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Male Massage Therapists
by Ryan Hoyme
Licensed Massage Therapist, Minesotta
ryanhoyme@yahoo.com
www.massagenerd.com
Ryan Hoyme
“A.K.A. Male Massage Therapist”
Why massage???
Since 1989 I have been in the health field; from working in nursing homes, group
homes, clinics and other heath related places. I loved what I did, but I knew
there was something missing in my career. In 1996 my mom talked to me about
being a massage therapist, I laughed at first but I soon realized that it was a
profession to help people. I finally enrolled in a massage school in 1997 (you
always have to listen to your mom). My first day of class
there were 15 students and there was only me and another male student. I finally
felt like I was someone when I started massage school and I was always thinking
outside of the table (no pun intended). Halfway through my first class the other
male student dropped out and then there was just me. It didn’t bother me at all,
because most of my past jobs there were very few males.
The schooling experience…
After my first class I enrolled in the full program and it was a very special
class, because there were only 2 other people in most of my classes. I loved the
hands on classes, but then I realized that there were lecture classes…a lot of
them. There was Anatomy, Kinesiology, Business, Ethics and more.
It was hard to comprehend that I had to take so much lecture classes for
a hands-on profession, but I made it work. The only class I struggled in was
kinesiology, but I mastered that once I just accepted it was all about
memorization (I was looking into it too much). My biggest hang-up during school
was being comfortable enough to massage the opposite sex; I know it sounds
weird, but I wanted to make sure they felt comfortable and I would go above and
beyond with asking them questions. After massage school I felt more relaxed
about the opposite sex and I treated everyone equal.
Employment while in school…
I worked in a nursing home as a nursing assistant and a trained medication aid;
also I got a part-time job at a spa working as a massage therapist. It was o.k.
being a male in a spa that catered to people from outside of Minnesota and some
from outside of the United States. I started at $8 an hour guaranteed, plus
tips; I know that it wasn’t much, but I was going to school at that time and
experience is everything when you need bodies to practice on. Most of the
clients did not request a female therapist and I was expecting to not be busy
because of horror stories in school about males trying to make a living in a spa
setting.
Employment after school…
I stayed at a nursing home part-time while I worked at a health club and I also
worked out of someone’s garage as a massage therapist (the place was a lot
prettier than it sounds and they made it into a professional massage clinic). I
liked where I worked, but I wanted to perform massage full-time. Then I got
enough guts with another person and opened a massage clinic in a small town of
3,000 people with the rent of $250 a piece. That was back in 1999 and I did that
for almost 2 years and my business was steady and I still worked at the nursing
home part-time.
The call for teaching…
In 2001 I received a phone call from a person I grew up with and she attended a
college for massage therapy and she said they were looking for someone to teach
massage. I thought about it for 2 seconds and jumped on the chance. After 3
months of teaching I quit my business and worked full-time as a massage
instructor ever since.
The teaching experience…
My first quarter I wanted to quit everyday, but I was stubborn enough to keep
going. Three days before I was scheduled to teach I was hired and they gave me a
book, syllabus and not much more help than that (now new instructs get tons of
extra training before they start). After that first quarter it got a little
easier and I didn’t regret leaving my business. With teaching, I never felt
there was much of a male/female difference and I really felt I found my calling.
I have taught the basics, to the more advanced styles and everything is just a
great learning experience. My dad told me that if you like your job more than
50% of the time, then it’s like you aren’t working at all. I totally live by
those words and massage has been a savior to me and it has made me complete.
Conclusion…
Being a male massage therapist is not
all that bad. We just have to choose different areas to be successful in. If I
had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change too much, except have my
employment be in more the college, chiropractic, health club or hospital
settings. Males are the minority in the massage field (around 20%), but we are
here to stay.
Sincerely,
Ryan Hoyme
www.MassageNerd.com
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