What made you want to become a Massage Therapist?

I wanted to move away from corporate and start working with my hands again after years of doing creative design work on a computer. After nearly 30 years of deadline-oriented work, I had enough. It was time to reset my life.

How would you describe your Massage work?

My work is an amalgam of physical massage and orthopaedic rehabilitative work. I don’t do a ton of “comfort” work even though it has its place; I believe my style is more effective for most patients. I use softer techniques to complement and complete, often closing with something to quiet your mind and ease you back to reality.

What is something that you would like the client to understand about the massage process?

If you are trying to be healthy, massage is part of your program. Ask any pro athlete, coach, or trainer, and they will agree. Your training and workouts will be better, more effective, and efficient when you utilize all the muscles available for a given movement. Without massage, you are playing half the game.

When you work out, your larger muscles almost always override the smaller ones that help control your movement [these are your ‘synergistic’ / supporting muscles]. When the smaller muscles are weak from being constantly overridden by your larger ones, you have less control over your body’s ability to stabilize. You fatigue more quickly and can lead to improper movement culminating in injury.

Oh, I can’t forget this: my work isn’t for the faint of heart. You will learn about yourself when I work with you. Sometimes, it seems easy and comfortable, sometimes it’s as hard as any workout and you may not feel great right off the table. But and this is the key, you will improve across the board: mentally and physically, coordination and balance, sleep, even eating. That’s what I do for you.

What are some interests that you have away from the massage world?

I have three cats and am still an active Art Director and Designer for a very select group of clients. I play guitar, bass, drums, percussion and still ride my bike and work out as much as possible. I’m restarting my stretching and yoga as well. Kind of a full plate but I like that.

Contact the front desk and schedule an appointment for yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Andrew is CAMTC, AMTA, and ABMP Certified.

More About Andrew

I was an Art Director [AD] for nearly 30 years. I worked with some amazing people with whom I formed lasting relationships, worked with some very large businesses as well as Mom and Pops. I still do a bit on the side as I enjoy working with great people who care about their clients and their products/services.

I started when the computer wasn’t considered a viable design tool. That changed with the advent of Desktop Publishing allowing two major shifts to occur: 1. Almost anyone could “design” brochures, business cards, and other marketing material, and 2. Clients became far more independent. The net effect of this was shrinkage of the work pool and a focus on not working with AD’s and designers who asked questions regarding the client’s approach to marketing. As an AD who studied my clients, I suddenly became persona non grata.]

The computer took away much of the hands-on creative work and I wasn’t working with my hands as I wished. [Much of what I did became digital-only, very little was put to paper before execution. The computer became a necessary crutch, and I changed as much as I could to keep my hands in it by moving deeper into packaging design and creation.]

I took a sabbatical in 2003-2007 and became a USA Cycling Expert Coach. I worked with a high school team, coached at three USA Cycling regional training camps, and taught racing and riding skills to over 500 new and returning cyclists. I got to ride alongside some of the sport’s best pros and amateurs. In addition, I took better care of myself and my cycling and running clients, practiced and taught yoga, rode 10,000 miles a year throughout Europe, and generally got my act together after nearly 30 years of fighting a system with which I had become disenchanted.

Then I moved to Europe to be with my wife, dove back into AD/design [the system wouldn’t allow me to coach for a living] work for five years, got laid off then sought a new path for way too long. I finally asked friends and family what I should do, and everyone said, “go into massage. You’re good at it”.

A whole pile of serendipity and training later, and here I am… Eclectic background and all.