The story of the Recovery Pen begins not in a lab or boardroom, but at home. In 1997, Dr. Chi Kyung Kim, a Korean engineer, developed a handheld healing tool to help his wife recover from a debilitating stroke. Combining his mechanical expertise with principles of East Asian medicine and acupressure, he created a simple, non-invasive device she could use daily to support her recovery.

What began as an act of devotion soon grew into something far greater. As his wife regained comfort and mobility, Dr. Kim refined his design into a device that supported circulation, tissue relaxation, and energetic balance ("qi" flow) throughout the body, reflecting a rare fusion of modern engineering and time-honored healing principles.

The success of Dr. Kim's work inspired a quiet global curiosity. Over the following decades, the pen spread organically across Korea and Asia, increasingly recognized and trusted among patients and practitioners as families shared stories of transformation. More than 800,000 units sold, with many of the first-generation pens still in use today, a testament to the craftsmanship and care behind the design.

Dr. Kim's work earned international recognition, including honors from the President of Korea and the King of Belgium, as the pen became one of Korea's most trusted wellness tools.

In 2024, Nigel Earl—a South African philanthropist and close friend of Dr. Kim—acquired the worldwide rights to Dr. Kim's original technology. Guided by the same principles that shaped its origin, he set out to remake the device for a new generation.

Through close collaboration, Dr. Kim and Nigel reengineered the original design, doubling magnetic strength from 1,600 to 3,200 gauss, upgrading the crystal-infused ceramic-carbon compound at its core, and refining the ergonomics for daily use.

During this time, Nigel introduced the device to Ryan Cairns, a former professional golfer whose career had been sidelined by chronic wrist pain. After incorporating the pen into his daily routine, Ryan returned to golf pain-free, with restored mobility. What began as personal recovery quickly became a shared mission.

Tragically, Nigel passed away in 2025, before seeing the full realization of the vision he helped set in motion. Ryan carried it forward, committed to honoring his work alongside Dr. Kim's.

Soon after, American tech veteran Brooke Busha discovered the pen—after a childhood tumor left him with spinal cord damage requiring more than a dozen surgeries. Using the pen was a turning point in his recovery, helping restore mobility, ease years of chronic pain, and reconnect him with a sense of balance and coherence he hadn't felt in decades. That experience led him to join the team, bringing renewed energy and momentum to the mission.

Today's Recovery Pen represents a refined evolution of the original technology—still rooted in Dr. Kim's design, still handcrafted in his original Korean facility, now strengthened by clinical research, new materials, and broader applications.

From one woman's recovery, the pen has grown to reach families around the world, bridging Eastern wisdom and Western recovery science to support the body's natural ability to restore itself.

Now headquartered in the US and serving over 50 countries, the Recovery Pen is led by co-founders Ryan Cairns (Chairman) and Brooke Busha (CEO), carrying forward the vision of Nigel Earl and Dr. Kim.