The Radical Massage Therapist Podcast

“In life, I generally try to live the best version of myself”- Helene Letourneau, RMT ... Helene Letourneau was a huge inspiration for this podcast and I am so excited for you to hear her story. Helene has been a registered massage therapist since 2013 and she is an example of making your dreams come true as she pursued the life of a professional figure skater with Disney on Ice. She skated with Disney on Ice for 3 years and traveled to 25 countries, meeting new and exciting people along the way. She shares how she made this dream a reality and how it eventually brought her to live in London, England working as an RMT. We discuss burnout, what to do, and what to watch out for. Helene shares the importance of doing what makes you happy each day as it will lead to your purpose and the importance of self-care. Helene is now back in her home of Ottawa, Ontario and is focusing on her next steps to manifest her dreams professionally and personally. Please enjoy this episode with Helene Letourneau. www.theradicalrmt.com

“I always say I became a massage therapist and a chiropractor because I’m a little bit hyperactive, but, I move a lot, I’m excitable, and this profession caters to that!”- Dr. Melanie Stewart ... Dr. Melanie Stewart @Ottawachiropracticstudio is a long time friend and has been a Chiropractor since 2009. She also became a Registered Massage Therapist in 2009. She simultaneously held both registrations until retiring from massage therapy in her tenth year of practice. She is now a full-time Chiropractor and discusses her decision to finally retire from massage and focus on her Chiropractic patients while knowing she could continue to collaborate with massage therapists and health care practitioners. In this episode we talk about... Transitioning from a multidisciplinary group practice to working solo The benefits of taking your work with you wherever you go The importance of working hard to be successful and Keeping up to date with your skills to help your clients get over plateaus. Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Melanie Stewart! www.theradicalrmt.com

"I think I’m just seen as a driven RMT who’s still pushing forward" - Kelly Salvador, RMT ... Kelly Salvador @kellysalvadorrmt has been a registered massage therapist since 2010 and she runs her own practice combining Massage, Functional Range Conditioning, and Graston Technique among a million other things. She is a passionate, hard-worker who avoids the BS of the profession and gives the best of her self by constantly expanding her training to help her clients get more out of their treatment on and off the table. In our conversation we talk about the blended worlds of being an entrepreneur and enjoying downtime. She shares her advice on building a brand and a niche that recognizes her expertise and adds value in the community through honesty and open communication. She believes in diversifying her skills to prolong her career and keeps her hungry in the profession. Please enjoy this episode with Kelly Salvador! www.theradicalrmt.com

“I knew I would always be self-employed, even my kindergarten report card said “Problems with figures of authority.” " - Arlene Keith, RMT ... Arlene Keith (formerly Doyle) has been a registered massage therapist since 1981 and graduated from the College of Massage and Hydrotherapy in Sutton. Massage Therapy has been her full time career for 38 years now and she loves to be self-employed as she has never done well working for someone else. Arlene is the mother of three and has been described as Adventurer, Soul searcher, hiker, Balderson blueberry farm entrepreneur- which we get into about her transition from massage therapist to blueberry farmer and she is also a Blogger. Her blog is theflipsideoffity.com where she blogs about her adventure’s in life and around the world often taking months at a time to travel and hike- usually solo in a new destination. She recently completed paddling through the everglades using only a compass and a map and her next adventure brings her to New Zealand hiking the Te Aroaroa (te-are-a-roa) also known as “the long trail”. Arlene was highly recommended to me by Huguette Long who is the second episode of this podcast and Arlene was also recommended to me by her niece who was in the pop-up podcast studio when I recorded the very first episode and said “you have to meet my aunt Arlene, she is definitely a radical RMT!” Please bear with me in this episode as I was overwhelmed with how to fully capture how Radical Arlene is and feel I got off to a slow start but, we do pick up the pace and she shares some wonderful insights about how she plans to transition out of massage therapy, the advantages of solo travel, and not worrying about the money you will lose by taking time off. I hope you enjoy this episode with Arlene Keith! www.theradicalrmt.com

"Stop believing A) We don’t make money B) We burn out after 5 years. It’s all a lie!" - Jana Veltheim, RMT ... Jana Veltheim has been a registered massage therapist since 1998 and she is the owner of Align Massage Therapy; a successful massage clinic with  6 locations in Ottawa, Ontario.  She is a wife and a mother and continues to treat because she loves the people she works with. She has a goal to create an e-book around the very same topics we are talking about today which is the topic of money and massage therapy. Her perspective (and I agree) is that massage therapists don’t realize how good they have it. I feel that Jana shares a lot of great information in our conversation and she has actionable steps you can take as well. Jana shares that as massage therapists our income vs workload is well above average, and with a little discipline and planning, we can have pensions and paid vacations among other perks! ​Please enjoy this episode with Jana Veltheim. www.theradicalrmt.com

"You know right away coming into this career that you are responsible for your own success" - Karen Buchanan-Sauve ... Karen Buchanan-Sauve (@ksauve05) has been a registered massage therapist since 2013. She came across massage therapy almost by accident as she explored professions in health and saw herself working in the sports field. Karen keeps busy with three daughters playing competitive hockey which involves traveling and participating as a team volunteer in the role of trainer. In this episode we talk about Karen working in the corporate 9-5 and learning the self-employed aspects of massage therapy. We talk about what it’s like to work full-time as a massage therapist with a busy family. Karen loves to stay active herself and finds it necessary to give her best self to her clients. Karen currently works with Align Massage Therapy and she shares a few ways she promotes her business. Please enjoy my chat with Karen! www.theradicalrmt.com

"I like to stay busy" - Dom Labre, RMT ... Dom Labre (@dominiquelabrermt) has been a Registered Massage Therapist since 2013, he loves to work with professional athletes and has worked at elite events such as the Canadian Summer games in Winnipeg in 2017. He is a bilingual therapist and has interests in Whiskey and Vinyl records. Dom currently works with Align Massage Therapy and also has a Home Clinic (Dom and Leslie Registered Massage Therapy). Dom is an avid cyclist and considers it to be necessary as part of his ability to relax and focus.  Please enjoy my chat with Dom! www.theradicalrmt.com

"Give me something I can say "yes" to!" - Avi Davies, RMT ... Avi Davies has been an RMT since 2008 and currently works with Align Massage Therapy in Ottawa, Canada. He has a strong foundation in Thai Massage and integrates this technique into his treatments. Before he became a Registered Massage Therapist, he was only providing Thai Massage and he found it challenging to maintain a steady business. In over 10 years in the profession he has worked in various environments from a spa, to medical, holistic and clinical. These experiences helped him to understand the type of environment he can provide his most effective treatments with clients and leave everything else such as marketing and laundry at the door. Since he doesn’t have to spend time or stress on these extras, he enjoys a shorter work day as a massage therapist which means he can enjoy more time with his wife and son and also prepare for the future. Enjoy this conversation with Avi Davies! www.theradicalrmt.com

"The biggest motivator for me was that I wanted to be independent and have some financial security"- Huguette Long, RMT ... Huguette Long currently practices massage therapy in Ottawa, Canada and she has been a massage therapist for over 30 years. She speaks about how she discovered massage therapy as a career and how it can be a lucrative opportunity with plenty of freedom and flexibility. She has worked with world-renowned resorts and loves to travel often for months at a time. In her years of wisdom she has plenty of energy to share and radiates passion for the profession. She is always trying to create experiences that are beneficial for the client and easy on the practitioner. She is the developer of “Thermal Palms” the soft approach to hot stones which was sold to Bodywork Biz. She gives praise to her mentors of massage and also shares her one regret in her early years as a massage therapist. You can find her at Align Massage Therapy. I hope you enjoy this episode featuring Huguette Long. ​ www.theradicalrmt.com

“I don’t think I would be great with a desk job” - Karina Joly  ... Karina Joly (@KJphototravel) has been a registered massage therapist since 2004. She is an avid traveler who has visited 38 countries and counting. She always travels with her camera and she has collected more than 200,000 memories on film. She is a three-time Ironman Athlete and uses her athletic experience to help her clients repair and prevent injury. She has often thought about leaving the massage profession but presently it gives her the flexibility to travel, train, and pursue photography. www.theradicalrmt.com