Exploring Life & Business with Eric Brown of Eric Brown Massage Artistry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Brown.

Hi Eric, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Strangely, the path to becoming a professional Massage Therapist started while I was serving in the Army. Unsurprisingly, the military is a very physical occupation and I was tired of being sore and achy all the time. My mom had given me mini massages as a kid growing up, so I booked my first professional massage in the small town in Texas where i was stationed. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous and slightly embarrassed if any of my buddies were to find out i was going to get a massage. But from the first stroke, through to the last, I was in awe at the sensations she was able to create, at the new relationship i had with my body. I had no idea I was able to experience that amount of relief and quite frankly, peace, in my body. A few months later I got out of the Army and moved to the Bay Area. I thought I was going to be a linesman, the guys who climb phone poles. I submitted applications but never heard anything back. Massage was still in the back of my mind as a curiosity. I looked in the phonebook and scheduled a tour with a school I found in Berkeley. As soon as I walked through the front doors, I had this all over feeling in my body saying “yep, this is it”. Class started 2 weeks later and I never looked back. Up until this point I had always felt artistic or creative in some way, but never knew what it was. I couldn’t draw, paint or sculpt to save my life. But when I discovered massage, I discovered what my art, my craft was. I found that the body is my canvas and sensation is my product. For the next 17 years I was fortunate enough to play in the luxury spa world, all around the country. I loved the beauty and ritual of it all. I loved having my craft on display in such a beautiful proverbial frame. Throughout this time I took classes and courses fine tuning my massage. I was a massage instructor at a school here in Boulder and was the lead massage department manager for 2.5 years at a Forbes rated 4 star spa. Inevitably, I was growing as a professional beyond what the corporate world could support. I helped my friend start his wellness clinic where I stayed for the next 4 years learning much more about clinical fix it type work and small business ownership. Now I have my own practice where I have the freedom, and responsibility for the direction I want to head and services I want to offer.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No matter the environment, there has been and always will be a challenge of some sort. In the corporate spa world, its working holidays and weekends, dealing with management or BEING management. Being a male Massage Therapist brought its own challenges of working with either a clients habit (of always working with female therapists) bias or past trauma. But I never know what a persons history has been. And a huge part of this profession is genuine acceptance of our clients being-ness, wether we are hands on or not. And then of course there are the challenges of being a business owner. The table skills that got me to this point are now no longer the only relevant skills to succeed. In this industry, clients come and clients go. And while I am immensely grateful for my consistent core of clients, I also need to work on advertising and increasing my footprint. And that is not a natural skill or desire of mine, as massage is.

We’ve been impressed with Eric Brown Massage Artistry, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
With my time in the spa industry, aesthetics and all the extras are really important to me. It represents an extension of the attention to detail you should expect in our session together. From the moment you step into my office, every detail is curated to support your nervous system to expand, relax and settle. Lighting, textures, music, and scent are chosen to promote calm, ease and safety. In terms of comfort and preparation, I’ve designed the space to be as relaxing and efficient as possible. The electric table is always at the most effective height for your body, two hot towel caddys; one for warm body pads and silicone cups and one for wet towels and if you really enjoy a warm table, there are optional dual table heating pads to be sandwiched between. In addition to the extras, I can accommodate most goals, from slow, rhythmic and melting off the table, to goal oriented, specific fix it work. Instead of using individual modalities, I tune in to to how your body is guiding me and integrate my education and experience to respond in accordance to what your body is telling me. The guiding principal to my work is curiosity. Always listening and curious to what this tissue is asking for or where this muscle will lead me, Your body is far more intelligent than I’ll ever be, and I’m here to listen to what it has to say.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
This feels a bit risky to say, but what matters most to me, is my own enjoyment of my work. And that sentiment is the cornerstone to the efficacy of my work, for so many reasons, for both myself and my clients. Personally, I don’t want to receive anything from a person who isn’t whole heartedly enjoying the process of creating or giving away, especially when it comes to physical contact. In terms of body mechanics, if the technique I’m using isn’t comfortable in my body, then it certainly wont be comfortable or effective in your body to receive. And perhaps most importantly and simply, I want to enjoy my work and my life. And that is a value I want to promote for everybody, for my clients and for my son. If I find I’m no longer enjoying what I’m doing, then I don’t want to perpetuate that relationship, to anything.

Pricing:

• 60 min massage: $135
• 75 min massage: $165
• 90 min massage: $200

Contact Info:

• Website: https://EricBrownMassageArtistry.com

Image Credits
Images courtesy of Golden Circle Photography and Eric Brown