Life & Work with Dr. Gabriela Carlos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Gabriela Carlos.

Dr. Carlos, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is full of adversity that leads to great opportunities and I am happy to share it to possibly inspire anyone whom also has experienced challenges early on in their life. I am originally from Downey, CA. I am first generation in the US after both of my parents migrated here from Mexico. My father was a successful restaurateur who established his business in the early 80’s. He was very charismatic and driven. My mother was a stay at home mom and a singer, I have two older twin brothers and a younger sister.

From the stories I have been told, my mother and father met one night at a club and after a long night of partying conceived my twin brothers. I was told my mother showed up to my father’s restaurant one day with weeks old twin baby boys and said to him “these are your kids”. My dad assumed responsibility and maintained a relationship with her and then I was conceived. Unfortunately, their marriage was full of passion and love but ended tumultuously which lead to them having to share custody of me and my siblings. It wasn’t long until my mother started singing at night clubs and she got involved with drugs and alcohol. She would be gone for days at a time and my brothers and I would take care of ourselves. I knew early on this was not right and I always wanted to live with my father. My mother became pregnant with my younger sister by a man whom some may have speculated was a drug dealer. He wasn’t around much after my sister was born and my mother’s bad habits and addictions grew stronger. This took a toll more and more and all of us but especially on my brother Jose who would stay home from school to watch our baby sister. The elementary school we were attending got wind of this and reported this matter to the authorities which lead to my father having to take custody of all four of us including his nonbiological daughter.

My sister only stayed with us for less then a year and moved in with my mother’s sister, who would raise her until she was 15 years of age. So upon my father taking custody of us we moved to Downey, CA and had an amazing three years of life. We had neighborhood friends, an amazing stepmom that in that short time took excellent care of us. We came home to home-cooked meals and a clean home and played games. That all came to a hault one day in December. I remember that day clearly, I had walked home from middle school and somehow, my brothers and I arrived home at the same exact time. There was no one home and we found a note that our dad was in the hospital and someone would be picking us up shortly. Who knew my life would drastically change from this day on. My father had been shot and died seven days after. I do not know exactly who killed my father or why til this day. My mother had not been part of our lives since our dad took custody of us and her life had deteriorated even more. She was full into drugs and even partook in prostitution. I remember the day our dad layed in a funeral home and I was sitting in the chapel with my cousin while family viewed his body. I heard this loud emphatic woman’s voice and I looked and it was my mother. I immediately felt humiliated and unsure of what was to happen. My family assumed finding her in her demise would be the best option since we had lost our dad and there was no one to care for us. My family saw my stepmother as an opportunist and didn’t want her living in our home and taking care of us any further. To be honest, I agree she was young, didn’t drive, speak yEnglish or work. She was not in any position to care for us. So our mother was handed over three kids, money she accessed from my father’s bank account and the keys to the restaurants.

As you can imagine, she was not in any position to care of us or run any business. She was a druggy and prostitute. Within weeks of having moved into our father’s home, she had different men coming to my father’s home, sleeping in his bedroom and driving his vehicles. I remember feeling so angry and lost. I didn’t think I could live with her and her awful ways so I called my aunts on my father’s side and they decided it would be best for me to move to Merced, CA and live my father’s oldest sister. This transition was by far one of the hardest things I ever had to do. They lived completely different lives. I was not raised with the same values and customs she was raising her kids. The life that I new was no longer and I was away from my brothers. Although this time of my life was very difficult and hard to adjust too I am grateful for them because as a result of this difficulty I wanted to become independent as soon as possible I’m not burden anyone any longer. I did everything in my power to get involved in extracurricular activities to stay busy. I joined color guard and later a program at my high school that educated me on secretarial work. As part of our curriculum, I was placed as an internship at a chiropractic office across the street from my high school and that is where my life changed for the best. I was soon hired at that office after my Junior year and worked there all summer. I learned everything I needed to run that office from scheduling, billing and customer service.

As a result, I fell in love with the profession and decided I, too would pursue a career in chiropractic. I graduated high school in 96 and attended Merced Junior College for two years. I then realized my dream about moving back to Los Angeles in 1999 to pursue my education in the chiropractic. I got a job right away in the field and continued to work with some of the best and worst chiropractors. I became licensed as a chiropractor in 2006 opened my own practice in 2008. On Sep. 2nd, 2021 I celebrated a milestone of having been in practice for 15 years. I have had the privilege of working with A list celebrities to royal families from Saudi Arabia and England. I am also the concierge chiropractor for all the high-end hotels, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Peninsula and the Four Seasons. I have built repoire with the most high-end doctors such as Dr. Ram chief of cardiology at Cedars to Pain Management and orthopedic doctors. I am one of the best chiropractors who serves the west Hollywood and Beverly Hills community. I learned to heal in healing others. This is the story of an LA girl.

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?
Absolutely not. It has been a continuous uphill battle. Overcoming my childhood adversity to graduating chiropractic school, passing my board exams, building a solid patient base, opening my own practice and maintaining a sustainable business through referrals and continuously networking.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Although what sets me apart from other chiropractors is that I am honest. I do thorough evaluations which include referring my patients out for X-rays. I am very detailed with my examinations, findings and my treatment protocol which integrates physiotherapy modalities. I am not a business. I am a chiropractor who knows the scope of my practice and does not take advantage of any vulnerable clients. If my patients do not respond within 3-6 visits then we re-evaluate and determine what course of needed from referring to physical therapist, acupuncturist, pain management doctors and orthopedist. I am open and willing to do what is best for my patient’s interests and as a result, I get compensated.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People need to understand that need for self-care. We are raised and educated on personal hygiene (shower, brush your teeth wear clean clothes), but what is also important is diet, mental and physical health.

Pricing:

• Initial Consultation $175
• Chiropractic with physiotherapy $85
• One Hour massage $95

Contact Info:

• Email: carloschiropracticcare@gmail.com
• Website: www.CarlosChiropracticCare.com
• Instagram: @drgcarlos
• Facebook: @Carloschiropracticcare
• Twitter: @drgcarlos
• Youtube: @drgcarlos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carlos-chiropractic-care-west-hollywood