My Story
My massage therapist journey probably started out like yours. I was prepared to do a massage after I graduated from massage school, but I can’t say that I was prepared to be a massage therapist. I figured that I’d gain everything I needed as I got more experience.
But that wasn’t necessarily the case. In fact, 5 years after graduation I found myself one more injury away from having to find a new job–and my massage business was just meh. I was worried and feeling lost. But then on a cold October day, Xentho (who liked to be called “X”) mysteriously showed up at my massage room door looking for work.
My Teacher
X was a big man with a big heart who didn’t mince words. He had amazing hands and used his big elbow as if it were a fine-tuned thumb.
“Mark,” he would say, “you’re working too hard. Stick your elbow in there.”
Then he would show me what he meant. He would lean into the person on the table. Then to emphasize how little strain it was on his body, he would close his eyes, pretending to go to sleep. (I think he actually did sometimes.)
For a year or so we traded massages and experimented with new approaches to pain relief massage and new ways to save our bodies. It was a time of incredible learning and discovery.
Then one day my friend disappeared, just as mysteriously as he had appeared. I was sad, but I was grateful that he’d left me with something that I’d been missing in my massage life–reliable real-world knowledge (like how to use my body weight to generate pressure so that I wasn’t taxing my upper-body).
By the way, I have home study CLASSES and a BOOK on how to use your body weight to generate pressure.
My Mission
From that point on I never had ANOTHER injury, gained reliable real-world knowledge quickly, and had a very successful massage business that was envy of all massage therapists in the state of Pennsylvania.
Ha, I wish.
Actually, more real-world knowledge came the hard and painful way. The aftermath from 9/11 knocked out 25% of my business. The 2008 market crash almost sunk me completely. And when the fitness center, which was where my office was, moved, I lost more than half of my clients and basically had to rebuild my business from scratch.
And I guess that’s the thing about real-world knowledge, it takes time to get and you don’t get it by sitting on the sidelines.
That said, I’ve spent 30 years in the massage world taking my lumps and figuring things out. But I have thing figured out for my body and business.
It’s an honor and privilege to share with you the specific information that I know will increase your income, help you start and grow a massage business and keep you massaging massage pain-free.
My Work
I graduated from massage school in 1992 and was certified in St. John’s neuromuscular therapy three years later. In 1997, I opened my first massage office and got bitten by the entrepreneur bug. A couple of years after that, my wife, Lisa, and I opened The Massage Institute, a massage business and our lab for developing CE courses in Berwyn, PA. I maintain a private massage practice in Phoenixville, PA. Lisa and I recently opened PressurePerfect(TM) Massage. The PressurePerfect(TM) location is also where we teach our CE classes and I coach massage therapists.
In my spare time I write about massage and other health and wellness topics. Some publications that I’ve written for include Massage & Bodywork Magazine, Massage Magazine, Body Sense Magazine, Spirituality & Health, Well Being Journal, Running Times Magazine (Now Runner’s World), Philadelphia Inquirer, Buffalo News, and Main Line Times.
FREE STUFF
On this website you have free access to everything you need to build a massage business by simply doing a search. You can search by category, too.
There are articles to help you save money (and make more money) and stay out of pain while doing massage.
If want a more systematic approach than searching, I’ve designed JUMPSTART. It’s a free program that will help you start a massage business or get your existing massage business moving in the right direction.
To take your massage business to the next level, check out the ACCELERATOR (paid for program).
If you want to know about the tools I use to build and run my business, go to my RESOURCES page.
And if you want to know when my latest info is out, sign up for my email group.
It’s free. 🙂
Spread the Word
Last, if you find this information helpful and want a perspective outside the usual industry voices, please share my articles and this website. It’s the only way this kind of independent insight gets out there—and it helps more therapists like us stay informed.
This way back to the blog.
