Wholeheartedly's Personal Masseur Interview

Last Updated: May 10, 2023

- I have been doing massage for 5 years and 3 years as a professional masseur. I absolutely love it and will carry on as long as possible while developing and running my own well-being retreats for gay Men, including body oriented ***uality and relationship coaching.

- This year, every 2 months, I travel to Germany to attend a week of Somatic and body work training about sexuality and relationships. I also go to France to visit my family 3 or 4 times a year.

I regularly travel to Europe and Asia, for wellbeing retreats including body work with other bodywork professionals or for simply holidays, to discover other cultures, people and ways of living that always enrich my heart and soul.

I am looking forward to discover more of the world through meaningful and vibrant adventures and discoveries.

- Taking an introductory course first before signing up for a long term program will give the opportunity to know if that's for you.

Making sure you are comfortable with anyone, with nudity, regardless of individual physical appearances and differences, treating everyone with respect and care.

Having some clarity with what you can offer will help the clients to know if you are the right person.

Everyone’s massage stamina is different. Some people do five massages a day and don’t break a sweat. Others do two and they know that they need to wrap up and rest after that. It depends on a lot of different things (technique, form, general health, individual energy levels, mood, etc).

Asking a lot of questions to people who have done it before helps. Asking them what they would do in X or Y scenario. Listen to different perspectives and share your knowledge.

Listening to your body. If it’s uncomfortable, it means you need to either check your form, strengthen your body, rest more, or you should avoid such techniques.

The confidence comes with practice. Doing massage swaps can be a useful way to develop skills and confidence.

Keep on learning and being attentive to individual need

- As a natural explorer, I take every opportunity to cycle and run in nature or the city, seeking new discoveries and places to go. I am also passionate about horses.

Spending quality time with friends having meaningful conversations and laughter brings me alive. Being part of a group therapy for men for the last five years, adds quality to my life and the people around me .
I also dedicate lots of time to research in psychology, personal development, and take part in collective and emotional intelligence workshops.

I give interviews in French for a podcast about taboos and masculinity, body image and sexuality. I am taking part in body work retreats, including tantra, in the UK and abroad.
I love creating experiences for others, like taking friends who were apprehensive about exposing themselves on a nude beach and dreamt all their life about it, but had ever dared to do it.

Hiking in nature or swimming in the ocean delights me. I feel very connected to the source of everything.

- Whatever we do, training can take different forms. There is no one way of learning but I think it is important to possess a solid foundation and follow an ongoing training to expand and broaden our knowledge and skill.

The possibilities with body work being endless, it is necessary for me to continuously go out of my comfort zone seeking different approaches, techniques and philosophies of massage.

Over the years, I have been learning about cuddle therapy which is not a massage technique but offers a deep understanding about closeness, quality of touch, and emotional state which is very valuable.

The ongoing somatic therapy and bodywork training I am part of in Berlin can come into direct sensory contact with our innate regulatory capacity and creative intelligence operating in every cell, resulting in a deep sense of embodied connectedness, which can positively influence all the aspects of our lives.

Also, I received the most incredible massages in India, and none of them had any training or certificate, so it’s all relative. In Western culture the approach may be different.

- Presence - energy - understanding - no judgement - quality of touch - skills

I help you to get out of your head into your body, for example I might breathe with you using my body against yours.

My nature, my presence and non-judgemental approach makes people feel accepted, seen, and worthy of love. I am reliable and care about discretion and privacy.

I have lots of experience with people who may feel insecure in the first place and build very easily a sense of trust, safety and comfort.

I can navigate with ease and flow, according to people's needs from a very gentle and light touch to a deep and energetic deep tissue massage.

Instead of focusing on “quick release”, I might use a tantric approach where appropriate to help the ***ual energy flow through the whole body.

As I have done a lot of work on myself before to overcome body image issues, my understanding and compassion for others really stands out.
I treat everyone with care, being aware that it may have already been a big move for them to step up and take an appointment for a massage.

- Because I discovered that there is nothing more rewarding than witnessing the joy and satisfaction of people who finally get to surrender, become more at peace, and even explore their sexual energy and let go of the barriers that have been holding them back while they feel safe and supported.

I have seen men who have felt ashamed or afraid of their bodies for years suddenly light up with a new sense of possibility and freedom. I have seen them shed old beliefs that have kept them stuck, and embrace new parts of themselves that were previously hidden away.

On a personal level, touch and massage has been my best medicine and I wanted to offer that same possibility to others to connect with themselves in profound ways.

- When we start to add quality to people’s lives by doing the things we love to do, it is indeed difficult to stop.

Being a masseur is not just a job for me, it is also a way of feeling in harmony with life, with myself and others.

Touch being my primary language of expression of love and connection, I would definitely feel something missing if I could not express my skills and creativity through massage and touch.

- I discovered the healing power of massage during my childhood from my Sicilian grandmother. I’ve always found it to be the best medicine. It’s since become very natural for me to give massages to others; and bringing others into a state of wholeness and relaxation feels extremely rewarding.

Witnessing my first client feeling blessed, I felt in perfect alignment with my values of trust, connection and creativity. It has been the start of a beautiful adventure when I have simply responded to this call.

As a natural empath having a strong sense of intuition, I used an array of instinctive techniques in combination. The experience felt timeless, I felt attentive to every move and breath of the client which enabled me to tailor-make the whole experience.

The client was 74 at the time, with health conditions. He confided to me that he travelled the world, had received hundreds of massages and the one I gave him really stood out. It gave me the confidence to make it not just a passion but a vocation.

"What Damien provided – aside from releasing a lot of the tension in my back and shoulders – was a kind of intuitive response to my body that made the experience so comforting".

- A long lasting client said “Previously I did not think I would ever consider having a massage and had no concept of the benefits it might bring”.

What I would like my clients to absolutely know about me is that all the clients I worked with who initially felt insecure about the idea of exposing their body, have left with the best feeling they’ve ever experienced: freedom and bliss. I genuinely do care for people and embrace differences, and people feel it.

Body work has been one of the most effective resources for self-acceptance and positive body image I found for myself and it feels natural to channel this to others’ benefit.

I offer multi sensory experiences using massage and touch, taking into consideration the physical and emotional body together. I navigate the full spectrum of a very light and gentle touch to a full body to body contact. My priority is for you to feel totally accepted, whilst respecting your own boundaries and pace without the limiting or shaming message that genitals need to be dissociated or excluded.

You can absolutely choose to keep some clothes on if it makes you feel more comfortable.

- Being sensitive to individual needs contributes significantly to successful massage experiences. In my view, ensuring someone feels safe independently of where they are in their journey, with an open heart and making the person feel cared for, being graceful with generosity and confidence is one of the key elements for successful experiences and delighted clients.

Being massaged can be a very vulnerable thing to do for a client. Specifically when it is their first time. Another key to success is encouraging the person being massaged to fully express what they are looking for, understanding their needs and desires but also boundaries.

Witnessing someone who may have been initially hesitant becoming relaxed and allowing himself to be cared for is hugely rewarding. Feeling the person breathing deeper, watching his facial expressions, being attentive to micro-movements to intuitively know what is the next right move for them is quite unique.

My success lies also in adding quality and pleasure to people’s lives using massage, to help them to authentically connect to themselves and to take the feelings of relaxation, bliss and lightness away with them.

- Light, ecstatic, nourished, safe, loved, accepted, acknowledged, tender, cared for.
I want you to leave with glowing face and your energy restored.

- When someone contacts me for a massage, I want them to feel they can turn up to my studio and know they will be accepted exactly as they are. I want them to feel trust and safety, that my primary intention is acceptance and honouring your body as it is, to experience relaxation, expansion, depth and well-being.

Some people have said that they never had a massage before coming to me because they felt too afraid, ashamed, or even thought they did not deserve pleasure. Enabling people to overcome their fear of being touched, gradually enhancing their relationship with their body and sexuality has been a real privilege. If you share any of those feelings, I would love to help you too.

Whether you have had lots of massage experience or not, I want you to leave with a deep sense of satisfaction and sensations that you may have never experienced before.

My priority is for you to feel that all your differences and imperfections were given some space, attention and kindness through touch. If ever you experience difficulty accepting your body unconditionally, I want you to have the experience of appreciation, compassion and care.