Nobody Handed Me a Guide for Getting My Life Back After Pain.
So I went to learn to build one, and now I hand it to my clients.
Why Rest and Avoidance Don't Fix Chronic Pain
Healthcare gets you from injured to cleared. Fitness assumes you're already capable. Neither one is built for the space in between.
✕ What you've been handed
- ✕ "That's bad for your knees, stop it." Drop the activity, and never build the capacity it was asking for.
- ✕ Homework and a two-week follow-up, with nobody there for the sleep, the stress, or the load that built up in the first place.
- ✕ A finish line set at "back to normal," when normal was never the ceiling you actually wanted.
✓ What I build instead
- ✓ A rating before a plan: we assess what your body can carry rather than guessing at it.
- ✓ Capacity built against the load your life actually asks for, including the small levers that move everything: sleep, food, training, water, stress, mindset.
- ✓ A framework you learn to run yourself, so a future setback never shrinks your life again.
My Story: From Knee Pain Back to the Board
"I'm not pain-free. I don't think anyone honest is. But now, when something flares up, I know why. And I know exactly what's within my control to hurt less, so I can keep doing the things I enjoy."
Ten years ago, I was standing at the bottom of a stairwell, carrying my kid, calculating whether my knee would hold for three flights or if I should take the lift. It wasn't the first flare-up. I'd been active for years, swimming, wakeboarding, CrossFit. But it was the moment I realised how small my life had gotten, one "I'll sit this one out" at a time.
For years, the answer from healthcare was always the same: rest, modify, avoid. It worked, for a while. What I didn't see yet was that I'd been outsourcing my body to whoever I saw last: a therapist, a device, a treatment. And nobody ever handed me a guide for what came next.
I was frustrated, but I believed there had to be a better way. So I learned it myself, piece by piece: sleep, food, training, water, stress, mindset. It wasn't a straight line, half the work was learning what my own body needed, the other half was fitting it into a life that was already busy. The activity was never the problem. It was me finally taking responsibility for building the capacity my active lifestyle actually demanded.
Taking on the education and mentorship to become an Active Life Professional was the turning point, the moment I could take what I'd learned and hand it to the people who needed it. That's what Project RE is: a guide that gets you from pain to play, on your terms. Designed around the active things you actually want to do, with the people who matter most.
Who Is Derrick Loy? Certified Active Life Professional
- Certified Active Life Professional (AL-P), trained to work in the gap between healthcare and fitness
- 4 years coaching people to reclaim their active lives
- 20 years in various roles across MNCs before this, so I know exactly what a demanding job actually asks of you
- Girl dad of 2, so I know exactly what a busy parent's day looks like too
- Oldest client so far: 77 years old
- The one activity I'll never give up: going sideways on a board, snow, wake, or surf
- My perfect morning: movement, coffee, pancakes (extra points if the kids made them)
Our Approach to Pain, Strength and Recovery
Assess, Don't Guess
A Rating Before a Plan
You wouldn't drive a truck across a bridge nobody has rated. I don't hand out plans built on assumptions. We find out what your body can actually carry first.
Capacity Over Avoidance
The Activity Was Never the Problem
Dropping what you love is the cheapest answer to pain, and the most expensive one to live with. First we work with what keeps you moving, so you don't have to stop participating. Then we build what the activity demands, plus a buffer, so a heavier day doesn't tip you over.
Proof Over Promises
Honest About the Finish Line
Pain-free isn't the finish line. The win is knowing why something flared and exactly what to build back, and having the capacity and confidence to get back to the active things you want, so you live more and worry less about the hurt.
Ready to Rebuild Trust in Your Body?
Let's design your clear roadmap back to fearlessly doing the active things you love.
Book Your Free Clarity Call