Check Out Dr. Jeffrey Su, DPT, MS’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jeffrey Su, DPT, MS.

Hi Dr. Jeffrey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From an early age, education was instilled in me as the key to success and a fulfilling life. Throughout K–12, I was constantly reminded that good grades would lead to a good college and, ultimately, a good career. After years of hard work, I was accepted into the University of California, Irvine (UCI), majoring in computer engineering.

However, I soon realized that the field didn’t align with my interests or motivations. Despite my parents’ strong encouragement to stay the course, I struggled to stay engaged and manage my time living away from home for the first time. My grades suffered, and after two challenging years, I was forced into a different major just to finish my degree. By the time I graduated, I wasn’t mentally in a place to have fully benefited from my education. I even remember saying, “My GPA won’t matter — I’m not planning on going to grad school anyway.” (So much for that!)

After graduating in 2005, I found it difficult to secure a well-paying job that truly interested me. I bounced around from banking to logistics management to teaching before finding some growth at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in their management training program. It was the first company that invested heavily in training us to manage every aspect of the business. The work was demanding — long hours, high expectations, and constant turnover — but I learned a great deal about business and leadership.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted more meaning in my work. If I was going to spend a third of my life working, I wanted to do something I genuinely cared about.

During my final year at Enterprise, I began coaching snowboarding at Bear Mountain Resort — which was a sport I had always loved. Within a few weeks, I realized that if I didn’t pursue a career in movement science or physical therapy, I’d regret it. That’s when I made the decision to leave Enterprise and follow my passion.

My first introduction to physical therapy had been years earlier, after dislocating my shoulder while snowboarding. My physical therapist not only helped me recover but also inspired me with her compassion and expertise. That experience stuck with me — and now, it felt like the right time to act on it.

I quit Enterprise, took on part-time work, and spent the next three years completing my prerequisites for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. Unfortunately, my low undergraduate GPA — weighed down by my early engineering years — kept me from being accepted on my first try. I was devastated; after years of preparation, it felt like everything had fallen apart.

Determined not to give up, I applied to a Master’s program in Exercise Science at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) in 2012. They considered only my last 60 units, which reflected my true academic potential. Immersed in human movement and physiology, I flourished both academically and personally.

Still, I continued receiving rejection letters from DPT programs due to my earlier GPA. During that time, I had met Dr. Deborah Lowe, the director of the DPT program at Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU). She took the time to hear my story and understand my journey. I stayed in touch with her throughout my master’s program, and one day — just a week after I had successfully defended my master’s thesis — she called to tell me a spot had opened up in the DPT program. I was overjoyed and immediately accepted, forever grateful to Dr. Lowe for believing that people can grow and change.

From day one at MSMU, I was determined to prove her right. I reviewed anatomy flashcards on my commutes home, stayed late studying, and gave everything I had. All the hard work paid off when I earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2017!

Once I entered the workforce, I quickly realized that the healthcare system has serious flaws. While there was no shortage of jobs, the quality of patient care was often compromised by declining insurance reimbursements and rising productivity demands. Burnout was common, and I knew I wanted a different path — one that prioritized patients over profit.

That’s when I decided to open my own studio. I wanted to deliver care that reflected my education, skill set, and passion for movement science — not delegate key components of rehab to aides with limited kinesiology backgrounds. Building a reputation took time and perseverance, but my commitment to quality, efficiency, and genuine care has allowed me to help people move pain-free and return to the activities they love.

Today, I’m proud to have built a practice rooted in the principles that first drew me to this field: movement, performance, and helping others live active, fulfilling lives.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road. Back in college, I never imagined I’d end up going to grad school — honestly, I didn’t even have it on my radar. Because of that, my GPA took a hit, and after graduating from UCI, I bounced around from job to job trying to figure out what I really wanted to do.

Eventually, I landed at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, where I spent about three years in business management. It was a crash course in leadership, customer service, and hard work — but deep down, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted something more meaningful.

That’s when I decided to make a change and pursue physical therapy. I left Enterprise, started working part-time across three different teaching jobs, and began taking the prerequisite classes I needed for PT school. What I didn’t realize was how much my old GPA would hold me back — I ended up getting rejected by more than ten programs that year.

One advisor suggested I go get a master’s degree first to prove I could handle graduate-level work. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I took the advice. I got into the Master’s in Exercise Science and Performance program at Cal State LA, and it completely reignited my love for learning. After two tough years, I finished the program — but even then, I was still getting waitlisted by every DPT program I applied to.

Then one day, right after I defended my master’s thesis, I got a voicemail from the director at Mount Saint Mary’s University saying a spot had opened up in their DPT program. I couldn’t believe it. I called back immediately, almost in tears. That moment changed everything — the rest was history.

In total, my schooling took about eight years: three years of prerequisites, two years in the master’s program, and three years in the doctorate program. The toughest part wasn’t just the academics — it was the emotional grind. I was switching careers while most of my friends were already settled, buying homes, and moving up in their careers. There were definitely moments where I questioned if it was all worth it, especially when very few people believed I could actually pull it off.

After finally becoming a physical therapist, I loved the work but started noticing how broken the healthcare system was. There were plenty of jobs, but not many that allowed me to treat people the way I felt they deserved — with time, movement, and true attention to their needs.

When COVID hit, I decided to take a leap and start my own private practice. It was terrifying. I had no idea where to start, and honestly, I was probably my own worst boss in those early days. I made a ton of mistakes, but I kept learning and adapting. Over time, I figured out how to grow the business while staying true to my vision — helping people move better, feel stronger, and get back to doing the things they love.

It’s been a long road, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every setback taught me something, and every pivot brought me closer to doing work that actually matters to me.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work with active individuals — from athletes and weekend warriors to youth, collegiate competitors, and even active older adults — to help them move pain-free and get back to doing the activities they love. I also have been working with student athletes as a member of the CSULA Sports Medicine Team focusing on injury prevention, rehabilitation and return to sport. My goal is to help people live their best, show them to trust their own bodies through movement, education, and performance-based rehabilitation.

Over the years, I’ve studied and practiced a wide range of movement disciplines — from coaching snowboarding (earning my AASI Level 2 certification) to Pilates, Movement Links certified specialist, strength and conditioning, and nutrition coaching. These experiences have given me a unique perspective on how the body moves and adapts. By looking at movement through multiple lenses, I’m able to pinpoint the root cause of an issue — not just the symptoms — whether it’s happening at the micro level of a single joint or the macro level of the entire body.

I view the body as one connected system where muscles, joints, and ligaments work together in harmony to help us move efficiently and “float” well against gravity. I love diving deep into the why behind movement limitations so I can guide people through healing and back into high-level performance.

At the end of the day, I believe rehabilitation is simply training with the right modifications — it’s about building the body back up to move and perform at its best. I believe treating people with this approach is a blend between movement, art, and science.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I took a huge leap of faith leaving a stable corporate career to chase my passion for physical therapy — without realizing how tough it would be to get in. Most programs required at least a 3.0 GPA, and mine was a 2.0 after nearly 200 undergrad units. Even after earning a 3.6 in my prerequisites, my cumulative GPA only reached 2.4. A lot of people didn’t think I had a shot, and honestly, there were times I wasn’t sure either.

But I didn’t give myself a plan B. I knew that if I lived past 65, I’d regret not giving it everything I had to pursue something I truly believed in. Watching my peers move ahead in their careers while I started over was tough, but that challenge fueled me. Every setback became part of the story — one that taught me perseverance, purpose, and what it really means to bet on yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.masperformancephysio.com
• Instagram: m.a.s.performance.physio
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mas-performance-physio-alhambra-2?uid=j2uu9GnxseN75HdLTpSdZw&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)