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Meet Brooke Claassen of Reverie Beauty and Bodywork in Estes Park

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Claassen.

Brooke, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Sixteen years ago, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Nebraska, and I could not have felt more lost. I loved the subject matter but a career in psychology just didn’t feel right to me. Living in Nebraska did not feel right to me. Something else was calling but I had no idea what – just a feeling of being in the wrong place.

That spring, my brother had gifted me an aromatherapy kit for my birthday. As I rubbed the lavender cooling serum into my temples as instructed, a small voice inside me said “go to massage school”.

“What?!, I thought?” I had never even had a massage before! I didn’t know any massage therapists. Why this idea randomly popped into my head still baffles me. But the message was persistent, I could not rest until I researched the idea. The first thing I did was google “massage school”, and a school in Boulder popped up
– The Boulder College of Massage Therapy. It was an expensive school, and would take me a full year, full-time, but it was near the mountains where I loved to be. I took the plunge and enrolled to begin that fall. A year later I was hired as a Licensed Massage Therapist at my first job in Estes Park.

Listening to that small voice inside me that whispered to try something completely out of the box was the best thing I ever did. I found my passion through working with my hands – my whole body, really (including my feet, since I specialize in Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage!). When I give massages, intuition takes over and I’m suddenly connected to what my client is experiencing through my hands. It’s an incredible feeling! I feel so very fortunate to have found work that doesn’t feel like work, and helps people at the same time.

I’m so grateful for my clients who have supported me throughout my career, followed me from location to location, and helped me meet other incredible people through their referrals. I have worked in Estes Park for 15 years, and I can honestly say Estes Park is filled with the most kind, compassionate, and generous people I’ve ever met. I get to do what I love, for a community that I love, and I could not be more grateful for that!

3 years ago, after earning an additional licensure in Esthetics, I began the entrepreneurial journey and created Reverie Beauty and Bodywork, providing massage, skincare, lash extensions, and waxing. Being the owner has its ups and downs, as any business owner will tell you. Luckily, I had a lot of experience working in some amazing spas in Colorado, and gathered my favorite things about each to inject into my new venture. I’ve always loved working, so the extra time it takes each week to do the marketing, ordering, answering emails, and booking clients doesn’t bother me – I love every minute of it! Well, maybe not every minute – I’m not a great bookkeeper and I despise dealing with taxes, so I have a wonderful bookkeeper / accountant that really deserves a lot of credit as my behind-the-scenes support. She keeps me organized so I can just focus on the things I love doing.

Has it been a smooth road?
I had accumulated so many skills from my previous position as spa manager of another Estes Park spa, that I found the transition to owning my own business easier than it could have been otherwise. I already was doing marketing work, management, menu planning, as well as seeing clients at that job, so moving into doing all of that for my own business was simple. Figuring out which business licenses, insurance, etc I would need was probably the hardest part. In general, the struggles of being a sole proprietor are that you have to pay for your own health insurance, all business related expenses, and have no paid time off – it’s hard work! This is why it’s so important to help support your local small business owners – I try to support other small businesses by choosing local small companies when I can as vendors for my retail and backbar.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Reverie Beauty and Bodywork story. Tell us more about the business.
We specialize in being a small spa that offers extreme customization and value for our clients. The massage and facial protocols I have written are based on my years of experience in the spa industry. Our massages are all-inclusive. We don’t upcharge for the good stuff that makes a regular massage exquisite (hot stones, CBD lotion, aromatherapy, hot towels on the feet, and cupping). I am redesigning our facials to be the same – inclusive of anything and everything that will give great results, without having to “upgrade” to get what you need. Nobody likes being upcharged.

Myself and my colleague Logan, are both dual-licensed Massage Therapists and Estheticians, meaning there’s no swapping practitioners if you come in for both a massage and facial – it’s delivered as one seamless, amazing experience. Want to add a brow wax or lash tint to your massage? No problem, we can do that!

We share a cottage with Estes Park Acupuncture. Our building is named The Wellness Cottage, because we can offer so much between our two businesses that will enhance health and wellbeing. We have many clients that schedule what we call the “trifecta”: acupuncture, then a massage and facial. They walk out feeling like they’re on cloud 9!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As the information age progresses, we are bombarded with messages, emails and texts. There’s no escaping it, and it’s contributing to rising stress levels across the world. As our pace of life continues to accelerate, having outlets for stress-relief will be in rising demand. The human touch will remain an important part of our emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing, and I believe more and more people will seek it out as our society becomes more isolated from each other. I believe the trend will be accepting massage therapy as not just a luxury, but a necessity. There are a few insurance plans already that allow for massage therapy, and my hope is that mainstream medicine will really embrace the healing power of touch as a vital part of our wellness.

Pricing:

  • The Reverie Blend Massage: 60 minutes – $85 (includes hot stones, CBD, cupping, and/or aromatherapy)
  • The Reverie Signature Facial: 60 minutes – $100 (includes cleansing, dermaplaning or microdermabrasion, enzyme, extractions, LED PhotoTherapy, facial massage, mask, serum, and SPF).
  • See our website for full menu offerings: www.ReverieBeautyandBodywork.com

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Studio Q Photography, Mark Quentin

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