Designed to educate and motivate, Spear’s #LetsKeepMoving Blog is our official stream of fitness tips, exercise advice, and healthy lifestyle inspiration. Our articles and features are written and produced in direct partnership with our physical and occupational therapists! Disclaimer
“It is our belief that we are not put on this earth to simply be who we are. We are here to evolve, develop, self-actualize.” – Dan Rootenberg
I wrote these words when we unveiled our new logo in 2016. That logo served us well these last five years, as we were named the nation’s top physical therapy practice, not just once, but twice. Those accolades are special, and the fact that the industry recognized the unique strength of our team will always be a point of pride. However, I feel something even more important taking hold in my consciousness now. Since that time, the world has changed, the city has changed, and I found myself changing as well in how I think and lead.
As we lived through the pandemic together, I felt a deep and acute sense of empathy for the uncertainty and anxiety that many of our team members were feeling. For the first time, we became a safety net for our team, both by keeping our clinics open throughout that challenging time and by being there for one another and our community in a time of need.
My fuel for leadership changed from “hustle” to “love.” While in my heart, I will always be that kid from Brooklyn who leads with drive and grit, I believe this new evolution focusing on synergy and what brings us together as human beings should now be reflected in our company image.
This summer in Tokyo, I witnessed another phenomenon of humanity. With COVID depriving fans from witnessing, in person, the most elite athletes on the globe competing, the winning of world records and gold medals played out in the absence of the typical fanfare. People depended on their teams and even on their competitors—neighbors in the Olympic village from other countries—to celebrate the medals that were brought home. I stood in awe, with tears in my eyes, the first time I saw this happen as Team Ireland sang and chanted, forming a procession, as the team’s first medal-winner walked through the gauntlet to get home to their building which we shared. To me, this was humanity at its best, and the synergy of people supporting each other, rising above challenging conditions. Spear’s new logo hopes to embody this new feeling of Synergy, Community, and Love.
To learn more about the new logo and what it stands for, please read on.
-Dan Rootenberg, Spear CEO & Co-founder
The Details Behind The Logo:
From the Spear Marketing and Communications Team
Above: A collage of photos that inspired our new look.
With a focus on the synergy that keeps us moving and helps support our communities, we realized it was time for an update.
Above: A timeline of Spear’s logo evolution.
The new synergy mark combines with a bolder wordmark that no longer includes the words “PHYSICAL THERAPY.” This is because we are more than just a physical therapy company; we are an active part of our community, we are your fellow neighbors and friends, and we are here to build relationships that motivate and inspire those around us.
Above: The final 2021 Spear logo with its Synergy mark.
The deep, dark purple in the wordmark is called Aubergine, and it represents transformation and power. The burnt orange color in the mark is called Carmine, and it represents heart, love, compassion, and (shared) determination.
We look forward to this logo becoming a new, iconic symbol of belonging and unity in our communities.
This week, our CEO and Co-founder, Dan Rootenberg, spoke heartfelt words to our entire team about the historic current events happening in the world around us, and SPEAR’s position against racism.
More importantly, he outlined the following action items:
On behalf of the company, (1) Dan has joined the CEO Action Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion; (2) SPEAR offered paid time off to our team members this week so they can take action in their own way: to protest, meditate, donate time to the movement, or any other way they may deem fit; and (3) SPEAR announced it is forming a Racial Justice committee to advise us on our path forward with regards to these critical issues.
To provide our entire community with SPEAR’s point of view and commitment, below is the original letter Dan sent to the SPEAR team on Tuesday:
Team,
We find ourselves in the midst of a pivotal moment in our history, one that has evoked strong feelings of understandable sadness, anxiety, and anger. We must not let this moment go unrecognized or unaddressed.
Our country has witnessed a deplorable act of racism and brutality. We speak out loudly against what has transpired. Our hearts ached watching the senseless murder of a gentleman named George Floyd at the hands of blatant police brutality in Minnesota.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Emotions are raw and anger is justifiable.
At SPEAR, there is no place for racism of any kind. We do not tolerate discrimination, hatred, or violence in our workplace or in our society.
It is important for everyone at SPEAR to remember what our company stands for.
We stand in solidarity with the black community in fighting racial injustice and inequality.
We are a company that has always stood for inclusion and ascension, for striving to be better than we were yesterday, and most importantly valuing empathy for others regardless of race, color, religion, ethnicity, who they love or to whom they pray.
Since this is a day of action, SPEAR is committing to the following:
On behalf of our company, I will be signing a pledge called CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. Our leadership team discussed this morning what it means and we will be pledging the following:
Reinforce that SPEAR is a trusting workplace where we can have complex sometimes difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion.
Implement unconscious bias education.
Share best practices (and what doesn’t work) with our sister companies that have taken the same pledge.
Create a vision for a strategic inclusion plan.
We are living in uncertain and unsettling times. We must stand up for what we believe in and support what is right.
I call for doing so with open hearts, open minds, and doing our part in the hope for change.
