Meet Jacky Thai | Injury Prevention, Recovery, & Performance Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacky Thai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacky, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am from Houston, Texas – born & raised. I was brought up in a traditional Chinese / Vietnamese, specifically a Diojiu (Teochew), household where going to school, studying hard to get good grades, and obtaining a job afterwards was a must. “Be a doctor, pharmacist, engineer, or dentist,” my parents would say as I went through grade school. Despite countless discussions, I went for none of the above, and still managed to find myself in healthcare. My upbringing provided me with structure to teach me the values of grit, resilience, and tenacity through trials and tribulations. I am who I am today because of my life experiences and the lessons I learned through crossing paths with mentors, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances.

How do you balance work and life? What do you want the world to know about you or your company?
To start, I worked as a PTA in various settings for 6+ years: workers’ compensation, pediatrics, acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility, and outpatient orthopedics. My professional journey had its challenges from not knowing what setting I wanted to work in to early career / COVID burnout. However, I was able to overcome these obstacles with work-life balance strategies. Investing in self-care, and spending quality time with loved ones were cornerstones in my journey toward living to work, instead of working to live.

From these experiences and mentorships, I adapted what I’ve learned to recreate Resilient Recovery to help individuals overcome obstacles through reframing the mindset on being proactive about our health, and instill preventative care practices into our lifestyles. Through Resilient, I provide artist-athletes and the general population with the education, coaching, and recovery needed for their health and wellness.

I want the world to know that we are all in this together — shout out High School Musical. Enjoy and cherish the present moment because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Lift each other up. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do, but have been on the fence about, take that first step in front of you toward it!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The foodie scene has grown so much in the last 5 years alone, but here’s a handful of spots I’ve tried spanning from childhood to present day.

Food / Dessert:
** Chinatown **
– Hotline Burger
– Mein
– Hokkaido
– Hui Lau Shan
– Handam KBBQ
– Happy Lamb Hot Pot
– Mensho

** Chinatown – Alief **
– Garosu KBBQ
– Hem Kitchen and Bar

** Stafford / Missouri City **
– Agas

** In-Town **
– Yo Yo’s Hot Dogs
– Kin Dee
– Asia Market Thai Lao Food
– Blood Bros BBQ
– Paulie’s
– Traveler’s Table
– Champ Burger
– Stanton City Bites
– Second Slice Sandwich
– GoJui Acai & Smoothie Bar
– Dripped Birria
– Teotihuacan Mexican Cafe

Coffee:
– Slow Drip TX
– Fellowship Coffee Company (Missouri City)
– Eden Coffee Co.
– Maven

Scenery:
– Post Houston
– HPD Memorial
– Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. (skyline view across the street)
– Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
– Eleanor Tinsley Park
– Fluor Central
– Discovery Green

Activities:
– Meow Wolf Houston
– ARTECHHOUSE
– SoReal Dance Studio
– Soundbox Dance Studio
– Activate Games (Katy, TX)
– Cidercade

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, shout outs to my parents for raising me while working every single day at a small gift shop in Chinatown to put food on the table.

~ To my friends, both near and far, thank you for your support and encouragement to keep striving toward my goals in life.

~ Resilient Recovery would not have been revamped if it wasn’t for artist-athlete and director of Family Ties, Marc Mangahis, bringing me out to watch Red Bull Dance Your Style – Houston Qualifiers, and then going to B-Girl City’s 9th Anniversary Jam to support my friend, B-Girl Mar, afterwards in February of this year. Because of these two events, I came out of dance retirement, renewed my passion for the foundations of Hip Hop, and became dance-adjacent.

~ Thank you to B-Girl City, Hip Hop Vintage Flea Market, Break City Battle League, Know Breaks, Break Free, FitBreak, SoReal Dance Studio, Winners Circle, B-Boy City and Evenground Dance Studio for assisting with spreading awareness on the importance of self-care for injury prevention and recovery along this venture.

~ Shout outs to my West Coast people: Rob Tsai, Mike Caringal, and Dean Sosa for making time to discuss my inquiries.

~ Thank you Daisy Su for the drive to build a Texas network of dance specialists.

Last but not least, Resilient Recovery would not be in its current state without support from the Jhene Aiko of Physical Therapy, Sophia Nguyen, and guidance from my mentors at Offset Med (Aaron Ngor, Scott Lee, and TJ Lee). I am forever grateful for you all. Much love!

Instagram: @resilientrecovery.htx

Image Credits
Sean and Carissa Archibong
IG: @thecsvisuals

Alan Castelan
IG: @alancstudio