Building Better Humans

How Dr. Jacob Erbes ’14/’17 challenged conventional thinking to build a practice focused on human potential—not just healing.

Sometimes the best businesses aren’t built because someone has a great idea. They’re built because someone can’t stop asking questions.

For Dr. Jacob Erbes ’14/’17, those questions began early in his career. Why were rehabilitation and performance treated as separate disciplines? Why did physical therapy focus so much on pain instead of potential?

The more he learned, the more convinced he became that the industry had drawn a line that didn’t need to exist.

“Rehab and performance should feel like the same thing,” Jacob says. “They are not different. Whether you’re recovering from injury or trying to push your limits, the goal is the same—become a more capable and complete human.”

Today, that philosophy shapes Apollo Performance Therapy, the Victoria, British Columbia-based practice Jacob founded. At its core is a clear and simple belief: recovery isn’t the finish line. It’s the beginning of becoming stronger, more resilient, and more capable than before.

Jacob’s own story, however, didn’t begin with a clear vision for entrepreneurship—or even healthcare.

At the University of Jamestown, he admits he lacked direction.

“I was the kind of student they had to remind to register for classes,” he says.

It wasn’t until his junior year, when he declared biochemistry as his major, that he began taking academics—and the possibility of a career in medicine—seriously.

Even then, the transition was rocky. Used to cramming the night before exams, he quickly learned that approach wouldn’t hold up in a demanding program, with professors like Dr. Carl Steffan and Dr. Anthony Amaro expecting more out of Jacob. They pushed him to develop discipline and critical thinking, laying a foundation that would later shape his clinical philosophy.

He went on to join one of the early cohorts of UJ’s Physical Therapy program (physiotherapy in Canada and throughout the rest of the world I learned), where he began to wrestle with a deeper question: Was this profession what he thought it would be?

“I remember thinking, is this it?” he says.

What he saw was a system overly focused on pain—treating symptoms rather than building long-term resilience. That perspective shifted through mentorship and hands-on experience, particularly in performance-focused environments. He began to rethink the role of a therapist entirely.

“Pain is just an alarm signal,” Jacob explains. “If you only focus on that, you miss the bigger picture. I want to make people stronger, more robust. The rest takes care of itself.”

Jacob’s personal life was evolving alongside his professional one. He met his wife, Meghan—a standout soccer player at North Dakota State University—and together they eventually made their way west to Victoria, British Columbia.

There, they found a community that embraced the same active, performance-focused lifestyle they valued. It was there that the vision for Apollo Performance Therapy came into focus.

Launched in 2023, Apollo reflects Jacob’s belief that rehabilitation should be about more than helping people recover. Named after the Greek god associated with health and physical excellence, the practice brings rehabilitation and performance together under one philosophy.

That philosophy shows up in every session. Clients are assessed continuously using performance metrics, from strength thresholds to movement capacity.

“If it’s not good data, it’s not useful,” Jacob says. “We don’t guess. Data always wins.”

This approach attracts a wide range of clients. Victoria is called by the locals the land of the “newlyweds and nearly-deads.” On one end are everyday individuals looking to move without pain—and on the other are elite performers: ultra-marathon runners, professional athletes, military personnel, and high-level endurance competitors.

Despite the range, the goal remains consistent: remove fear, build capacity, and restore confidence in movement.

The business itself grew organically. Early on, Jacob focused on building relationships rather than scaling quickly. “Sales didn’t come naturally to me,” he says. “I used to think of it as something negative. But really, it’s about communication—helping people understand what’s possible.”

This relational-forward way paid off. Within a few years, both he and Meghan were booked out weeks in advance. Before this, however, was an unexpected challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic.

As in-person services paused, Jacob expanded into virtual programming, creating customized training plans for clients far beyond his local market. The model scaled rapidly, reaching individuals across multiple provinces and into Europe. What began as a temporary solution became a core part of the business.

It also forced a shift in how he managed time and expectations. “You want to give everyone the perfect experience,” he says. “But I had to learn boundaries. That’s part of delivering quality, too.”

A moment of clarity came shortly after the birth of their son, Archie. Walking back into work, Jacob realized something had changed. His schedule was full—entire days booked with clients he had built from the ground up.

“That’s when it hit me,” he says. “This is real. Let’s go all in.”

In the end, the questions that started it all led Jacob to a simple belief.

“People are capable of more than they think,” he says. “Our job is to show them that—and give them the tools to prove it.”