This was published on our initial website many years ago. I’ve updated some of the facts, but wanted to share the story behind our beginning.
As with any good company or website, there is a good story behind the screens. To give you a chance to get to know us better, here is the story of our Founder and how Cybercise came to be.
Joanne Frederick, Cybercise Founder and CEO
For more than 25 years, I’ve worked as a Consultant in Government healthcare. Sometimes rewarding and sometimes rather tedious, this work gives me an excellent view of the inside of our healthcare system, policy, procedures, administration and management. I’ve had experience with Medicare, Medicaid, the Military and Veteran’s health, prison health, federal and state employees and the list goes on. During most of this time, I’ve been redesigning our healthcare system on whiteboards and napkins because, in my humble opinion, the system has much room for improvement. In fact, if you told me it was a broken system, I wouldn’t disagree with you. Even today, after the implementation of the ACA, the system is still badly, irreversibly broken. Tragic.
I’ve also experienced the system as a grand-daughter, daughter, friend, Mom and patient. To be honest, I’m not sure how people outside of the healthcare system manage to get any care at all. I’ve tackled the maze of Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, referrals and authorizations, improper billing, care coordination and the long-term care maze for my Dad and grandparents. It is difficult, frustrating, and confusing.
So, I’ll fast-forward you through a few more things to explain how Cybercise was born:
I travel for work frequently and it takes a great deal of effort to mind your health while you’re traveling. In my early years, I was not so successful. I ate poorly, didn’t exercise and didn’t pay much attention to my own health.
I’m also the single Mom of Nick, who is now 28. Add raising him, finishing my Bachelor’s degree and building my first company to the travel I was doing? I didn’t pay attention to my health when I wasn’t traveling. I didn’t have the money or the time.
My Dad had his first heart attack when he was 41 (I still remember where I was when I got that call). Gratefully, after many years of close calls he has his heart health under control and is doing well (though Dad, if you’re reading this, you really should exercise more and eat better!).
I was diagnosed with high blood pressure before I was 30. It was a wake-up call, particularly in light of my Dad’s heart issues. I started paying more attention to what I ate and joined a gym. This was great when I wasn’t traveling. At the time, fitness facilities in hotels didn’t exist, were never open or down right scary for a woman traveling alone.
In some hotel, in some city, at some point in 2005, I went online to search for exercise videos. I had been on a long flight and my body was tired and stiff and I thought some stretching would help me. I didn’t find anything. Light bulb! I started working on the idea for Cybercise and started the first generation of the site that delivered animated exercise videos, on demand. The youngest of my three brothers, Stephen, was interning for my consulting company at the time and wanted to help. He got stuck with all of the behind-the-scenes, dirty work that isn’t very glamorous but is so very important. Stephen has since moved on to another career but I couldn’t have done what we did without him.
I attended a weekend class at Tai Sophia Institute called Redefining Health. That weekend class was the impetus behind enrolling in Tai Sophia’s Master of Arts program initially called “Applied Healing Arts” which changed names to “Transformative Leadership and Social Change” before I graduated. The program was a great lesson in overall wellness and finding, and then pursuing, your purpose in life. I graduated in June 2011 with my MA from Tai Sophia. Tai Sophia is now known as the Maryland University for Integrative Health.
I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and graduated as a Health Coach. This program introduced the concept of a bio-individuality and that one way of eating doesn’t work for everyone. Through IIN, I had the benefit of learning from some of the world’s thought leaders on health and nutrition. More light bulbs!
During all of that, I became a certified personal trainer and a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. In 2013, I became a RYT-200 yoga teacher.
And, lastly, from the way back machine… My maternal Grandparents were dairy farmers. My young years were spent romping through the pastures, enjoying dirt covered raw potatoes straight from the ground, tomatoes directly from the vine, and raw milk fifteen minutes from the cow.
All of that, plus a few bumps all mixed together and, voila, a company is born. All of where I’ve been and what I’ve done is wrapped up into Cybercise. Cybercise fuels my mission to help 1 million (or more!) people create a life well lived. I want to make getting healthy and feeling well easy, affordable and accessible. I want to help you avoid the trap and false hope generated by the latest fad diet or exercise gadget. I want to share information and educate you so you learn to trust your true self and make your own best choices about your own health. I want to help you learn to listen to your own body and live in concert with nature. I want to (finally) crush the myth that you have to go to the gym for an hour each day to be fit. I want to help you see there is an affordable way to eat nutritious, wholesome food. I want every little bit to count.
I still struggle with the technology side of the company. To all of those people who create software and run websites, I have a whole, new respect for how hard it is to keep things running smoothly 24/7. I have come really, really close to going back to school for a degree in Information Systems or some such thing. And, I recognize I need to stay focused on my mission and find the right person to see to the bits and bites. In the meantime, if something isn’t working correctly or is frustrating to you please, forgive me and let me know so I can make it better.
To your health and happiness,
