By Sara Curtis

CA Magazine

It’s true what they say: no pain, no gain. Just ask Toronto CA Jonathan Ruben. After suffering a back injury in 1990, he began working with physical therapists, fitness professionals and an orthopedic surgeon to build his strength. 

So where’s the gain? “It really taught me the importance of a whole lifestyle approach to wellness — strength training, eating well and relaxation,” says Ruben, 37. The experience made him such a passionate advocate of this lifestyle that in January, he opened Shape, a 3,500-sq.-ft. health and wellness centre in Toronto.

A one-stop shop for overworked, underpampered Hogtown professionals, Shape offers clients everything from yoga and personal training, to chiropractic and massage therapy, to naturopathic medicine, nutritional counseling — and even botox injections. “It’s an integrated, holistic approach to wellness,” says Ruben, who founded Shape with his cousin Sender Deutsch, a chiropractor and sports therapist.

Deutsch oversees the general operations and the 25 healthcare professionals on staff, while Ruben handles the marketing and promotions — including the gala opening, which attracted 500 people and raised close to $5,000 for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, and the daily ads running on a huge video billboard at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. 

Not that he’s given up his day job; Ruben maintains his practice, which specializes in small   business, R&D tax credits and corporate finance. His offices are upstairs in the same building, which is ideal as it’s easier to check in on his fledgling business and he’s just two floors away from a yoga class, massage or personal training session. “It’s wonderful from a quality of life perspective,” he says. And it’s a bonus for his clients, too. “After we have a meeting, I tell them to forget about their tax worries and go downstairs for a massage.”