JoeZu's Personal Masseur Interview

Last Updated: Dec 04, 2016

- Besides the physical benefits of massage, I hope they have turned their brains off for a while. You can't truly relax on my table if the gears in your head are churning away! Depending on the client, I use music (and not Enya or Enigma; come on guys, those aren't the only two CDs out there! LOL), incense, and lighting to create a relaxing atmosphere. And I hope the massage is invigorating and relaxing enough that they sleep very soundly and deeply that evening!

- I've always had an instinctive feel for touch and massage but never thought seriously about it until a masseur friend of mine gave me his old table. I said I couldn't possibly do massage work, but he said, “Joe, you have the right heart for this kind of work.” And so I began with a little trepidation, but as I picked up experience and learned that it's also a spiritual art, I began to feel I had found my calling!

- Luciano Pavarotti once confessed he could not read music; architect Tadao Andou never had any formal training. To non-masseurs it might look easy, but they probably think modeling is merely putting on nice clothes and smiling for the camera. One can have an innate feel for massage, but every masseur has a responsibility to seek opportunities to learn new techniques and develop his craft.

- I'm a bit of both! Part of me wishes I could live out of a suitcase and see the world and sleep on couches and in airports, but part of me is a hermit: I need me-time to process all I've experienced and perhaps translate that into something creative (music, art, etc.). I'm planning a long overdue trip to Japan in 2017; went in 05 (Nagoya/World's Fair), 06 (Tokyo/Yokohama), and 08 (Osaka). I love it there! Other future destinations: Reykjavik, Kashgar, Berlin.

- Don't let your preferences in what you find attractive get in the way of securing clients. You're providing a service, and your clients are people, regardless of their age, color, weight, build, etc. If you can look past the physical and connect with them on a more spiritual level, they will definitely appreciate it.

- I read, write music, cook, hang with friends. I'm a geek so I like web coding and anime. I'm always trying to improve my Japanese (see travel question).

- Oh yes! It can be exhausting work but I enjoy meeting people and sending the energy in my hands into their skin, muscles, and bones—and no two bodies are alike. It's almost a spiritual experience for me; I hope it is for my clients, too.

- I was nervous as heck because this was an in-call. What if my client turned out to be a thief or worse? As fate would have it, he turned out to be someone I met a couple years earlier at a luncheon. I was able to relax and concentrate on my work and he greatly enjoyed the massage!