A Global Trail for Flagstaff Business Startups

Flagstaff attracts tourists from all over the world – and also businesspeople who have often traveled widely before setting up shop here. Folks like Alex Tan: A native-born Australian with a Chinese father, Tan was working in Sydney as a site engineer in high-rise construction when growing interest in Eastern approaches to health took him back to university. His four-year degree in Chinese Medicine in Australia concluded with a six-week internship in a Chinese hospital. Six weeks turned into 10 years as Tan stayed in Beijing, continuing his medical studies. It was there he met his now wife, who happened to be from Doney Park. He confesses to some culture shock when his family (then three, now four kids) resettled in Flagstaff, close to his wife’s parents. Tan then spent another 18 months studying to become a U.S.-licensed acupuncturist.

Now established in his own clinic, Straight Bamboo (just off east Route 66), Tan feels his bi-cultural heritage helps him bridge the East-West medicinal divide. And while there are currently 21 active licensed acupuncturists in Flagstaff, only two are male, so ex-engineer Tan feels that he can relate to both women and men who might initially be skeptical about the value of Chinese medicine as part of a balanced approach to prevention and treatment of disease. He treats a lot of degenerative and joint pain of the lower back, neck and knee, as well as anxiety and stress. And for patients with needle fear or sensitivity, he offers fine Japanese-style pins, along with herbal medicines, as an alternative therapy (straightbamboo.com/home/).

 

Meditation teacher Anna Jacobs traveled another long path en route to Flagstaff. Graduating from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts degree in film in 2002, followed by an assistantship at Harvard Business School, Jacobs taught English in Moscow, then lived in Homer, Alaska, where she came across Vedic Meditation in 2012. She completed Vedic Meditation teacher training in Rishikesh, India in 2019 with her teacher, Maharishi Vyasanand Saraswati, a.k.a., Thom Knoles, who himself is another global traveler with a Flagstaff home base. In fall 2020, Knoles invited Jacobs to move to Flagstaff to set up classes and continue to study with him.

She says that Meditation by Anna (meditationbyanna.com/) is part of a collective, physically-based practice in Flagstaff, but with a global reach. Its purpose is to awaken the full human potential using the twice-daily practice of an easy and effortless mental technique to relieve physical and mental stress, raise happiness, creativity and productivity in both individuals and the community. Last fall, in the midst of the global pandemic wasn’t the easiest time to arrive in town. But Jacobs found help from We Mean Business, the local organization of women entrepreneurs. Now, with an office and practice space in NACET’s Moonshot building near Buffalo Park, Jacobs holds regular free meditation group meetings and welcomes new meditators for an introductory session. Born in Mexico City, Jacobs offers meditation lessons in both English and Spanish.

 

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Arrow Grey set the Guinness World Record for a hula hoop marathon at 74 hours and 54 minutes in 2009. Shortly afterward, he quit his job in the restaurant trade to follow his dream to travel. But only 120 miles into his first long-distance hike, his knees became so inflamed he had to stop. Then, by chance, a friend bought him a ticket to travel to Sedona where, upon arrival, he embarked on a raw vegan liquid diet. Fifty-seven days later, the inflammation was gone, he had lost 30 pounds and was committed to starting a new career as a healing foods chef.

After a spell in India, Grey returned to the U.S. and worked at a range of vegan restaurants – from fine dining to health resorts, which is when he started to develop recipes of his own. By 2019, he was back in Sedona working at ChocolaTree, but then lost his job when the pandemic hit. Seizing the opportunity, Grey used his stimulus check to start Dream Foods (dreamcheeze.com/) a little more than a year ago, launching his own line of dairy-free cheeses, gluten-free breads and crackers. Based in Camp Verde and a regular presence at the Flagstaff Sunday Farmers Market, Grey’s products are also available at Flagstaff CSA and Java Juice, as well as on his website.

What’s next on his wish list? A bread slicer. Because while marathon hula hooper Grey has become adept at hand-slicing his gluten-free loaves, he says it would be nice to have some mechanical help at this point! FBN

By Diane Hope, FBN