Hidden Gems: Meet Gary Keith of Everything Medical

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Keith.

Hi Gary, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a town called Ormskirk in the UK. I left school at 15 and a half. During school, I had a paper route, and after leaving, my first job was picking Brussels sprouts for a local farmer. He paid me very little but allowed me to collect unemployment benefits to make ends meet.

Over the next few years, I worked various laborer jobs in the building trade. I didn’t have a car, so I’d get up very early to hitchhike to and from work. Eventually, I became a hod carrier, working alongside bricklayers across England—often sleeping in the back of a van or in an old caravan parked on the job site.

At one point, my estranged father offered some financial help, and I used the money to attend a trade school in London to become a crane operator. Not long after, I was operating cranes in Liverpool at a young age.

In 1991, I moved to the United States with my friend Warren. However, the U.S. wasn’t for him, and he returned home after a few years. I stayed and took on all kinds of jobs—valet parking, roofing labor, hauling buckets of hot tar up ladders in the Palm Springs summer heat. I also did courier work, delivering documents for escrow companies.

Later, I operated a yard crane in Desert Hot Springs, loading trailers with concrete forms used to build massive warehouses. After a seasonal layoff, I began delivering oxygen and setting up hospital beds and medical equipment for several companies in the Palm Springs and Palm Desert area.

In 1996, I moved to Los Angeles. My first job there was with Pico Medical. A few years later, I was hired by a mobility equipment manufacturer and became their sales representative for Los Angeles, traveling across California and into Las Vegas. I quickly discovered that sales came naturally to me—it never felt like work, just like spending time with friends. Despite having little formal education or prior experience, I thrived and eventually became the West Coast Sales Manager for our product line.

In 2002, I opened my own store. My first office was across the street from MacArthur Park in downtown LA, and rent was only $200 per month. By 2005, I had expanded to occupy the entire third floor of the building as the company grew rapidly. In 2006, we moved to a retail space in Pasadena, but soon outgrew it and opened another office within St. Vincent’s Hospital. From there, I provided medical equipment for patients being discharged—lots of walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, and commodes.

After a few years, I made the decision to stop working with Medicare and Medi-Cal. The constant paperwork and audits were overwhelming, so I deactivated my enrollment. I shifted focus to the workers’ compensation side of the business, which took off quickly. I built strong relationships throughout the industry, regularly traveling to do in-services and training. Many of those contacts remain friends to this day.

As the business continued to grow, we moved into a larger warehouse in Alhambra and expanded the team to five employees. It was a time of major transition, but also incredible progress.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a business has come with countless obstacles and challenges. I had no formal education, no college degree — all I had was the will to survive and the determination to keep the business moving forward. Along the way I’ve faced employee theft, the impact of COVID, and even a major surgery that forced me to step away for several years. I’ve dealt with mutiny, legal battles, the loss of contracts, competition with Amazon, the constant need for more space, and difficult customers.

On top of all this, I’ve helped raise two kids as a single dad. Without the money to invest in advertising,or a family to bail me out The business has grown entirely through word of mouth, recommendations, and sheer hard work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.evmedus.com
• Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/everythingmedical
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everythingmedical
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/everything-medical-alhambra?osq=Everything+Medical