ABOUT

Pivot Health began as a vision during owner Dougie Graham’s Diploma of Remedial Massage studies. Dougie excelled throughout the course and his clinical aspirations grew further whilst also working as a Sports Trainer with a local AFL team. Since completion of his studies, Dougie spent 2 years working at a sports focussed clinic plus was a Sports Trainer for Melbourne Ice ice hockey team for 3 seasons. It is through this experience along with some inspirational mentors that drove him to establish Pivot Health in 2012 which continues to grow, fast developing a reputation as a clinic that enhances performance, mobility and wellbeing; be better, move better, feel better…..

Owner, Dougie Graham has been a Remedial Massage Therapist since 2011 and has developed a loyal following of clients who wish to get the most out of their sporting pursuits and remain injury free. He also works with those suffering from occupational injuries, such as neck/shoulder pain, tension headaches and the like.

Conveniently located in Windsor/Prahran and Albert Road Melbourne, Dougie takes pride in his professionalism, expertise and continually strives for further knowledge so that he may deliver the best healthcare available.

Dougie Graham

√ Dip. Remedial Massage Therapy
√ Cert III/IV Fitness
√ Sports Trainer
√ Effective Movement Trainer
√ 2013 Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship Winner

“Born and raised on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, I have always had a connection with the outdoors having had the beach and the bush as my backyard growing up. The trouble was that I was last in line when the ‘sporty’ genes were being handed out so although I dabbled in many sports – cricket, rugby, tennis, indoor soccer, surfing – I never excelled in any of them; though I was a very proficient little nipper and am an excellent swimmer!

I always wanted to be that ‘sporty guy’ but instead spent more time on the sidelines as spectator, invariably with a beer in my hand as I got older. This led to a love of alcohol of which I pursued a very successful career in for almost 2 decades – running restaurants/bars, retail + corporate sales, logistics, marketing and winemaking. I left Sydney in 1994 to travel the world and was away for almost 4yrs. I returned only to leave 18mths later for a stint in Margaret River, WA where I ended up staying for 5yrs doing everything from picking grapes to running a bar to eventually winemaking all whilst living the good life of world class food and wine.

I then travelled to California and lived there for 6mths making wine; again, living the ‘good life’! Back to Sydney I came for another 15mth stint living in Bondi, working part time in a bottle shop, drinking like a fish wondering what the next plan was.

Mid 2006 saw me land a 12mth contract with a restaurant/cellar door in the Yarra Valley, after which I moved to Melbourne and worked for a small Spanish wholesaler/importer for 5.5yrs, the last 12mths of which were part time. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the wine industry, I always had a nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me to pursue a career in health and fitness. This was something I never had the confidence to act upon due to not being blessed with the ‘sporty’ gene.

It wasn’t until I woke up fat, tired with yet another hangover one morning and thought “is this IT?? It can’t be..” that I made the decision to explore my options. A 5 week European holiday helped me finalise my decision of pursuing Remedial Massage therapy as my new career. So I studied full time, worked part time and became a Sports Trainer for a women’s AFL team. 2011/12 was a very full on year with a lot on and very little time off. Excelling at my studies during this time was proof that I was on the right path – I totally enjoyed the learning and being so busy! After a month in Borneo for some much-needed down time, I returned and gained employment at 2 sports focussed clinics.

During my 2 years of employment at these clinics, a lot of valuable skills and techniques were learnt plus developing a solid client base through achieving results. This further reinforced that I chosen the right vocation. It was also during this time that I really made the shift to living a more health conscious life myself. As I say, “I believe you have to live what you do, and I did that VERY well in the wine industry!”.This culminated in me pursuing a secret, almost lifelong ambition of competing in a natural bodybuilding competition. So after changing gyms, finding an excellent trainer on the same wavelength and a lot of dedicated hard work, I competed in 2 comps March/April 2014; one of which I placed 4th in both divisions I entered and won best trophy for best posing routine. Yes, I did cop a lot of flack from those that knew me from the old days as it was so far removed from who I was 18 m0nths previous! I plan to compete again in 2016…

It is through this that I discovered the rewards that can be gained from discipline and sacrifice. This spills over into my approach with all my clients so that I can help them be the best they can through targeted remedial massage treatment, corrective exercise & advice on gym training programmes + nutrition.

Health, fitness and nutrition have become my passion and are what drive me to continually improve the wellbeing of my clients. When I’m not training, eating, treating or sleeping I enjoy stand up paddle boarding, Bikram yoga, SCUBA diving and travel.

Through my continued research and planned further learning, my aim is to be exemplar for the health and fitness industry. My philosophy of enhancing performance, mobility and well-being is simple: “be better, move better, feel better”.