Our Story
This whole P3 Cream thing started in a small clinic in Abbotsford B.C. …..
Our Humble Beginnings
When John Forde started his career as a registered massage therapist, his first real “gig” was working as a trainer with the Vancouver Canucks during their playoff run in 1993.
As John says, the main parts of his job involved hefting injured hockey players off the ice, working to rehab them to get them back on the ice as quickly as possible, and, oh yeah, helping to load a ton of hockey bags and hockey sticks onto the bus and (as his wife Carmen saw on all of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts!) eating a seemingly endless supply of pizza on the team bench or next to the penalty boxes! In all seriousness, John learned quickly how serious professional athletes are about getting back to the sport they love and that they would do almost anything to make that happen (topical analgesics, passive and active therapies, surgeries, and maybe a lucky charm or two wouldn’t hurt either!;).
Apollo Clinic
Pan ahead to John’s private practice at the Apollo Clinic in Abbotsford, British Columbia starting in 1999 where his treatment demographic had expanded from professional athletes to include amateur athletes and people of all ages who were suffering from pain caused by a variety of ailments or injuries, and he was still reflecting upon his time with the Canucks, thinking about the best ways to get all of his patients back to the lives they loved in the safest and shortest time possible. In 2019 a second Apollo clinic opened in Chilliwack where our wonderful practitioners and staff continue to help people daily!
P3 Cream beginnings
In 2007 an athlete in New York state was devastatingly harmed by a topical analgesic that contained methyl salicylate (an aspirin product). This set off a warning to all sports therapists to not use topicals that contained this ingredient. At this point, John worked with a lab to produce a natural, water based cream that wouldn’t stain clothes or remain greasy so he could tape an injury over it. Thus, P3 cream was born out of this necessity!
Our Success Story
When you’re awesome, well, good news travels fast. From its humble beginnings only being used with John’s own patients, P3 cream has won its own fan club, expanding from the Apollo Clinic in Abbotsford to over 1000 clinic, pharmacy, and retail locations across Canada. Our online website store (www.p3cream.com), along with our Amazon.ca store allow people to purchase P3 cream directly and have it shipped anywhere in North America!
With that sort of following, people might assume that P3 has morphed into some sort of huge corporation, but no. We are still down-home folk who still have an “old school” approach to doing business. P3 cream is still being produced in Vancouver. John (the face of P3) is now retired from therapy but the two Apollo clinics are still using and promoting P3 cream with all of their patients and educating other clinicians and retailers within our local community and beyond about the benefits of using all-natural topical analgesics for pain management. Mike (our operations manager) is still cheerfully answering the phone to take your orders and answer questions (Yes, shockingly, a real human being answering the phone!). Carmen (John’s wife) is still pulling, packing, and shipping your orders and Declan (John and Carmen’s son) is now working in the warehouse.