The Radical Massage Therapist Podcast

I worked really hard those first few years and it's all paid off now. - Chelsea St. Denis, RMT ... Chelsea has been an RMT since 2013 and she works from her home in Winchester Ontario. She is married with 2 children, Mcluvin the dog, and some hens. Her family has gone from city to country living and so has her practice. In this conversation we talk about patient loyalty, homesteading, juggling work and motherhood, as well as her preferred technique in indie head massage, and her work on the abdominals and TMJ. Please enjoy this episode with Chelsea St. Denis! www.theradicalrmt.com

"You just gotta listen to your heart, to what you feel you want to do to make you happy, and that's been the best thing I've learned in this adventure" - Andree-Anne Rusaw ... Andree-Anne Rusaw has been a Registered Massage Therapist since 2010 and struggled initially with the idea of being self-employed with unstable income and wondered how it would give her the life she envisioned. With guidance from her family she pursued her passion to work with animals and started a second career as a Registered vet tech. She is now a teacher with College Boreal and travels to volunteer her skills with animals in need. Andree-Anne also loves to travel for fun and has been to all 7 continents and she has visited a total of 25 countries before she has even turned 30. She has come full circle to realize that she has the dream job as a massage therapist with above average income potential, flexibility to take time off, and the freedom to alter her schedule. She is more open to live in the moment and see how life unfolds instead of setting specific timelines for her life goals. Please enjoy this episode with Andree Anne Rusaw! www.theradicalrmt.com

"I think the idea of building something that outlasts me is pretty cool" - Kathleen De Jesus-Gauthier ... Kathleen has been a Registered Massage Therapist since 2016 but, before she did her certification as an RMT, she started as an Athletic Therapist in 2004! Realizing that more insurance coverage was available for massage therapy she completed her massage therapy diploma in 2 years at Algonquin college while also working as an Athletic Therapist on and off the field, raising a family, AND playing varsity rugby. She has just opened her own clinic called Return to Play Therapy which is really about getting everyone back to whatever “play” means to them. She is committed to lifelong learning and wants to provide the most diverse experience for her clients. She knows from experience that if everyone works hard, they can achieve what they want in life! On her downtime she enjoys reading and spending time with her family and she is also working her hands creatively by trying woodcarving. She ultimately wants to create something of great quality that will outlast her- I feel that she will achieve this in many ways in her life and I hope she inspires you to do the same. Please enjoy this episode with Kathleen De Jesus-Gauthier! www.theradicalrmt.com

“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