The Anti-Aging Clinic, a long-time Orillia business, has found a new home in downtown Orillia in the old Meridian Credit building at 73 Mississaga St. E.
Meridian Credit moved out of the building after the devastating Jan. 21, 2025 fire that ripped through the adjacent historic building, at the corner of Mississaga and Peter streets. Dr. Comics was burned to the ground, but the Meridian Credit building remained standing.
In the aftermath of the blaze, the exterior of 73 Mississaga St. was reinforced. The interior, which had significant water and smoke damage, required extensive remediation work. A gap in the streetscape remains where the historic downtown building once stood.
Anti-Aging Clinic owners Ben and Blade Tiessen had been operating their business out of the end unit at a plaza at 43 Colborne St. E. for close to six years after leaving the Mississaga Street location they opened in 2000. They had been looking to get back to the “energy” of the main street.
Then in March, the roofs of two adjacent units of the Colborne Street plaza collapsed which closed all four plaza businesses for one week. The end units were deemed safe, but the Tiessens were already planning to move to Mississaga Street.
After seven months of renovation, design and installation, the new Anti-Aging Clinic is open. “When I came in, this place it was gutted. The walls were crashed onto the floor,” said Blade. “They took everything out of here right up to the rafters,” explained Ben.
Anti-Aging Clinic owners Ben (left) and Blade (right) Tiessen are seen with Dr. Rodney Land in their new 73 Mississaga St. E. location. Gisele Winton Sarvis/OrilliaMatters
The transformation of the old Meridian Credit location is “incredible.” Ben and Blade oversaw the reconstruction and designed the space to be calm, welcoming and functional.
There are large windows at the front, opening into the white and glass counter under a large chandelier. Behind the counter are multiple glass-door cabinets for medical-grade, organic skin care products, a line of organic makeup in re-fillable bamboo containers and the custom skin serum lab.
The lounge is bright and decorated with plants, white furniture and an art screen. The consultation room has a skin scanner that shows things such as sun damage. It is used to chart progress before and after treatments. There are 12 treatment rooms, some of which are still being set up, for a total space of approximately 3,500 sq. ft. on the main floor.
“We are focusing on the natural side, the wellness: patients who want to have red-light therapy and salt inhalations and detoxification. There’s a huge wellness aspect here,” Ben said.
Treatments include red-light and oxygen therapy, “which is really good for your skin and detoxification,” said Ben.
“We are the only full-body red light” in the region, said Blade.
Another room has a SlimLine Pod, which is used for weight loss, but it also provides red-light, oxygen, and vibration therapy.
“It is basically an entire spa therapy,” said Ben.
Still in the development is the salt vault. The former bank vault is being transformed into a salt room. Medical-grade salt will be pumped into the room that is going to be set up like a sauna.
“It calms your skin and when you breathe it, it helps the upper respiratory system. It’s a really natural way to detox,” said Ben.
“We will be the only salt cave (halotherapy) in Simcoe County,” said Blade, who expects that component to be ready in June.
The Anti-aging Clinic has a staff of four. Blade focuses on medical aesthetics, Ben is the body sculpting technician, Dr. Rodney Land does all the medical injections and Jessie Grear does the medical aesthetics and laser work.
Everything in the building is designed for a calm and comfortable experience for clientele, right down to the paint colour, said Blade.
“My focus is on my client. I want you to look good in this space, not the space to look good on you. I wanted it to be less about the space and more about you. I want you to be the feature, not the backdrop,” he said.
While the clinic offers Botox and fillers, they also offer many treatments that stimulate the body to heal itself, said Blade, who is the CEO.
“We are the only ones that are doing non-invasive procedures with no down time,” said Blade.
They do soft-wave medical treatment that uses ultrasound to stimulate the body to produce collagen, and Jet Peel, that uses air and water to cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate tissue.
“We have stuff that nobody else has, even in Toronto,” said Blade.
For more information about the Anti-Aging Clinic and its treatment options visit agegorgeously.ca, call 705-325-6265 or email: [email protected]. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments are recommended.
