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1. Tell us a bit more about you and your practice as it is today? i.e. are you a solo practitioner or a business owner? If solo, what kind of an establishment do you work for, how large is it, what is the clientele like, what is the specialty offered? If it is a business that you own, kindly include the same time of relevant information that will give the reader a good idea about your establishment/practice. Please also include where you live and work?

I am currently a contract employee. I work for a Chiropractor and Wellness advocate. Our practice is average size and growing, our clientele are white collar individuals. I currently live in Dallas, Texas

2. Tell us why you chose to go into massage and at what point in your life did you decide to do so? What were you doing at the time? Where did you first hear about the massage career? What factors influenced your decision? What were you looking to get out of this decision?

I have always been a massage client, and strongly believe in the benefits of massage. I was a flight attendant, and my airline filed bankruptcy, it was at that time that I decided to start my massage career. I wanted to help others as my massage therapist had helped me throughout the years.

3. What were some of your questions and concerns before further pursuing your massage therapy goals? Talk about concerns with school and the profession itself.

I honestly did not have any concerns when I decided to go into the massage field.

4. What is your specialty and what are the top three contributing factors to your success today?

I specialize in deep tissue and sports therapy. I am a Personal Trainer as well, so they nicely complement each other

5. What do you like about your specialty? What do you like about what you do in general as a career? Why?

I love contributing to the well being of athletes.

6. What do you not like about what you do? Why?

I can not say that there is anything so far, that I do not like about my skills and my career!

7. If there were three things you could change about your work or the industry as a whole what would they be? Why would you change them? What would you change them to?

I would change how massage is viewed by some. Massage has just broken the surface of the medical and insurance industry as being medically necessary.

8. How long do you plan to practice and what do you plan to do after?

I plan to practice as long as my body will let me, and after I plan to retire somewhere tropical!

9. Do you currently have another job or business whether full time or part time? Tell us a bit more about it and how you are able to juggle that with your massage career?

As I stated previously, I am also a Professional Personal Trainer, so they fit well together, it is easy to combine the two.

10. What are some mistakes you made in your career pursuit that you’d like to warn other students about so they can learn from your experience and avoid it?

I do not feel that my training was inadequate, however I have met many students along the way that feel their training could have been much more in-depth, and I agree with them. Just make sure you are getting the best training possible!

11. What would you advice someone who is looking at massage therapy schools? What do you recommend they look for and how? How do you recommend they determine whether the school is the right one for them?

Look into the school itself, make sure it is accredited, research the professors, and the program that is offered.

12. What do you recommend for someone who wants to go to massage school but cannot afford it?

Look for an accredited college and get a student loan.

13. What are your three biggest points of advice for an aspiring massage therapist today? What should they do/not do? What should they think about and consider?

Think about what you truly want out of life. If helping people on many levels is something you want, then you are on the right path.

14. Any open thoughts / comments – anything else that you’d like to share about yourself, the massage industry, profession, future, etc? If nothing, make one prediction for the future of massage?

I predict that in the future massage will been seen as medically necessary on a grand scale.

15. What is your passion outside of massage? What are your hobbies and interests which you pursue when you are not working? Tell us why you enjoy what you enjoy.

My passion is Body Building, that is what I do, I spend my time in the gym!

Melody Atwood  (Temple Of Ink), LMT & Certified Master Trainer can be followed on Facebook and Twitter @ TEMPLEOFINK