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What Did You Do Before Massage?
I know, I'm nosey. I was a travel writer.
For six years, I got to travel to Bed & Breakfasts and get massages, all for free, and write about it. So my roots are in traveling, meeting people and hearing their stories. Now I travel around and do The World Massage Festival & Massage Therapy Hall of Fame.
I found the adjustment to a single location massage establishment, inside a strip mall, very confining. So I started a way to stay "in the massage world and travel!" But that is another story!
What's your story? What did you do before massage? Tell us of your travels and what massage is like where you are, especially if you massage outside the U.S. We really like pictures, if possible.
If you get bored come see me at my page http://www.massageprofessionals.com/profile/MikeHinkle
Thanks and welcome to Massage Professionals!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on
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So many of us have come from multi-occupational backgrounds. Thank you, Thomas! I hope you are at this year's 5th Anniversary in Berea, KY. It is called "The Reunion!" I remember talking with you and Angie Patrick at the Massage Therapy Foundation Dinner in Atlanta at the 2006 AMTA National. I was there representing AMTA-FL. That was interesting. You were the 14th person to accept entry to The Hall of Fame! Well there's a lot to do so, you have a great day and thank you for networking with everyone here at Massage Professionals!
Thomas Myers said:Great set of responses. My short career before I got fatally bitten by the Ida Rolf bug included a stint at plant manager and salesman for Tom's of Maine, managing an aquaculture company farming mussels (no jokes, now), carpenter, waiter, and personal assistant to a Hollywood music producer. I had zero background in manual therapy, psychotherapy, or massage, but I got interested in what was then called the Human Potential Movement (Esalen and all that) - took est, learned Aikido and Tai Chi, meditated on this and that, got rolfed - and immediately said, "This is useful magic, I want to know how to do this." I have always used my hands, so I was attracted to the craft of manual therapy. I have never looked back, and only been bored when I am on the cusp of something new. It took me many years to reach the level of competence where I felt I was worth the money I charged. I was very fortunate to have practices in many places in thre USA and Europe. You w
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Permalink Reply by Deborah Gilmore on
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Before I did massage, I was a college student at Colorado State University obtaining my degree in Cultural Anthropology, learning Reiki and working in an office setting. Then attempting to go back to college for my Teaching Certification.Well, this wasn't going to work for me, I had NET therapy and found out I was in the wrong field, my new field? Massage therapy, never been happier and now I am teaching and doing my favorite thing. Its definitely not work to me.
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Permalink Reply by Carla R Stingle on
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I am currently juggling my massage thearpy career with my full time job in medial billing. I have a bachlors degree in Exercise Physiology and originally thought that my degree would be a compliment to a massage thearpy certification. I fell in love immediatly with massage! Since 2004 I have been taking classes and trying to obtain enough hours to take the NCMTB test. I will have met my goal by March and hope to be taking the NCMTB by April. Currently I have been doing massage for friends and family just as relaxation due to I do not have a license yet. My ideal setting is to work in a chrio or rehab office setting. My pasion is focused more on the medical side than the spa side of this profession. My big goal is to quite my full time job by this time next year and focus full time on developing my massage practice.
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Well, Hi Kevin. Glad you are trying to make the transition to full time. Since you are already so used to traveling, keep coming up I-75 to Berea, KY this Summer and enjoy the Festival. Keep the Faith!
Kevin M Wattier said:I currently work 45 hours a week traveling the coast, MS, AL, FL, and sometimes LA doing floor cleaning equipment repair. Mechanic you might say. I can say this was an answer to a prayer, getting into massage therapy. I went to the local school, Blue Cliff Career College, Mobile, AL for two years getting student massages. I took up running and as a reward I would get a massage as long as I kept running.
My day job is not that fulfilling and I wanted to do something more meaningful. Massage felt so good to me that I decided I wanted to do this for other people. Actually I think I get as much out of it as the client does. It relaxes me too, I'm kind of hyper inside. Nervous energy you might say. I came across a quote recently by Novalis, (Frederick von Hardenberg), that goes: "We touch heaven when we lay our hands on a human body." That really spoke to me.
When I got the message that this is what I'm supposed to do next, I went directly to school and signed up for class. Then I called my younger sister, who mentioned to me before that she wanted to be a MT, and told her she had to sign up and go through the course with me. We both graduated Sept. last year and are now LMT's. We are the only two of 12 students in class to be licensed so far. We started with 6 females and 6 males and ended up that I was the only male to finish the course. Don't ask how I made it through, I don't know. A lot of estrogen to compete with.
My goal is to find enough clients to be able to leave my current job. I've been praying and waiting for some direction from above and some doors to open. I have a Neurologist who says he will refer patients to me but none as yet. I'm most confident with Swedish although with 750 hours of training, we also got all the other modalities. I think I would like to do Swedish, Medical, maybe Pregnancy, and work with infant massage somewhere. I'm anxious to see where massage takes me.
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Permalink Reply by Jean MacGregor on
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I am a Real-Time Analyst for a call center full-time and massage therapist part-time. Real-Time Analyst? Kind of like an Air Traffic Controller only with in-coming phone calls instead of airplanes filled with the lives of people. Not as stressful, I'm sure.
: )
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Before I was in massage I was an x-ray tech for chiropractors. That's actually how I got started in massage. Since then, many years have passed and what an adventure it has been. I've traveled a bit myself doing massage instead of getting massages. If I had my "rather" I would be getting instead of giving. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do but I LOVE getting massages even more! ;-) I've traveled to NC, SC, CO, TX, UT and the Grand Caymans for massage jobs. Life is grand!
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Permalink Reply by Tina Johnson LMT on
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I too, as a lot of you, wore many hats over my life time of work. Glad to have settled into work that is so fulfilling and I love . The last job was for a telecommunication company. I really was not cut out for the corporate world. I really hated being stuck in a cubical in a floor full of cubicles, that were stacked 6 floors high, next to 7 buildings full of just the same. I am now in my 7th year as a massage therapist and wonder where the time has gone.
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It is truly freeing getting out of those man made cages!! I mean cubicals...lol
Tina Johnson LMT said:I too, as a lot of you, wore many hats over my life time of work. Glad to have settled into work that is so fulfilling and I love . The last job was for a telecommunication company. I really was not cut out for the corporate world. I really hated being stuck in a cubical in a floor full of cubicles, that were stacked 6 floors high, next to 7 buildings full of just the same. I am now in my 7th year as a massage therapist and wonder where the time has gone.
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Permalink Reply by Paulina O (Backrubs Massage & B) on
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When I was younger I worked in retail and did data entry work. I have worked as a medical transcriptionist and I was a certified nusing assistant but I never worked in a nursing home because I found it too depressing during my externship at a nursing home so I took a live in home care job. More recently, I was a notary signing agent do signings for mortgage companies. I was interested in learning massage for about 9 years before I finally went for it. I moved across the country in the summer of 2007 and signed up for an 8 month massage course shortly after arriving in Cali.
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Chiro, Phy.Ther. and Massage? You go Mary! Looking for lots of good discussions!
Mary Hieronymus said:I was in retail management and I had no intention of leaving until I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, I also had a bulging disc and a herniated disc. I found my physical therapy very interesting, and thought about pursuing that as a career until I found out I'd be in school for about 8 years. So massage therapy was the next logical choice! I work for a chiropractor and I enjoy seeing people on a regular basis, seeing the progress they make and encouraging them through the process.
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Permalink Reply by Deniz Doğan on
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I'am a master sergeant in the Turkish Air Force
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Permalink Reply by Bernard Dray on
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Hi all, well I started doing Massage & Tsubo point therapy 45 years ago yep 45 years, I added Reflexology and Reiki 3 years ago. I have also worked as a Public service vehicle driver in London the shift work enabled me to see clients before or after a shift, and if work got scarce as a therapist as it does from time to time I still had a wage coming in. I am now a full time therapist as I supposed to be semi retired, Mmmm my wife wonder's about that, I love my work and being able to make a difference to people's lives.
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