The Tysland Long Game
The Month We Got Married and Started Experience Momentum
We went to our first Seattle Torrent women’s ice hockey game recently — as a family.
The crowd was electric. The girls on the ice were flying. Our kids watched it like it was normal… which is the best part. And I kept looking over at Kelly.
My wife won an Olympic bronze medal in women’s hockey at 22. Back then, there wasn’t much of a professional path for women after college and the Olympics. You didn’t “keep going.” You pivoted. You reinvented. You got resourceful.
Kelly left home at 14 to go play with an all-boys hockey team in Canada. Even after making it onto the All-Star team, she was told, “Kelly, even though you are good enough to play in this game, the game is not ready for you to play in it.”
Despite facing rejection after rejection, she kept going, eventually winning a bronze medal at 22 with the U.S. Olympic Team.
Watching women’s pro hockey in Seattle in 2026 felt like this full-circle moment — not just for sport, but for what it represents: progress that’s built slowly, quietly, and relentlessly — by people who keep showing up long before the outcome is guaranteed.
That’s also the story of how Experience Momentum began.
Why share this now?
Because the first full week of a new year has a way of making us want quick wins and clean slates. But the things that matter most — health, trust, community, meaningful impact — are built through small choices repeated over time. And as we step into 2026, I’ve been reflecting on the long game: the kind of progress you can’t rush, only commit to.
We built Experience Momentum in the same month we got married
In September of 2007, two huge things happened: Kelly and I got married, and we opened the doors to Experience Momentum.
If that sounds slightly unhinged, it’s because it was.
But the truth is, that chaos is exactly where this whole story starts; not with a perfect business plan, not with investors, not with “we always knew,” but with two people sitting at an empty front desk, staring at a silent phone, asking each other, “What are we doing?”
The Vision (before there was anything to point at)
Back in 2006, Kelly and I had this idea: what if there was a place where people didn’t just “go to PT” or “get a massage” or “join a gym,” but actually felt connected — to their bodies, to their health, to each other, and to a bigger purpose?
We weren’t thinking about scaling. We weren’t thinking about margins. We weren’t thinking, “How do we get to $10M+ in revenue?” We were thinking, “Could we build a space that actually helps people create real change in their lives, not just short-term fixes?”
Connection. Community. Movement. Health with meaning. That was the heartbeat of Experience Momentum before it ever even had a sign.
Step one: Get money (Spoiler: Nobody wanted to give it to us)
Now keep in mind, this was 2006 / early 2007 — the era where banks were handing out money for just about anything. Except to us. We went bank to bank with our little binder. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. “Not enough history.” “Too risky.” “No collateral.” Some nicer versions of: “Cute idea, kids.”
Finally, in a moment I’ll never forget, I called a high school friend of mine, Jason, who at the time was a VP at a bank in Tomah, Wisconsin. I laid it out for him. He listened and said, “I’ll lend you the money.”
That was the moment it went from “maybe someday” to “oh… this is real.” Suddenly it wasn’t theoretical. We were in. We were on the hook. There was no backup plan.
Marriage and a Startup, at the same time
Fast forward a few months: It’s September 2007. Most newlyweds are figuring out how to merge closets. We were figuring out how to keep the lights on.
Those early days were not glamorous. The “team” was literally me and Kelly. We both remember sitting at the front desk in a completely quiet clinic… just us, a shared dream, and an uncomfortable amount of silence.
I remember thinking: “Did we just make the biggest mistake of our lives?”
We were working 7am–7pm Monday through Friday, and 7:30am–12:30pm on Saturdays. We’d go home exhausted. Then, because we were also newly married, we’d… keep working.
There’s no manual for that, by the way:
When are we talking as husband and wife?
When are we talking as business partners?
Are we debriefing our day or are we in a staff meeting in our kitchen?
We didn’t know business — at all
Let me be super clear about something: when we opened Experience Momentum, neither of us knew what we were doing from a business standpoint. No marketing experience. No finance background. No MBA. No playbook.
We had a vision, stubbornness, and work ethic. That’s it.
And Kelly… my god. Watching her in those years is still one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen.
She did everything: billing, scheduling, early marketing, massage school, building fitness programs, holding space for clients emotionally in a way textbooks don’t teach.
People see the version of Experience Momentum today — three locations, an unbelievable team, an actual structure — and it’s easy to assume it just kind of unfolded. It didn’t. It was willed into existence.
What held us together
Determination helped, sure. But that alone burns people out. What actually held us together was the vision.
We weren’t doing this to “grow a clinic.” We were doing this because we wanted to help people redefine what’s possible for themselves.
That question — “What if you could get more out of your body, your energy, your life than you think is possible right now?” — became the throughline that carried us through the hard parts. And it’s still the throughline today.
Where we are now (and what 2026 is about)
We’ve grown, and our team now is creating experiences for clients that go way beyond “a workout” or “a PT session.” Patients and clients leave feeling like they have been listened to and cared for, not just passed around. We’ve built a work culture built on connection, trust, and a shared vision for the future of healthcare and wellness. And to this day, Experience Momentum has never wavered in its dedication to the planet - donating 1% of our profits to environmental organizations, even in years when we are not profitable. Through all the wins and losses, our team members’ creativity and heart absolutely blow me away.
The core of our original vision hasn’t changed. We still believe:
Health is not just physical. It’s emotional, mental, relational, and environmental.
Community matters. Being seen matters.
Your body is not a problem to fix. It’s your vehicle for your entire life.
You are allowed to want more for yourself.
And somewhere along the way, we built a family — and that changed everything. Kelly says it best: “I’m not training for the Olympics anymore. I’m training for connection.”
That’s what 2026 feels like to me: the long game of connection — in our health, in our relationships, and in the way we show up for our community and our planet.
Listen to Kelly tell the story in her own words on the Redefine What’s Possible Podcast
I just sat down with Kelly for the first time on the Redefine What’s Possible podcast, and I want you to hear her voice on this. In that conversation, she talks about leaving home at 14 to pursue hockey, being told “the game isn’t ready for you,” making the U.S. Olympic Team at 22 and winning bronze in Torino, and what it means to build a life aligned with values over expectations.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re “supposed to” stay on a path that doesn’t fit anymore… you need this episode.
