A Sarnia ex-pat living in Connecticut says her family is what gave her the courage to try entrepreneurship.
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“A you-can-do-anything kind of attitude,” was pervasive, said Marien Zanyk, who said she was the youngest of four girls in her family and her father was an engineer at Dow.
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The former student at Cathcart and Northern Collegiate schools in Sarnia said she recalls fries under the Blue Water Bridge, learning to swim at the Sarnia Riding Club, and using pieces of glass to dissect fish that would wash up on shore.
“It’s always been in me, the curiosity for science,” she said.
Zanyk, who earned her doctorate of philosophy in experimental pathology from Western University in 1992, after studying physical therapy and genetics, is the founder of Zaneez Health and Fitness Equipment.
The long-time consultant for medical devices to surgeons in the United States said she holds four patents for therapeutic devices, including one she calls AnkleStone, a contoured device designed to provide foot and ankle relief.
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Zanyk said there’s been interest from the NBA, US soccer and others in the device she said was also inspired by the forest near which she lives.
“That’s how I restored my knee in three weeks without going to therapy, knowing exactly how to do it, how to progress, how you need to hold the tools so you can stretch those tissues,” she said.
She also was inspired to try to fill a void for ankle and foot care she noticed after working in consulting.
She’s trying to get the word out about her products, she said, adding she’s received support from various companies and organizations in Connecticut, including an accelerator called Forge, for which she said she’s an advisor.
She ended up in Connecticut after several employment-related moves, she said.
“Being an entrepreneur is an unusual mindset on its own, and a lot of my courage came from my adventures in Sarnia,” she said.
“That was my childhood, my inspiration.”
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