Exploring Life & Business with Dr Trent Nessler of The Athlete Lab

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr Trent Nessler

Dr Trent, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a passionate sports physical therapist with over 25 years of experience working with athletes at all levels, from high school to professional. I have had the privilege of working with athletes both in the USA and around the world.

Early in my career, I became frustrated with the current protocols for treating ACL injuries and the lack of effective approaches to reducing ACL risk. This frustration drove me to pursue a doctorate in biomechanics and motor learning. From that moment on, I have been on a mission to make a profound impact on ACL injury rates.

In 2017, I partnered with a wearable sensor company, DorsaVi, to release the ViMove+ AMI, a groundbreaking sports biomechanical assessment tool. This tool allows us to identify movement patterns that put athletes at risk for ACL injury and which impact athletic performance. Since its release, the ViMove+ AMI has been used to assess athletes in five countries.

Today, this innovative technology is being utilized by sports medicine professionals and professional teams to assess athletes for risk and enhance their athletic performance. I am proud to be at the forefront of this movement to revolutionize the way we approach ACL injuries in sports.

The power of data in human movement is undeniable, and when applied to tactical athletes, the results are nothing short of revolutionary. In 2020, I took the leap and began using the ViMove+ AMI to gather mass data on tactical athletes, and the impact was astounding. By utilizing this data to tailor exercise programs for this unique population, we were able to significantly reduce injury rates and enhance performance like never before.

This breakthrough led me to publish my book, “How To Build A Badass Firefighter”, a testament to the incredible results we were achieving. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, I was determined to bring this same level of success to the BJJ athlete community. My passion for ACL Rehabilitation and prevention and for BJJ/MMA athletes drove me to establish The Athlete Lab in Franklin, TN. The Athlete Lab is a cutting-edge facility dedicated to treating sports-related injuries and specializing in ACL prevention, rehab, return to sport testing, and the specific needs of MMA/BJJ athletes.

At The Athlete Lab, we are not just treating injuries – we are transforming athletes, empowering them to reach their full potential and conquer any challenge that comes their way. We offer athletes to join us on this journey to greatness, where passion meets performance, and the impossible becomes possible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Any journey of this nature comes with challenges. Some which, at the time, may seem insurmountable, but with persistance, perserverance and faith, I was able to overcome. When trying to develop a way for others to do what I was doing on a large scale and efficiently, I knew I had to integrate some form of technology. This lead to over a decade of working with various forms of 2D and 3D technology. Multiple failures and multiple times requiring to regroup and go a completely different direction.

Along the way and through a less than desirable business partnership, I ended up losing everything. My life savings, my intellectual property and my job. This was one of my lowest points and where I contemplated giving it all up. But, through the Grace of God and support of my family, I was able to overcome and launch a technology that is revolutionizing the way we assess athletes. The ViMove+ AMI has impacted athletes across the globe and adding to body of sports scientific knowledge and understanding the impact on biomechanics has on injury rates and athletic performance. The failures I encountered where a pivotal part of the product and methodology we created. Without the failure, the product today would not be as good as it is without that experience.

Bringing the vision and mission of The Athlete Lab to reality also came with numerous struggles and which often made me wonder if it was just not meant to be. Through faith, support of my wonderful wife and family and an amazing business network, I was able to launch The Athlete Lab in June 2024. Today, we are serving athletes of Middle TN and raising the bar of what athletes should expect by their sports medicine providers.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Athlete Lab is a sports physical therapy concierge provider. We pride ourselves on taking a comprehensive holistic approach to athletic care and bringing pro level sports medicine services to athletes at all levels. At The Athlete Lab, we treat all athletes but specialize in ACL rehab, ACL injury prevention, ACL return to sport testing and treatment of the MMA/BJJ athlete. What sets us apart from other providers:

* Clinical experience – we have over 25 years of sports medicine experience at all levels of sports from high school to collegiate to professional athletes as well as international experience in working with elite military groups and professional sports.
*Specialize in ACL – we have been an innovator in injury prevention and rehabilitation space and developing technologies and assessments for almost 20 years. Our programs and technology is used world wide to mitigate risk for injuries and has aided in developing the world’s largest data base of objective human movement data.
* Holistic approach to sports injury recovery – the only clinic in Middle Tennessee that combines comprehensive recovery and nutrition as a part of your rehabilitation program.
* Pro-level services for athletes at all levels – at The Athlete Lab we are bringing the same level of technology typically only available to the professional athlete. This includes class IV laser, shockwave, red light therapy bed, BFR training, neurocognitive training and neufit.
* Specialize in ACL return to sport testing – the ViMove+ AMI is the gold standard for return to sport testing, as co-founder of the ViMove+ AMI, we set the standards for safe return to sport
* Specialize in MMA/BJJ athletes – one of the only PTs in middle TN with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This provides an experienced clinical and sport perspective that means better outcome and quicker return to sport.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe luck has played a role. I believe when you follow your calling that God has put you on, He will open doors and He will close doors. When life throws you challenges, keeping the faith, working hard, being persistent and stick to your morals you will overcome. The difference between success and failure is the never giving up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theathletelab.org
• Instagram: BJJPT_ACL_Guy
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentnessler/
• Twitter: ACL_prevention
• Youtube: @DrTrentNessler