CALEB:

[Intro]

I had no intention whatsoever of ever becoming a massage therapist. And I tried to quit the next day. I tried to quit. They talked me into it. We came to an agreement. If I gave it so much time, I would pay for my time and materials I use, and then we could shake hands and walk away, and that’d be the end of it. And so, I went with that, and I fell in love with it. I never looked back.

KRISTIN:

0:28

Hello, and welcome to The Career Shaker Podcast. I’m your host, Kristen Szalaklo. I’m a certified professional career coach who specializes in career exploration. I believe everyone deserves a meaningful career they love. I know it can be hard to find that career, and that’s why I’m here. I’ve developed an easy formula to help you identify the right career path for you and shake up the way you view your career. I’m going to challenge you to look at careers in a brand-new way. Whether you’re stuck in a job you don’t like or just starting out, my goal is to empower you, to take control of your career.

Okay. Welcome, everyone. Today I’m here with Caleb Larson. Caleb, go ahead and introduce yourself and tell everyone what you do.

CALEB:

 1:11

My name is Caleb Larson, and I am a licensed massage therapist. I focus pretty exclusively with athletes. I will work with general population, of course, but I’m all about sports massage. I work with a company called Total Muscle Therapy, and it’s life for me. So that’s the quick nutshell of me.

KRISTIN:

 1:31

Awesome. 

Okay, so before we get started on all the ins and outs of your job, I just like to start with an icebreaker and just tell us a crazy story from your career.

CALEB:

 1:41

 There are a lot of those crazy stories. I’ve been doing this for almost 13 years, including my schooling and the one that sticks out every single time when somebody asks me what’s a crazy thing that happened. It’s not that bizarre, but it’s so funny to me. It was when I was doing my own little private practice. I went into a client’s home and we set up the massage table in their sewing room. They had their own separate room. It was like they were a very crafty person. And during the massage, everything is going fine. It was just a typical massage You know, nothing out of the ordinary. But then all of a sudden, this person’s son walks right into the room, sits down at the sewing machine and begins to mend his pants.

And I’m sitting there just kind of still kind of working, looking at him, going, OK,

KRISTIN:

 2:41

What do I do?

CALEB:

 3:04

Is this normal? And then my client, the mother, just goes on talking to her son like it was nothing. And I’m just sitting back like, I’m not sure what to do with this. It’s nothing like I should be embarrassed about or anything, but it just threw me. Yeah, like, who are you and what are you doing here? Sort of thing going on. I’m sitting back like, what?

KRISTIN:

 3:12

 Don’t mind me. Massage and sewing go together so well.

 CALEB:

 3:16

Yeah, exactly. I’m sitting back like, it’s a good thing we’re in the massage and not like when they were changing and he just walks in.

KRISTIN:

That’s a whole other story.

CALEB:

Yeah, that’s one of my favorite ones. And then I’ve got all sorts of ones where I’ve instructed the client, like, hey, you’re going to be face down under the sheet. Like, this is when I worked for a spa. You’re going to be faced down under the sheet, fully disrobed. And I walk in and they’re not under the sheet.

 KRISTIN:

 3:45

Oh, no

CALEB:

That’s happened many times.

KRISTIN:

Really? That’s like my biggest fear is it being so awkward.

 CALEB:

 3:49

 It’s usually the quick you run into the invisible wall where you walk in and like, oh, whoa,

 KRISTIN:

 3:55

 okay, I’m going to back out.

 CALEB:

 3:57

 Exactly. You’re kind of tiptoeing back, like under the sheet, try again

 KRISTIN:

 4:02

Under the sheet, all the way, fully pulled up.

Okay, I want to break in. I wanted to just kind of start off with what you do day to day, because I know you mentioned you teach, which you mentioned to me, but you haven’t mentioned that yet. Here, teach on the side. And then you do massage. Kind of just walk us through your typical week or your typical day.

 CALEB:

 4:24

 So, the teaching I’ll just touch on that really quick is I taught for a long time doing massage and anatomy and I backed off on that quite a bit. Now, recently I do just workshops where I’ll spend a couple of days working with students for massage school. That’s usually about every three-ish four months. So those are a lot of fun. We’ll get together and I’ll teach them all the stuff they need to know. So that’s kind of in between.

My typical week is Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday, just going in, and doing massage.  Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, I’m usually at the place from one to six and just cranking through it’s one person after another after another. Like we just mentioned in the story here before, where we’re telling people to get disrupted and you’re naked. Please be under the sheet when I get back in. With this, we don’t have to worry. They show up in athletic clothing or comfortable clothing and we get right to work. It’s wonderful. So typical day to day, that’s what I’m doing.

I’ve got my family at home taking care of and a lot of times I’ll be watching the kids when I’m not there, playing with them and then going and massaging. A lot of days it’s a little bit of warm-up beforehand. Try to make sure that I keep myself functional, and ready to go so that I can keep taking care of people because if I’m not, like, taking my own medicine, I’m not really doing that good. As a massage therapist, I’ve got to take care of myself, so I’m doing some yoga, stuff like that. Like I said, playing with my kids. I’ll probably say that a lot. I love being a dad.

 KRISTIN:

 6:11

 And you’ve got little kids, right? They’re small.

 CALEB:

 6:13

 They’re small. Yeah. My little girl starting kindergarten to my little boy starting preschool.

 KRISTIN:

 6:19

That’s exciting and scary all at the same time.

Yes. I was thinking when you’re describing, like, client after client and knowing so I went in and got a massage from Caleb, and it was, like, the most painful thing I’ve ever had – in a good way. Because it’s not like you think of massage. You think of this relaxing thing. There’s relaxing music going on, and it just feels good. And, you know, Caleb, like, I think you called it a Russian massage or you compared it to, like, Russian. And that’s the perfect description because whatever you picture in your head – that’s accurate. It was intense and it was painful, but in a good way, where it was like it actually was effective. But all that muscle you’re putting into client after client, you’ve got to be really tired or sore at the end of your day.

 CALEB:

 7:01

Yes, it definitely can be, because I love it. It’s Russian. I teach a Russian sports massage style of work, and I use it all the time. And at the end of the day, you can be worn out. It’s one of those things where you have to be so careful with your body mechanics. We joke that I’m the Viking Farm Boy at Total Muscle Therapy because…since nobody can see me, what I look like on a podcast. I’m 280, about six foot, and I look like a Viking. That’s kind of my own ancestry, so I can put a lot of pressure on people pretty easily. I’m lucky I grew up on a farm, so I’m very strong. But even with that, if I’m not really being careful, kind of on top of my body mechanics, I won’t last.

So doing client after client, I have to make sure that I’m using body weight instead of muscle to push. It always makes me giggle a little bit when somebody’s like, holy cow, you’re strong. And I’m in the back of my mind, like, no, I’m just heavy.

 KRISTIN:

 8:08

It works for your advantage.

Caleb:

Exactly.

KRISTIN:

I wouldn’t have thought of that. Like, you know, when you’re in the massage, you’re just kind of thinking about what you’re doing to us, but yeah, I could see how that’s a smart tactic so you’re not killing yourself.

One of the things I teach as a career coach is when people are looking for jobs, I want them to have a job that has enough variety so they don’t get bored. Do you feel like you get that? Or how do you if you’re just doing massage after massage, can you mix it up a little bit? Is it enough variety because the clients are different? What does that look like for you?

 CALEB:

 8:39

Oh, yes. You can have tons of variety with massage. Even where I’m focusing on sports, working with athletes, it’s probably my favorite realm because it’s like inherent variety. I got somebody walks in with shoulder issues one day or in the same day I’ll have somebody shoulder issues, then down to the knee for the next person back. So, it’s always changing. It’s always kind of evolving because the realm I’m in, I’m working with all types of athletes, and they get beat up in all kinds of ways. Like, the human body is absolutely amazing, and it can also go amazingly wrong, especially in

 KRISTIN:

 9:19

 Especially in sports, I’m sure.

 CALEB:

 9:21

Yeah.

I swear they invent things to challenge me sometimes. I don’t know what you did…how?! But it does just in. That gives me a ton of variety. But as a massage therapist in general, I’ve worked in spas. I’ve worked with chiropractors, physical therapists. I’ve kind of run the gauntlet of all the different ways places you can work. And yes, I’ll just admit it is easy to fall into complexity as a massage therapist. I’m not picking on the spa industry, but it is so easy in that industry to end up going on repeat with some of your massages because a lot of the people, they’re going to a spa to relax. And sometimes as a massage therapist, if you’re not watching yourself, it can be the same massage over and over again, regardless of the person on the table. So, you do have to be careful. But in the spa industry as well, there’s a lot of other things that you can incorporate. You know, from foot scrubs to mud wraps – I mean, the list is incredible. Hot stone, people love hot zone, shiatsu style massage where they’re like using their feet to massage you.

So, there can be a great bit of variety. You can fall into complexity very easily with it, though. But I found as long as I’m willing to try and keep looking at each person as an individual, even when I was at the spa, it was always make sure each person walking in as an individual. I’m not just going through the motions. And the variety came with it because everybody needs a little bit different, even if they’re just trying to relax. So tons of variety, especially if you’re willing to keep an open mind to the possibility of it and look for it, if that makes sense.

 KRISTIN:

 11:16

Well, obviously your job now is a lot where it has a lot more variety, but in the spa industry, you just have to be a little more conscious about what you’re doing and make sure you’re not falling into a rut.

Do you feel like you have a lot of control over what you do? Or do you feel like, whatever the client wants, that’s what I got to do. And that’s one of the things that sometimes make us feel good, is when we have control over how we operate.

 CALEB:

 11:37

Oh, yes. Different industries and stuff like that. Even spa to sports. Yes. As a teacher, I’ll fall back on my teaching when talking to the students and helping them understand how to work with clients is who’s paying for the session ultimately? Like, who put in the hard-earned money to come and see you? So, it’s ultimately their session, and you do have to listen to them and do everything you can to meet their needs. That is so important.

You don’t want somebody walking out of the session going, well, that was a waste of time. Even if you did the most incredible massage, if you did the most incredible work, if you didn’t listen to them, you failed. The way I look at it,

KRISTIN:

Yeah, that happened to me once. I paid for a two-hour massage. I was having a bunch of, like, muscle issues in my chest and shoulder areas. And I told her, I don’t care what you do as long as you work on those areas, I’m good. And at the very end, like, we had five minutes left, she still hadn’t gotten there. And I was like I asked her, Are you going to get there? And she was like, oh, yeah. And she kind of played it off, but I could tell that she had totally forgotten. But I’m like, 2 hours in, you didn’t do the one thing I needed.

 KRISTIN:

 12:49

 Yeah, and so obviously I didn’t go back. I could see how that could happen,

 CALEB:

 12:54

But it’s so easy. And I’ve worked with the students to be like, okay, you’re falling into your flow, your rut. It’s good to create a foundation massage, I call it, where it helps you to keep track of time, to keep on pace, to make sure you’re doing everything. But you need to be able to adjust from it.

With having control too, one of my favorite things about this whole massage industry, it doesn’t matter spa, sports, you know your anatomy, you understand the body, you can then educate the clients, you can talk to them. And it’s a scary thing for a lot of people to be willing to give up their ideas, to be like, hey, you want a full body? Fantastic. But you’re telling me about this problem and this problem, so why don’t we do this?

And you can start kind of working with them saying, okay, we can do a full body still, but how about we not work on these areas that aren’t bothering you as much? We’ll just do a quick few strokes to push the blood, and let’s divert a little more time to this.

Or like with sports, with some of my athletes, it will be in the session. They’ll be like, okay, just like you said. I don’t care what you do. Just do this. I’ll get that. Where they’re like, you know what? I would love it if you got to this, this and this. But this is my priority, and so I’ll hit the priority first. And as I’m working, you’ll be like, okay, yeah, I can see why this is a priority. Are you okay if we spend the whole time just really getting this because it’s pretty intense? It needs some good quality work, and other times, it’s like, yeah. How are you feeling? You feel like, we got that? And they’re like, yeah, that feels great. Okay, what’s next? What do you want to go to next? As a therapist, you do have a lot of control, but you have to learn to balance that with what the client, the guest, the person on your table is looking for.

 KRISTIN:

 14:53

Yeah. It seems like you need to have good communication skills and good listening skills. As you’re more open and communicating and kind of working as a team with your client, it’s a better experience for both of you.

 CALEB:

 15:03

 Amen. Yes.

I’ll say this – one of my most hated phrase out of any massage therapist, any industry, really. My biggest pet peeve is when somebody says, you need this. I, as a massage therapist, I know the body. I know anatomy. I know these things. I know a lot, but I don’t know them, and I don’t know them as well as they know themselves. So it’s very much I try to look at going in each session as it’s a team effort. I’m sure we’ve talked a lot during the session where it would be like, how’s this feeling? You know, I check in with the pressure, or there are times where I push on something. I know it’s awful, and I’ll be like, okay, here goes. Sorry.

 KRISTIN:

 15:51

 Yeah, I do remember thinking, “ugh! This hurts!”

 CALEB:

 15:53

 Yeah, but having that teamwork.

 KRISTIN:

 15:55

Okay, so talk to me about just some unexpected things about massage. Now, going into school, what is some stuff that happened that you just weren’t expecting?

 CALEB:

 16:04

 Laundry.

 KRISTIN:

 16:05

 Okay. Yeah. Nobody thinks about that.

 CALEB:

 16:09

No. After being in the industry for so long, that’s like the biggest joke between me and other therapists when I’m working with them is that I wish somebody had stopped me at the door going into the school and helped me understand just how much laundry I was going to have to be doing. 

 KRISTIN:

 16:25

Yeah I guess you assume that there is some assistant around helping you with the laundry.

 CALEB:

 16:29

Yes, in some places there are. When I worked at a spa before I’ve worked at a spa where they had a whole laundry department. It was attached to a hotel. We sent all our stuff to them. That was heaven. The only thing we had to do was fold them and put them away.

Another spa I worked at, it was we did everything that was part of the job. We put it in, we cleaned it. If we didn’t have a client, we were doing laundry. That’s one of the biggest things right away is, like, you’re going to be doing so much laundry unless you find a place that does it for you. So, make sure you got a good washing machine, and make sure you get a good schedule. And get ready to learn how to fold sheets…almost like store quality. Like, you could fold it, make it look beautiful like you just got it off the shelf.

 KRISTIN:

 17:22

Oh, yeah. You could teach me how to fold the fitted sheets. I know. Like, I do a mediocre job. But I’m sure you’re an expert.

 CALEB:

 17:30

The twin size – I got them down.

 KRISTIN:

 17:31

 Oh that’s funny. Yeah, definitely. That would have not come to mind when I think of massage.

 CALEB:

 17:36

So that’s a big one.

A couple of things that you don’t kind of expect is that you’re going to work…You’re not going to always have the ideal clientele- the ideal people coming in and it’s interesting as a teacher, I always saw this with students. I’m guilty of this. You got this whole vision in their head about I’m going to be working with these people and for some reason in my head that was the only people I ever worked with. And then all of a sudden, I’m getting all walks of life, all shapes and sizes, all different things, even working with a special population, somebody coming in a wheelchair or missing a limb.

And that was one of the things that I don’t know why I didn’t expect it, but it wasn’t something on my mind. And then I get out there and I’ve worked with all the ones I’ve just said – anything from pregnancy, to missing limbs, to paraplegic, quadriplegics, and it’s been a fantastic journey working with that. Those are couple of the biggest things for me where it’s like I wish I knew better, understood more what I was in for with this and then having that right from the get-go.

 KRISTIN:

 18:55

I don’t know. I’m sure you just think of somebody that’s kind of like you and that’s what stays in your mind if you think everyone’s going to be like me. If you want to do a massage and you kind of forget the world is different than that. That’s cool though. I’m sure that’s a two way street. You meet a lot of awesome people you weren’t expecting and I’m sure there’s some clients that are difficult that you’d be happy if they don’t come back, but I’m sure that’s probably normal.

You’ve talked a little bit about some of the different areas that you can work in with massage. One of the unexpected or less common things that you could do with your license?

 CALEB:

 20:45

Got you.

So honestly, your imagination can take you about anywhere with it, really. One of the… my mother said this when I was younger, and it’s like, if you want to be successful, find a need and fill it. And with massage, you can do that. Going into nursing homes and working with those more towards the end of life, helping them out and then even working in my realm, I could work athletes all the way from the peewee leagues, all the way up to the professionals. Some other things that people often don’t think about is going in into a dentist’s office saying if maybe you can work with those, because having your jaw held open for a long time puts a lot of stress on that. Sometimes some of the -working with the musculature of the jaw can help improve the entire dental experience and maybe even possibly make it so some of the more intense things can be easier on the person, maybe possibly, potentially even be avoided doing stuff like that. Going to a doctor’s office and working on people’s hands in the waiting room.

And of course, always get permission before just wandering in because you’re just somebody walking.

KRISTIN:

That might be weird.

CALEB:

 Yeah, that might be really awkward, but doing stuff like that.

I love being a teacher because I had some incredible ideas from people and some that were like, I don’t know, but good thinking, where I had some like, well, what if I went like at the trailhead and I offered chair massage to hikers coming off their hike and like, you know, I like what you’re thinking. I don’t know how they feel about it. Walking off and you’re just standing there.

But really the imagination – you can do so many things. I love to go into offices and work with offices. The people have been at a desk for hours and giving them just a quick ten-minute pick me up.

I’ve even worked that…this just seems silly, but a Pampered Chef at the party where I just went in charged  an insanely cheap rate. It was like ten cents a minute because I was doing it for a friend just to give a little massage, and it was a hit. I’ve worked with going into, like, oils. With Utah, we have a lot of oil companies around and massage and oils do tend to go hand in hand. I’ve been able to work with those.

 KRISTIN:

 21:59

 Okay. I better never be invited to another woman’s party without a massage there.

 CALEB:

 22:02

Sorry, I just ruined it.

 KRISTIN:

 22:05

That sounds pretty… because you could do a lot of… you could go to your normal, typical nine-to-five route or you could have if you have this more entrepreneurial mindset, you could really make it what you want. You can get really creative and control and just have this niche that you’re well known for. Exactly.

 CALEB:

 22:20

Exactly. Yep.

Some of it will be harder to get into that’s like any you can say that about any industry, though. Like, you got some really fun idea that’s a little off the left field where it’s like, oh, I’ve never heard my students like, I’m going to sit at the trailhead and massage the hikers as they come out like, I like what you’re thinking. I don’t know how people will feel about that. That might be tough to get started even like at the airport, there’s massage chairs there now. It’s pretty impressive where we can take massage and how much it can help just anybody in general.

 KRISTIN:

 22:55

Yeah, I like that.

I’m going to change course just a little bit. So, one thing we talked about when we were together when I was there for my massage, you were telling me that you went to school, but you see a lot of students that come in aren’t still doing massage. Why do you think that is? What do you think is deterring them or causing them to change? I don’t know if you know a percentage, but like what percentage do you think is not still practicing massage, and then why?

 CALEB:

 23:17

That’s a really good question. As far as percentages, I don’t have an exact, but if I were to guess, I would say it’s upwards of 60, 70%, or maybe even a little higher. It breaks my heart that is that it feels like it’s that high.

And honestly, if somebody were to comment on this and say, hey, you’re wrong, it’s only this -woohoo! Please prove me wrong on that. I would love that. But I’ve seen so many get into it and then just do nothing with it.

One of the biggest things right away is they’ll get hurt because they’re not being careful with their body mechanics, how they’re working themselves. Shoulder issues can be huge for massage therapists. I dislocated my shoulder when I was a teenager, so I have to be a little extra careful with the work I do, make sure I’m keeping that safe.

But like I said, the biggest thing probably is they get themselves hurt and they can’t do it anymore.

Another thing is like we kind of alluded to earlier, they kind of have this idea in their head of all this wonderful, like it’s going to be this way, this, and they get out there and they find the hard reality that it’s not what they envisioned. Like, one of the best examples I can think of is – there’s a large percentage that almost act like as soon as they graduate, as soon as they get that license, their door should be beaten down by people excited for massage. And I know that’s something that goes across the board with any industry. They get this idea that, oh, I’m licensed, I made it. Where’s my people? But they don’t go out and market themselves. They’re not willing to kind of pound the pavement, so to speak, to go out and let people know they’re there.

I’ve got a few close friends of mine who are massage therapists that they’re like, well, how’s it going? Well, I’m not finding any work. And I’m sitting back like, I’m finding lots of work. I’m putting it on social media. I’m talking to this word of mouth. I do a good job in my session, and people start talking about it. But that’s another big thing, is I think that a lot of them feel like that they shouldn’t have to market themselves. They just don’t want to put in that effort, and so they struggle and eventually drop off because of that.

 KRISTIN:

 25:39

So, do you think they just assume that if you’re going to get hired by the company that they’re working for is going to bring in the clients, and so it wasn’t going to take any work from them? Do you think that happens?

 CALEB:

 25:50

I think it does, honestly. I think it does happen where they assume that everybody will just be brought to them, and to a degree, it does happen where you work for a company and they bring their clientele. The problem is, usually, you can’t take that clientele with you if you decide to move on.  Because it’s the company’s clientele, not yours.

 KRISTIN:

 26:13

 Right. That makes sense.

 CALEB:

 26:14

There’s this lack of either, I want to say I think it’s more confidence, honestly, in their ability to market themselves.

 KRISTIN:

 26:24

So that’s probably a skill that people don’t think of when they think about… when someone’s trying to decide on a career. Obviously, you consider your skills what am I good at? And massage, obviously, you have to be good at physically giving a massage. But a lot of that skills that maybe we don’t think about are the ability to get a clientele, to market yourself, to talk to others, to network, to build that up. And so, if maybe you are incredibly shy and the idea of putting yourself out there is terrifying, that’s something you should take into consideration. Do you agree?

 CALEB:

 26:53

Yes, I agree.

Working for a place you can get, like we’re saying a second ago, you can get a great client even if you’re shy. The hard part is, I’ve even working in spas. I’ve watched those newer, younger ones who are like, I don’t feel comfortable asking them to come back. And it’s like, you’re going to struggle. Even though they were brought in for you, if you’re nervous about kind of putting yourself out there to invite them back, it will be a struggle.

Is it something that can be overcome? Oh, definitely. Definitely. That’s when if anybody’s listening to this and want to be a massage therapist but they’re shy, don’t let this stop you. Just understand that this is a skill that you’ll need to find somebody, or that you’ll need to work with a mentor, and learn how to invite somebody back. They call it “closing sale”. I hate saying that. I like to say inviting them back like, okay, so here’s what I noticed. Here’s how the session went. You list off the things and when would you like to come back? Or I think it would be good to see you in two weeks. I get lucky because I have a lot of people straight up asking me, like, when do you think I should be back? And it’s like, okay, based on…and you list off the reasons, and this is what I think would be good. But getting into the massage industry, you do need to start feeling comfortable with inviting people, opening up that door for them, because if you just let them leave, a lot of them will just keep on going.

 KRISTIN:

 28:28

Yeah, I’m sure that is terrifying, this fear of rejection. If I asked them and they say no, it might get awkward. And yes, I can see how that, but hopefully with practice, it becomes easier and easier.

 CALEB:

 28:40

Yeah. One of the things I always think of that helps me, because as crazy as this sounds, I grew up very shy. I’m very introverted. I love my tight little space just to be by myself.

 KRISTIN:

 28:52

 Yeah, you’d never guess it.  

 CALEB:

 28:54

One thing that does help me is, like, if somebody says no, that’s okay, because there are so many people out there.

With my students, I always tried to get this point across that my touch isn’t for everybody. It just isn’t. Because I could be the most calm, relaxing person, and I could have this person walk in, and they just found me irritating the whole time. And there’s nothing I could do to change that because I can’t explain exactly why, but…

 KRISTIN:

 29:27

Sometimes personalities just don’t click, you know?

 CALEB:

 29:30

Exactly. Yeah.

But there are a ton of people out there that could benefit from what I could do, from my stupid jokes I make during the sessions, or who just are willing to laugh and make me feel better about it. That’s one thing new therapists getting in the industry, I hope they can understand that. Yeah. Your touch isn’t for everybody, but there’s a lot of people where your work will mean everything to.

 KRISTIN:

 29:59

That’s awesome.

I just thought of a question. How many times in a session, like, are they usually quiet? You’re just dead silent? You’re just working in quiet silence, or a lot of people talkative? Sometimes, you know, as a client myself, you go in, you’re like, should I talk? Is it weird if I just sit here and don’t say anything? Or, you know, what is that like for you?

 CALEB:

 30:18

That’s a fun one, because yes, no, all the above. It’s such a personal taste. It’s like I like Mountain Dew versus Coke or something like that, where it just depends on your flare.

Generally, let’s say, in a spa setting, generally, people tend to be more quiet, and calm overall. In sports, in that, we tend to be a little more rambunctious, a little louder. However, I work with some people that I think I’ve said a total of ten words in an hour at times because that’s how they work.

I’ve learned to really try and allow the client to lead the conversation. Where I will talk as much as they want to. I try not to take it over and I’m guilty of definitely taking it over sometimes where if they ask me a question, I’m really excited about this topic and it’s like, oh, let me regurgitate everything I’ve ever heard or thought about this.

But for the most part, as a therapist, kind of mastering the skill of being guided in conversation can make it so much better because I’ve got those clients that will talk the entire time. I’ve got one that besides checking in, making sure everything’s going good and we say, hey, how’s it going? Okay, thanks, bye. That’s about our conversation. So, it varies. 

 KRISTIN:

 31:43

Some people are just there to relax.

 CALEB:

 31:44

 Exactly. And it’s funny, I have some people that come in and they know what they’re going to go through. I just want you to beat me up and then I want to go home.

 KRISTIN:

 31:51

Fair enough. I’ll be mad at you, by the time I leave any way for beating me up. That’s funny.

Okay, so if somebody wants to break into massage, do you think you can break a massage as an older adult? Do you think it’s too late? Like is it going to take you too long to build a clientele? Or do you need to jump in when you’re younger?

 CALEB:

 32:10

There are definitely advantages to jumping in when you’re younger. The body recovers quicker, you’re able to have more time to build a clientele. It’s easier to keep yourself going energy-wise.

But I have seen all ages come into the industry. I think the oldest student that I worked with was in his seventies. Yeah, it was kind of shocking at first. They walk in, cool, let’s do this. And it was really fun because one of their big goals, they didn’t want to do all the spa, the deep tissue, stuff like that. They wanted to really focus on feet.

And we know the body, how important the feet are. That’s, like, awesome. Yes. But he wanted all the other information to be able to have that to help people more, instead of just like, no feet. But I don’t know anything else so that he could work with that.

So, yeah, you can start at any age, really. There’s no limit on it. As long as you feel comfortable doing it, as long as you understand that it can be physically intense and you’re willing to take care of yourself, that’s probably the most important thing. No matter what age – is, if you’re not taking care of yourself, it doesn’t matter how old, how young you are, you won’t last. Like we talked about earlier, where, like, one of the big reasons people don’t do it anymore, they get hurt. But any age, any age can do it.

 KRISTIN:

 33:38

Awesome. How long would you say it takes to build up a decent clientele? If you’re really working at it and you’re good at it?

 CALEB:

 33:45

Really working at it, like, honestly, I’ve built up a clientele where I’ve been steadily busy working in just a couple of months, two or three months.

 KRISTIN:

 33:54

 Okay, that’s not too long.

 CALEB:

 33:55

Yeah, it can be very quick if you’re willing to pound the pavement, if you’re willing to invite, if you’re willing to, you know, even, like, even just asking, like, hey, do you know anybody that might need some help? Send them my way. Even just keeping it as casual as that.

I’ve done that a few times. Or like, oh, yeah, that’s a great, great, like, yeah, you know, anybody else, send them over. I’ll take care of them. But on average, it’d probably take a few months, a year to really get that going. It doesn’t have to be. It really is determined by how much you’re willing to put in. And the beautiful thing now, even when I got started, social media was there, but it was not what it is now.

 KRISTIN:

 34:36

 Oh, yeah, for sure.

 CALEB:

 34:37

Oh, man. Like, social media, now, if you’re willing and if you’re willing to work with people that will let you take pictures, video sessions, stuff like that, you can explode your practice because people see it, and they love that. So, thanks to how much visibility we can create for ourselves for free now…when I got out, I’m like, okay, how am I going to pay for this? I got to get business cards. I got to get all this. And nowadays, it’s like it’s all digital,

 KRISTIN:

 35:04

So it makes it so much easier.

Tell me about your journey. How did you get into massage? Did you always want to be a massage therapist? I kind of know the answer already because you told me at our session. But tell me again.

 CALEB:

 35:19

I love telling this one. It’s a fun story because I had no intention whatsoever of ever becoming a massage therapist. Let’s just start there. No, never had the thought. But what had happened is, without going into too much detail, so we’re not dragging on forever, but about 20ish years ago, my mother got hurt, and I dropped everything to help her out. So, I spent a lot of time, several years, just kind of drifting as I was trying to figure this out, trying to help my mother with her injuries, since people will be curious – she blew out L four and L five in her lumbar, and it is bad enough that she’s in a wheelchair now and really struggles, and so she needed help, needs help.

And during that whole time, I was really lost in life. Just, what am I going to do? I worked retail. I did construction. I kind of did all those, like, usual things where you’re just kind of not figuring anything out in life. Because I’ve been helping my mother for a few years, I kind of started to go, you know what? I like helping. I like helping people feel better. I like being of service. And at first, I thought, I’m going to be a nurse. I think I’ll be a nurse. And then no, I’ll be a physical therapist. And I settled in on the physical therapy. And at the time I’m looking around, you know, there is a waiting list to get in. I really wanted to go to the U. Was really kind of set on that. But I didn’t have any college underneath my belt at all. None. So, I’d be starting from scratch. In the back of my mind, I’m sitting there like, what am I going to do in the meantime? Because I like where I was working. I was working at Cabela’s, and I liked it, but it wasn’t doing everything I needed.

But I needed something more. And as I was researching for physical therapy schools, the Utah College of Massage Therapy popped up in a search engine on the side where they have little ads. And I was like, you know what? I’ll bet massage would be really helpful for a physical therapist. It would be good for a physical therapist to know. So, I decided, you know what? I’m going to check it out. I had never had a massage.

 KRISTIN:

 37:43

Interesting.

 CALEB:

 37:45

 Never had a massage. I had no experience with this whatsoever. My family grew up as massage is that thing that rich people waste money on.

I decided I’m going to go check it out. So, I set up an appointment with the school. The school. And I get off work. I was working in the warehouse, so I’m filthy. The day I went in, I unloaded a truck that I swear they left the door open, and all the dirt just in from Nebraska, where it came from, and it just all the dirt from Nebraska was on the truck with it. So, I’m just covered in filth, and I had no time to shower, go to the school. I’ve got this lovely, like, black sash of soot dirt. My chest sitting there like, this is lovely. Sit down with the admissions rep. And I swear, not more than, like, ten minutes. This person was good at their job. Not more than, like, ten minutes. And she looks at me like, that’s gets you started. Like – okay? And I kind of just like okay, whatever. And I keep asking questions, trying to get more information. And a few minutes later, she repeats herself, “Let’s get you started.” Wait, what?

 KRISTIN:

 38:56

She’s been practicing at getting new clients.

 CALEB:

 39:42

She knows what to do. She’s good at inviting people back. And I’m sitting there like, okay, so when does the next class start? Will it be a month or so? Do I have time to think about this? And she sees that I do not get it. I’m not catching what she is trying to get the message to me. And she leans closer and we’re like almost face to face. She says one more time, “Let’s get you started”. What are you talking about? Like, she just totally threw me. What are you talking about? I walked out of the building about 4 hours later having signed up, got financial aid, and attending my first class. Wondering what I just did?

KRISTIN:

Oh wow. Yeah, you didn’t see that coming.

CALEB:

Apparently the night I went in to get more information was the night the class I graduated with started their program. Like, the only way I could have timed it better was to actually shown up beforehand. That’s awesome. Basically, like, picked up the chair I was sitting in and dropped me in the classroom and wished me luck.

I tried to quit the next day. I tried to quit. They talked me into it. We came to an agreement. If I gave it so much time, I would pay for my time and the materials I used, and then we could shake hands and walk away and that’d be the end of it. And so, I went with that and I fell in love with it. I never look back. That was the beginning. I tell people I accidentally became a massage therapist. Just totally by accident.

 KRISTIN:

 40:36

Yeah, quite literally. That’s awesome. So did you ever think about physical therapy once you started or like once you got into it was physical therapy just out of the picture for you?

 CALEB:

 40:45

It’s, crazy as it sounds, it did just kind of go out of the picture. Yes. I do every once in a while be like, maybe I should go back and do that. But I love what I do. And so I kind of just been in there ever since then. It was one of the best…I tell people it’s the best mistake I ever made. Best mistake of my life was becoming a massage therapist by accident. Because since then I’ve had the opportunity. Like, immediately after that, I did an internship at the Olympic Oval in Kearns working with speed skaters. It was phenomenal. I worked at a ski resort down in Brian Head. I’ve worked like chiropractors, physical therapist. I’ve done my own little private practice. I’ve worked for massage chains, for spas. I was a teacher. I’ve just gone through this whole journey with massage and it’s become my life.

My wife is a massage therapist as well. It’s literally my life. So that’s how I got into it. It was completely by accident and I’ve never looked back. It’s just been…of course I’ve got other stuff I’m interested in, want to do, but this is my path. Everything I do will probably have something based massage.

 KRISTIN:

 41:59

That’s awesome. So, if you could go back again to talk to your younger self, is there anything you would do differently on your path?

 CALEB:

 42:07

That is a good one. Honestly, one of the first things with my massage path, I would just say, don’t be afraid to go for it. Don’t be afraid to step up and try. Definitely, the introverted part of me often held myself back. I felt like I feel like if I had been a little more brave, or probably more appropriately, if I had been willing to step out and find somebody to teach me how to do this after I graduated, after I’m out in the real world, if I had been willing to humble myself – I was kind of arrogant, I’ll admit, thinking I was pretty cool. If I could go back and tell myself be brave enough to be humble and learn, that would probably be the biggest thing.

Go find somebody else and learn from them, follow them, pay them for their time and learn more. Other things: make sure that what I’m going to do is what I actually wanted to do and don’t be pulled into it. As funny as that sounds with the story I just told getting pulled into massage, there have been a few times where I got a massage, a job doing massage where I was like, I don’t really want this, but it’s massage and I don’t want to say it was a waste of time, but I feel like my time would have been better spent in the areas that I wanted to be in.

 KRISTIN:

 43:28

 Don’t settle for something just because you feel like you have to take a job.

 CALEB:

 43:31

Exactly. Yeah, don’t settle. I mean, we all got to eat. We all got bills to pay. So, yeah, get the job, get the income going, but don’t stop. Don’t get stuck in it is a good thing.

 KRISTIN:

 43:43

Is that the advice you would give to new massage therapist? What’s the best career advice you could think to give to anyone wanting to enter this field?

 CALEB:

 43:53

 Definitely everything we just said about don’t settle, keep going, stuff like that. Some of the other advice as far as in the massage itself, learn your anatomy. Get so good with your anatomy that you could like forwards, backwards, that you know the body in and out, because that is the road map.

I’ve had a lot of new therapists coming out of school that I’ve worked with, and they’ll come up to me, I was like, I don’t know what to do in this area. And I’ll admit, it’s kind of rude, I’ll look at them and then you don’t know your anatomy because that is the map. So, get really comfortable with the anatomy and going along with that, never settle with the education that you have. Keep getting more. Go take the classes. And like we’re talking about with social media exploding, there is so much online nowadays that, yeah, you’re not practicing on a body, but you can be learning the information from all. There is a host of different websites that are all about education. You get on there, you sign up for a class, you learn this. Some do continuing education things. Never, never stop learning because you never know when you find that thing that’s going to light a new spark where it’s like, you know what? That is cool. I thought I wanted to do sports massage, but I think I want to go do equestrian work with horses…

 KRISTIN:

 45:24

That would be cool.

 CALEB:

 45:26

…because I had an amazing student come through like five, six years ago when I was teaching that they were only taking the massage program so they could leap into working with horses. And that was awesome. And they do very well with it.

 KRISTIN:

 45:41

Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. That’s awesome. That’s a good idea.

I love it. I think if you’re not learning, it’s all on you. Because you’re right, iIn today’s world, if you’re not constantly learning, you can’t blame it on anyone else because the information is there. The information is available on any topic under the sun you can imagine, like equestrian massage, such a rare topic, but it’s out there if you want to learn. And of course, and we talk about, like, building your clientele, which you’re obviously going to be better at. The more you’re learning, the more you’re staying on top of things, trying new techniques that are going to keep you at the top of your game.

 CALEB:

 46:18

Clients, people in general, they want an educated therapist. They want somebody…you don’t have to be an expert. That’s another piece of advice I’d like to throw out there. For anybody looking to become a new therapist, you don’t have to be an expert. You just have to be willing to keep learning. I’ve had many sessions where they’ll ask me a question and the first thing out of my mouth is, I don’t know. I’ve never thought of that before. But to me that is okay. That’s the next thing for me to learn.

 KRISTIN:

 46:49

Yes. Let me go figure it out. Now. When you’re the client, you trust that your therapist knows what they’re doing and you’re welcome and open to them being the expert and you not. Right? At least that’s my mindset. Like, when I go in, I’m like, this really hurts. I’m not sure why. Tell me why you think it could hurt. Tell me how I could fix it. Like, I want them to give me their expertise because obviously, I don’t have time to spend becoming an expert in every field. Right? I just trust that that’s your job, to be an expert and then you let me know what I should know.

 CALEB:

 47:20

Exactly. Yeah. Like I said, even if you ask me what’s going on with this? I don’t know. Let me go figure it out. I will get on that for you.

 KRISTIN:

 47:29

Yeah.

Okay, Caleb. Well, thank you for your time. This has been really fascinating. I love your story, and you’ve given a lot of great advice that I wouldn’t have expected, so that’s hopefully really helpful for others. So tell us, where can we find you if somebody wants to reach out to you, maybe to ask you more about the massage industry or to actually have you do a massage, which I would highly recommend, he’s really great, where can they find you?

 CALEB:

 47:52

So, we’re at Total Muscle Therapy in Pleasant Grove. It’s kind of a tricky place to find, so probably the easiest thing to do is go online, totalmuscletherapy.com and look us up there. You can find all the information, phone number, and email stuff right there. That’s probably going to be the simplest thing to do, get online and come find us.

If not, then word of mouth might reach you, might find you. We might track you down accidentally ourselves, but that’s probably the best way right now. Just get online, look us up. Totalmuscletherapy.com.

 KRISTIN:

 48:24

OK, awesome. I’ll link to it in the description and the Show Notes, that way people can find you guys. Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

 CALEB:

 48:32

Thank you. This is awesome. I greatly appreciate the invitation to be here. Thank you.

 KRISTIN:

 48:37

Thank you so much for joining us today. I had a really great conversation with Caleb. I really enjoyed it and I’m still laughing about the laundry and massage but I was also really impressed by anatomy and how much that goes into massage and how much that plays a role there.

So, if you’d like to find the Show Notes, I’m going to link to Caleb’s social media and also his website totalmuscletherapy.com and that will be in the Show Notes at wwwkristinszlajko.com/episode 13.

Thank you so much for joining us today and we can’t wait to see you next time.

[Outro]

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