ErikV's Personal Masseur Interview

Last Updated: Dec 09, 2021

- Do your research, know yourself,and be sure that this is something that you want to do.
It's a difficult job, and it's not for everyone.
It's very physical, which thankfully is one of the things I like best about this job. It keeps me physically fit. I work hard during the massage and I have to be in shape in order to be successful.

- Prior to the pandemic I traveled regularly. I have been to 27 of the United States and several islands in the Caribbean. I have been to both Mexico and Canada. Additionally, I've traveled through Europe including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Vatican and more.
This past November I took a fantastic cruise to three stops in the Bahamas. I'm really thrilled that the world is opening up and I can't wait to get back out there.
I have a cruise planned to the Caribbean in March of 2022 that includes four islands I have never visited.
In 2023 I'm thinking Greece and Turkey or the British Isles.
I love the beach, but probably enjoy the mountains more, however you can't beat the historical sites in Europe.
One of my long term goals for travel is to pack up my extra massage table and see some sites in the United States.
Have table will travel!

- I am an avid reader. I especially enjoy historical novels. I'm actually currently reading three books at the same time.
I really enjoy traveling going to different places in the United States and also world travel. Immersing myself in different cultures, the food, and of course the men. I'm the kind of guy that likes to stay busy, so I rarely just sit around, and it doesn't really matter what I do as long as I'm doing something. I'm high energy.

- Yes I would miss my masseur days..
It's a very exciting job and I'm an excitable kind of guy. I especially like the first meeting I have with a brand new client. You never know what to expect. You don't know what's going to happen until it happens.
Feeling good is addictive and I like to feel good and I like to make people feel even better. I truly believe it's better to give than to receive. Can you tell I'm a top?

- My parents were into yoga, meditation and massage, so I was exposed to it at a very young age and I had a very positive attitude towards it.
Many years later when at my full time job people would often tell me that I had strong hands and a good touch. Several of my coworkers commented that I should be a massage therapist. Since I love to travel I thought that possibly getting a second job would afford me the opportunity to do just that, and that's when I thought of becoming a masseur. Once I began studying at school I was highly motivated because of of the effect massage has on people. Think about it… at a very young age if a child falls down sometimes just a touch of a hand or finger on their injury makes it all feel better. We carry that with us throughout the rest of our life.
Touch is one of the five senses, and it has a profound effect on people. I love that fact, and that I can be a part of helping people feel good through touch.

- I do. And I believe that this is true first and foremost, because I have had some of the same clients ever since I started doing massage. I have a high percentage of clients who come back to me every month.
I have another percentage of clients who come to me every week. I believe this is also proof of my success.
But equally important is the fact that I have new clients every month.
I have also been able to succeed in the face of competition with other male massage therapists in my area. I also compete with traveling massage therapists who are on all of the apps.
Even in the face of the recent pandemic I have been able to adapt, establish reasonable protocols and I maintain strict cleanliness, and as a result I have experienced little if no real downturn in my business.

- I began my studies at one of the oldest massage therapy schools in Pennsylvania in January of 1999.
While at that school one of my instructors, who was a chiropractor, and owned his own business in the Poconos was impressed with my technique and hired me part time upon graduating. I had a full time job, and while being a masseur has always been my second gig, working out of my home makes it easy.
So as of 2022 I have been a masseur for twenty three years. I enjoy being a masseur so much that I plan on doing it, frankly for as long as I am capable, I enjoy it that much!