Page 45 - BusinessWest 40 Under Forty 2022

Roger St. Onge
Founder, MOVE Athletics; Age 32
Roger St. Onge is no stranger to physical his doctorate. What he realized was that the
challenges. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, he served two deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While in the Marines, he developed a passion for helping others with their fitness.
“I was helping the Marines that weren’t passing their physical-fitness test or meeting the height and weight standard to be able to pass those standards and meet the requirements,” he explained, adding that this passion stayed with him after his service was over.
Indeed, while working toward his doctoral degree in physical therapy at American International College, he taught fitness classes in Springfield and competed in both CrossFit at the regional level and Olympic weightlifting.
It was during this time that St. Onge noticed there were many athletes and active adults who were having athletic aches and pains, or getting injuries that were preventing them from exercising — and they weren’t getting any help.
So he made it his mission to get them that help.
“I felt like it was my responsibility to figure out a way to provide that service to the community because there was nowhere for people to get that help,” he said, adding that this mindset compelled him to pursue
standard route of physical therapy wasn’t necessarily the best route.
“Most of the care given in the insurance- driven world is not designed to help people get better,” he said. “It’s designed to help overworked, burnt-out, underpaid therapists manage their time.”
St. Onge founded MOVE Athletics as an out-of-network practice that would operate in a manner best for the client.
“We have a whole mini-gym in here so we can do literally anything that anybody needs to do to get back to fitness and an active lifestyle without being limited by insurance,” he said.
Outside of work, he lives an active lifestyle and loves spending time with his two children.
“We’re either going on hikes or paddleboarding, or in the winter we’ll go snowboarding,” he said. “I’ll shoot hoops
in the driveway with my son or take the dog for a 20-minute walk with my daughter ... just being outside with the kids and enjoying nature.”
It is clear that, whether inside or outside of work, St. Onge is passionate about playing an active role in his community.
— Elizabeth Sears
BusinessWest
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