this sport before. I've never, uh, whatever. I've never done this type of physical therapy work. I've [00:10:40] never learned this language. I've never, whatever. Whatever it is, it's [00:10:45] great to be a novice. It's a great place to be. That's where most of the learning happens, right?

[00:10:50] That's a new thing for many of us. Like we're not, we haven't been a novice in a long time unless you [00:10:55] seek that out. And then sleep. Get enough sleep [00:11:00] and drink freaking water. Like how hard is that? Right? It's not, and these are three really simple things [00:11:05] we can all do, but yet we as healthcare professionals as well, we forget about this stuff.

We get [00:11:10] busy, we prioritize other things. And even with our own patients, [00:11:15] how easy it is to talk about these things. It's, it's so simple, but it's the accountability of these things. The things that you [00:11:20] see, and I can tell you this, whenever you talk to people about. Longevity. You talk to [00:11:25] people about the, the, the things that they're, that they're doing.

These are examples of where you can pull [00:11:30] patients in to explain like scenarios that they could be as well, that you can be as well. I, I tell you, [00:11:35] man, for me, when I, when I think about these things, when I meet somebody that just kicks my butt in a Pilates [00:11:40] class and they're literally 20 years older than me, when I meet somebody who's trying to pr [00:11:45] their marathon time almost three decades later, I find those people just [00:11:50] so.

Like interesting because I want to be like them. I want [00:11:55] to be that person that is not, you know, not, not just waiting to die. You [00:12:00] know? I wanna be that person that's like, no, I'm still learning new things. I'm still trying to progress. And in [00:12:05] order to do that, you have to take care of yourself physically and mentally, [00:12:10] period.

Now, where does this apply to you? Well, number one, hopefully this is just an, you know, an [00:12:15] inspirational sort of moment where you can, you can be like, oh, cool. Like people like this exist, and yes, we get to work with [00:12:20] them all the time, but if you run your own business. You are burning it at both ends, even more so, [00:12:25] it's stressful.

You know, there's, there's a lot of unknown associated with that. There's a lot of work. There's, there's [00:12:30] just, there's, there's a lot of things you have to do physically and mentally, and it can really wear you out. [00:12:35] So more than anything, you've gotta keep in mind that you have to pour back in yourself just as [00:12:40] much as you're pouring back into everybody else.

Your body, your mind is your vehicle and life. And if you [00:12:45] treat it poorly. It's not gonna last as long. It's not gonna be as effective [00:12:50] as you would like it to be later in life. And we shouldn't have to talk about this as healthcare [00:12:55] professionals, but I promise you this, if you are a clinic owner, you're probably [00:13:00] at some point in time in that journey have been very rough on your body.

I know I have. I've been there. [00:13:05] And you have to make sacrifices. And when you have young kids, sleep sucks. You know? And when you, when you're [00:13:10] busy, maybe you can't make as many positive health choices and or learn new things or have a hobby [00:13:15] that maybe you're interested in. These are all things that maybe you have to make compromises for along [00:13:20] the way, which is fair.

That's totally normal. I, I've done the same thing. But don't forget, [00:13:25] at the end of the day, you have to put it back into yourself. You have to give yourself. [00:13:30] You know, resources and time and, and treat your body and your mind, right? [00:13:35] Because if you don't, then you'll continue to wear yourself down, wear yourself down.

Your longevity will be [00:13:40] terrible in your business as well as your health. And we've seen this over and over again with entrepreneurs that have terrible health [00:13:45] disorders that pop up. And it's because of you can really drive yourself very hard for a long time, [00:13:50] but at the end of the day, at some point. It's going to run out, right?

You're going to hit a wall, and that's gonna [00:13:55] affect either your health, your relationships around you, or maybe both. And these are [00:14:00] people that, just as an example, I think it's a positive thing to share. Keep an eye for these people in your ecosystem. I [00:14:05] promise you. They're there. Ask them about their life, how they got where they're at.

Take that as an [00:14:10] inspiration, as the, the breadcrumbs of where you need to go and what you need to do. Uh, they'll tell [00:14:15] you if you ask. You gotta be curious and you gotta remember to take care of yourself along the way. This was a fantastic [00:14:20] positive reminder. Just so you know, I'm, I've probably told a dozen people about these folks.[00:14:25]

Because of how much it affected me in a positive way. And uh, I hope it affects other people in the same way. So [00:14:30] don't forget, take care of yourself. These are the people you want to be like, these are the people I want to be like. And in order to do so, [00:14:35] you gotta make the right decisions along the way.

Stay consistent, have fun, learn new things. Take care of yourself. [00:14:40] Get some freaking sleep, man. Come on. Go to bed. Right? Take a nap. Maybe if you can't, uh, you know, sleep at night 'cause you [00:14:45] got some young kids. I get it. You know? Take care of yourself. Drink some water. How hard is that? Alright, [00:14:50] have a good [00:14:55] one.