Jonathan Filipe, a physical therapist and athletic trainer, was working in concierge medicine for a health and research institute when the idea for a new type of business came to him.
It was late-2024, and Filipe—a Fairfield resident and graduate of New York Medical College’s physical therapy school, where he earned a doctorate degree—had already started transitioning out of working in professional sports, including managing the sports medicine staff for the United States Olympic Committee, Brooklyn Nets as head athletic trainer and physical therapist and New York City Football Club.
“My goal was to try to bring that model and high-level quality care to Connecticut, but also bring that really high-level quality care that you see in professional sports that’s not out there for the general public,” Filipe said. “I wanted to deliver that at a really high level, both from a clinical acumen standpoint, like being able to solve really hard problems, but also being able to deliver on the hospitality front and quality of care side.”
Together with his wife—physical therapist Amanda Paquin, a former competitive high-level dancer who specializes in pelvic floor and women’s health and holds a doctorate degree in physical therapy from Sacred Heart University—opened Calibrate Physical Therapy and Fitness.
Located at 98 Park St., the company offers personalized sports rehabilitation, performance training, concussion management and pain management through a science-driven, one-on-one approach.
“It’s been really exciting,” Filipe said Wednesday afternoon from inside Calibrate, a bright commercial space near CVS and The Life Aquatic aquarium store. “We have ramped up really quickly. I feel like New Canaan has found the value in what we do. I do sports orthopedic care, primarily, complex problems—but anything, essentially, from elite athletes, I have professional athletes, to youth athletes, and then the general population, as well. My wife is a pelvic floor women’s health specialist, and does a lot of dance rehabilitation. We’ve stepped into both of those communities.”
Asked why they chose New Canaan, Filipe said, “New Canaan seemed like a really cool community—extremely driven, hardworking detail-oriented population in general.”
He continued: “Very fitness-forward and active. I spent some time in New Canaan in the past, partially working a little bit—one of the previous practices that I worked for actually has a location here, and they also have a location in Greenwich and Fairfield—so I kind of know the area as a whole. We love the idea of a small, close-knit community. My whole model is being able to deliver high-quality, boutique-level care. I want to be able to deliver that kind of feel, and I just felt like it was a really good match with New Canaan.”
The business is “building up quickly,” Filipe said, as Calibrate has “been able to find a small little community here that’s found the value in what we do.”
“And honestly, we’ve enjoyed working with every single patient that we’ve had so far,” he saId. “It’s been really nice.”
Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said the organization is “so pleased that Jon and his wife chose this town to open Calibrate.”
“Jon’s experience offers a terrific opportunity for New Canaanites seeking physical therapy and the accessible in-town location will make the practice attractive to patients from out of town, as well. We wish them well and look forward to working with them,” Budd said.
Filipe said his vision for Calibrate is threefold, he said: to create a “precision prevention model” within the wider category of preventative care that focuses on health and wellness through an entire lifespan, to focus on a high level of hospitality and service for clients, and to use high-level technology such as force plates and dynamometry 3D motion capture.
“As we scale—and our goal is to have multiple smaller, boutique locations—is to not lose the clinical acumen and to make sure that we’re still providing high-level care,” he said. “We never divert to just hiring a bunch of young people to cut costs. My goal, if I’m hiring young people, is to have a really solid mentorship process and understand our system, to be able to deliver that high-quality care. That’ll never be sacrificed.”