Health · Investment · Operations · Madrid

Clinic founder.
Conflict researcher.
Clinical investor advisor.

I opened Evolutio Sports Physio in 2013 because Melbourne's physio clinics felt like waiting rooms with better lighting. Twelve years, 7,200 patients, and a three-level warehouse in Richmond later, I think we got that right. In between I completed a Master of Human Rights with First Class Honours, investigated civilian casualties with Airwars in Ukraine, Gaza and Syria, worked with Human Rights Watch, and ran national disaster relief operations across three Australian states. Now I'm in Madrid, helping health investors and founders figure out whether the clinical story actually holds up — before it becomes expensive to find out.

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Filed — Alexander Drew

Evolutio Sports Physio Richmond

Founder & Director

Est. 2013 · 7,200+ patients · 10-person team · Three-level warehouse clinic, Richmond

Ciclo Melbourne

Founder

Est. 2025 · Melbourne's only cycling healthcare headquarters

Airwars / Human Rights Watch / Australian Red Cross

Investigative Researcher & Humanitarian Observer

Civilian casualties · Ukraine, Gaza, Syria · Immigration detention observer · Formal government advocacy

Disaster Relief Australia

National Ops & Mobilisation Coordinator

Bushfire & flood response · 2020, 2021, 2022

Academic

MA Human Rights, First Class Honours · BSc Physiotherapy

Curtin University · AHPRA Registered · Spanish (professional)

About

Not a typical
physio career.

I started Evolutio in 2013 because I was tired of walking into physio clinics that felt like DMV offices with foam rollers. I wanted somewhere with good people, good energy, and practitioners who actually gave a damn. The three-level warehouse in Richmond with the reclaimed wood table and 7,200 patients is what happened next. I didn't know what I was doing when I started. That part was fine.

In 2020 I started a Master of Human Rights alongside running the clinic, not as a career pivot but because I couldn't stop thinking about it. That led to work with Airwars investigating civilian casualties from airstrikes in Ukraine, Gaza and Syria, with Human Rights Watch on refugee detention investigations, and with the Australian Red Cross as a Humanitarian Observer in immigration detention facilities — conducting structured interviews with detainees, investigating medical welfare and discrimination concerns, and representing findings directly to government officials. Alongside that, I coordinated national disaster relief operations across three states with Disaster Relief Australia during the bushfires and floods of 2020 to 2022.

In 2025 I founded Ciclo Melbourne: the only clinic in Melbourne built purely around cyclists. Physiotherapy, bike fits, performance coaching, dietetics, strength work.

In 2026 I moved to Madrid with my family for a new adventure.

Alexander Drew — clinic founder, conflict researcher and clinical investor advisor

Experience

15+ years as a physiotherapist. Clinical practice, clinic direction, and business operations across two founding roles and counting.
Education

MA Human Rights, First Class Honours — Curtin University
BSc Physiotherapy — Curtin University
Commendation in Human Rights (2020 & 2021)
Humanitarian

Airwars (conflict research), Human Rights Watch (refugee detention), Australian Red Cross — Humanitarian Observer in Immigration Detention, Disaster Relief Australia. Australian Defence Service Medal.
Clinics

Evolutio Sports Physio (2013), Ciclo Melbourne (2025), HomeRun Melbourne.
Credentials

AHPRA Registered. CrossFit Coach certified. Powerlifting Coach certified. Dry needling certified. Professional Spanish.
Location

Madrid, Spain. Here because we wanted to be. Available remotely for Australian and European clients.

Consulting

What I can
actually help with.

I'm not a generalist. The things I consult on are the things I've done: building clinical businesses, researching rigorously under pressure, running operations in difficult conditions, and understanding what the healthcare industry looks like from inside a clinical practice that actually worked.

Clinical Business Strategy & Operations

For clinic founders, allied health networks, and healthcare investors who need someone who has actually run one.

I built Evolutio from a solo practice to a ten-person team across more than a decade, owning every part of the business: revenue strategy, people operations, brand positioning, professional development, and financial planning. I didn't hire consultants to do this. I figured it out, made mistakes, and kept going. If you're running a clinic, growing one, or investing in one, I can tell you what actually works. And what looks great in a pitch deck but falls apart when you try to implement it.

Monthly retainer Project-based Ad hoc advisory

Health Tech Clinical Advisory & Due Diligence

For founders and investors who need a clinician who also understands what makes a business actually work.

The gap in most health tech ventures is the same: the product is built by people who understand technology but haven't treated a patient in years, and the investors can't tell whether the clinical claims hold up. I can review an evidence base, stress-test a therapeutic claim, and assess whether a product fits how practitioners actually work. I also know what it takes to get a clinic to adopt new tools, because I've been the one deciding whether to adopt them.

Advisory board Due diligence report Monthly retainer

Consumer Health Brand & Clinical Content

For health brands that need clinical credibility that is genuine, not borrowed.

I spent years inside the physio profession deciding which products to use, recommend, and stock. I know what makes a practitioner trust a brand and what makes them quietly put it in a drawer. If you're building a health product and want a registered clinician with real clinical context to review your claims, develop your practitioner content strategy, or advise on how the profession actually makes these decisions, that's something I can do from experience rather than from a brief.

Monthly retainer Project-based Ad hoc review

Background

Things I have
actually built and done.

Evolutio Sports Physio Richmond · Est. 2013

Founder & Director ↗

Started in 2013 because Melbourne's sports physio clinics felt like waiting rooms with better lighting. I wanted somewhere that felt like a good team, not a conveyor belt. What that actually meant Solo practice to a ten-person team. A three-level warehouse in Richmond. 7,200 patients from Victoria, interstate, and twelve countries. I owned the revenue strategy, the hiring, the culture, the marketing and the professional development from day one with no business background. Figured it out. Made mistakes. Kept going. Stepped back from clinical work in 2022 to complete the MA and still directs both Evolutio and Ciclo. What I'd tell someone starting now Hire slower than you think you need to. Brand comes from what you actually do, not what you say you do. The culture sets in the first six months and you'll spend years trying to undo the bits you got wrong early.

Ciclo Melbourne · Est. 2025

Founder ↗

Evolutio had been treating cyclists seriously since 2013. By 2025 it was obvious Melbourne had no clinic built exclusively around cycling healthcare. So I built one. What that actually meant Designed and launched Ciclo as Melbourne's only dedicated cycling healthcare headquarters: physiotherapy, bike fits, dietetics, performance coaching, strength work, pilates. Tested the positioning, pricing, and service model carefully before committing. Built referral networks within the Melbourne cycling community from scratch. Also runs HomeRun Melbourne, a running physiotherapy practice operating as part of the same broader network.

Disaster Relief Australia · 2020 – 2022

National Operations & Mobilisation Coordinator ↗

Coordinated relief operations during the Australian bushfire and flood emergencies of 2020, 2021, and 2022. Three separate deployments across multiple states. What that actually meant End-to-end operational planning and execution. Designing volunteer selection and vetting frameworks for geographically dispersed teams. Building genuine trust with vulnerable community members in crisis, doing interviews, documenting impact, maintaining dignity throughout. Navigating environments involving police, emergency services, NGOs and local government with competing priorities and no time to resolve them slowly. What it changed Most corporate ops training doesn't prepare you for the moment you have to make a call that affects someone's safety with incomplete information and no time to consult. That kind of work does.

Location

Based in Madrid.
Working with Australia.

The honest reason I moved to Madrid: my partner is growing her jewellery business, Cleopatra's Bling, and Madrid is the right place to do that. We also wanted our daughter to grow up speaking Spanish and French, and to have an adventure while she's young enough to think it's normal. Those are the real reasons. The consulting work travels well, so it made sense.

The AHPRA registration stays current regardless of where I live. Australian regulation explicitly permits registered physiotherapists overseas to deliver telehealth consultations to Australian clients. There is no regulatory barrier, just a time difference that's manageable.

Being embedded in Europe has also turned out to be genuinely useful for Australian health companies expanding here — and more of them are every year.

The real reason

Supporting my partner's business Cleopatra's Bling, raising our daughter trilingual, and having an adventure. The consulting work fits around all of it.

Regulatory

AHPRA registration current. Overseas location does not affect authority to deliver telehealth services to Australian clients — this is explicit in AHPRA guidance.

Timezone

Madrid (CET) is 8 to 9 hours behind AEST. Morning calls for Australian clients land in the European afternoon. Most of the work is async anyway.

Tax & invoicing

Registered as autónomo in Spain. Can invoice Australian companies directly. No complexity for the client.

Get in touch

No sales process.
Just an email.

If what I do sounds useful to what you're working on, send me an email and we'll work out whether it makes sense. I'm genuinely easy to get hold of and I don't have an assistant who will ask you to fill out a form first.

alexdrew1@proton.me

Phone

+34 653 280 189

linkedin.com/in/alexd11

Evolutio

evolutio.com.au

Ciclo

ciclomelbourne.com.au

Partner

cleopatrasbling.com

Location

Madrid, Spain