MEMBER FOCUS: Chris Collins
Six years ago, Dr. Chris Collins moved to Chattanooga and ever since, he’s been one of the biggest brand ambassadors for the local community. “My wife and I moved here because we fell in love with the city. And we wanted a place where we felt like we could put down roots — a place that we connected with,” Chris recalls. He and his wife were looking for the same small town charms like that of their home state of Mississippi, but with a more progressive economic environment for their new business. They found that in the Scenic City and opened the Specific Chiropractic in the Northshore.
“When we first started our chiropractic clinic, we wanted to create personalized experiences that were novel and innovative in our approach,” says Chris. “And specific with a holistic healthcare approach designed to meet our clients’ individual needs.”
You recognize those differences the moment you walk into their space. With clean lines, modern furniture, and white-washed brick walls, there’s a clear attention to detail that is also reflected in the personalized and intentional care Chris and his team provide. Beyond addressing chronic back and neck pain, they take a focused and data-supported approach to help clients address other conditions stemming from the nervous system, such as migraines, vertigo, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. According to Chris, “It's sort of a buzzword now, nervous system regulation… and we’ve really focused on the nervous system as it relates to the spine from the beginning.”
When he’s not working with clients in his office, you might find Chris at his favorite coffee shop working on his forthcoming health-focused book or wandering around the Wednesday Main Street Farmers Market with his family. “One of the big things that drew me here was the local support of the community being welcoming and saying, come in,” Chris says. He returns that warmth by intentionally investing time and resources in local businesses.
As an entrepreneur who grew his clinic for the past six years, he knows how challenging and stressful life for small business owners can be. During the height of the pandemic, when things looked especially grim for local restaurants and boutiques, Chris had an idea to start $100 tabs at different places around town and took to social media to encourage folks to go get a vinyl record or sandwich on him. “I feel like it's important for the culture of Chattanooga,” he says. “And that's one reason I thought, if I am going to celebrate what I really love about Chattanooga, I'm going to act in a way that is supportive of the local community.”
Just like the body, when all the parts of a community work together, it can thrive and be a healthier place. That’s why he tries to celebrate local businesses as often as possible by teaming up on marketing campaigns, giveaways, and events. In fact, he hosted a series of events at Common House in 2022 called Love Local where he highlighted other entrepreneurs and business owners in Chattanooga. “Even [Common House] is a place that is really celebrating something unique and great in Chattanooga and especially from a social club standpoint. I mean, a social club celebrating diversity is totally abnormal if you look at the palette of like-things in Chattanooga.”
Chris appreciates the architecture of Common House, the gym where he can work out, and workspaces where he can collaborate with his team. But ultimately, it’s the personal social experiences that keep him coming back. “Something that I think is so overlooked is: as we become more technologically advanced, as we become more connected to our phones, we become really disconnected,” he says. “And I think it's just really human to need social interaction, community, and connectivity.”