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I am a licensed massage therapist with 25 years of business development background selling to Fortune 500 Companies and Big Box Retailers.

Presently, I am the Regional Director of Recruitment for Massage Envy – Chicagoland Region. I represent 44 Massage Envy clinics in hiring estheticians and massage therapists.

I got into this field because when I was 28, my mother was dying of a blood disease and was at home with hospice. At that time, I was unemployed, and my brother visited from Ohio and gave her a back rub. That small bit of human touch allowed my mother to calm her screams of pain to a tolerable level.

I knew then that I needed to get into the field of massage one day. Twenty years later, when the economy tanked, I decided it was a good time to reinvent myself and go to school to be a LMT. After being in business development for 25+ years, I felt it was time to approach “Customer Service” from a different angle, a personal angle via ones body, mind and soul.

Since I obtained a BBS in college, I new that going back to school would not be difficult, since I knew how to budget my time and study. What originally concerned me was learning the origins; insertions and actions of all the muscles in the body; there are only 639+ muscles.  I was a little concerned about being a male in a field that many women and some men do not want a massage by a male therapist, but I was able to over come that concern with ease.

In regard to my specialty in my current position, I create jobs for people. My top 3 contributing factors are: God, excellent listening/communication skills, couples with perseverance. As a LMT, it is deep tissue. The key is to listen to the client, open communication and know how to manipulate the tissue and want to use certain techniques to get the results you want.

I love what I do because I help people by listening to their goals, aspirations, desires and needs. From there I find a clinic that can assist them in achieving their needs, while in school, as well as after graduation.

Since I have the background of sales, in the corporate world, being a student, as well as an instructor, at a massage school, coupled with experience working in salon spas, luxury hotels and for myself, I am able to share a lot of personal experiences that can bring validity and clarity to those looking for an opportunity that fits best their goals.

As a LMT, I love helping people with ailments that massage can help reduce or eliminate their pain, stress and/or discomfort.

3 things I would change within the profession:

1. More knowledge to the general public on the benefits of receiving massages on a regular basis, as being part of their daily health and wellness regimen. Everyone would feel better mentally, physically and spiritually.
2. Getting more help, at the state level, in turning applications from massage students into licensed massage therapists, faster then the length of time it takes today.
3. Getting the word out to more people in high school and the general public that a career in massage is a very reputable, fulfilling career in more ways than one.

My massage career is my secondary career. My first is Regional Director of Recruitment for Massage Envy – Chicago Region. I have already commented on this career above.

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 have none. I do not subscript to that word, “mistakes”. I prefer to replace it with the word “opportunity”. Opportunities help us grow and fine turn what we need to know and experience in life to be the best we can be.

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?

Go visit as many massage schools as you can. Know what you are able to spend dollar wise, to be able to afford schooling, and where can you get assistance if you need it. Choose the school that you feel most comfortable attending. Ask around and talk to LMT’s that have graduated and get their opinions.

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

There are scholarship and grants out in this field to help aid students that need additional assistance financially.

Speak to the admissions department within the schools about what they offer. Other scholarships and grants can be obtained from organizations within the massage field as well. Seek and ye shall find!

What are your three (I am adding a 4^th) biggest points of advice for an aspiring massage therapist today? What should they do/not do? What should they think about and consider?

What are your goals?

What are your aspirations?

What are your needs?

What are your desires?

If you do not know the answers to these 4 questions, no one can ever assist you in obtaining them. You have to start within yourself. Set a goal, but know that it is okay if your goal changes in time or you do not achieve it. Goals are not always meant to be obtaining, but used to guide us, as a tool, in fine-tuning us for future encounters, challenges, opportunities and experiences in life.

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 am very passionate about the massage field and the wellness of others to the nth degree.

I love speaking, in public, about our great field and what it can do for others as a career, as well as a means to an end. I plan to be an important part of this industry, one step at a time.

Who am I?

• Competitive Swimmer – swam for 2 Olympic Swimming Coaches
• 25 year of business development, selling to Fortune 500 Companies and Big Box Retailers
• 9 years of being a LMT
• 1 year of teaching at Cortiva Institute in Woodridge and Chicago, IL
• Entrepreneur

Hobbies – I love to go Cruise the world with my partner, hence the picture I attached below.

You can read more about Ronald Maslovsky, CMT, LMT, NCBTMB on his website here.