Our episodes are about people and their stories and we are always looking to have guests who are passionate about what they do, unique in some way, interesting to talk to, and a person we would want to hang out with! In comes Dylan Crake, RMT, RKin, both onto the RMT scene and onto our podcast...virtually of course! In her short career as a RMT, Dylan has created a niche working with seniors which was not her original intent, been published in Massage Therapy Today, and was recently featured in the Member Spotlight by the RMTAO. This green RMT has experience working as a RKin which seems to have really paid off in getting this phase of her career started. Listen to us rap about Dylan's lock down routine and social media posts, her BSc and MSc Education, her thoughts on Massage School and wanting to become a Massage Instructor, and some advice the 3 of us have for the RMTAO.

John came through our doors last year to prepare for his licensing exam to become a Registered Massage Therapist- a career that would allow him the flexibility to continue pursuing his original passion- running. John is a triathlete who was just recently in Florida training for his race for Team Canada in the summer. Turns out, the timing meant that he had to get back to Canada an go into self isolation and quarantine himself for at least 14 days. So while he’s just sitting around his parents house, he decided to have a phone conversation with us about his journey as an athlete and what goes into his training, why he loves triathletes, what kind of self care he does to keep his own body in shape, and what kinds of clients he typically works with as a RMT.

As well all navigate through this unprecedented and uncertain climate of dealing with a global pandemic and being forced out of work, many of us are going through a wide range of emotions daily and doing what we think is best for ourselves and our families. We wanted to have a clinic owner on to speak about what comes along with being a small business owner. Chris, a clinic owner, took on a great deal of financial risk upon opening a business and now he has the added pressure of trying to ensure their business can survive this while trying not to leave his staff in a bad situation. We have been feeling it. Edit from the recording: most of the people requesting refunds are being quite patient and we appreciate you! We are all processing the stress, the emotions, and the fear of the unknown. Our purpose of this recording was to remind us all that we need to help each other. We are in this together.

Suzie is one of the undercover heroes that we wanted to highlight for our listeners. This relatively new RMT, formerly a Social Worker, has a soft spot for people who have suffered some major trauma(s) and has created a unique career out of it. Suzie left Social Work because her own mental health needed a break and had a plan to be a Massage Therapist in a tropical climate! Instead, her career took the direction of working with severe MVA clients and offering in-home therapy to a clientele that would possibly scare most of us away. She came in to our office before we all had to really enforce social distancing and was a great last in-person interview to have! Suzie is humble and hilarious and we hope you get as much joy out of listening to her as we did!

We invited Tiffany on to discuss the tough decision that many of us have had to make to close our doors to comply with social distancing. This recording happened 2 days after the CMTO sent out the first email recommending that we stop any non-essential massage therapy treatments and before receiving the directive from the Chief Medical Officer. At that time, some clinics were choosing to remain open. Tiffany, on the other hand had made the decision to close up Affinity Wellness Center by that time. Changes are happening so quickly that each day we have new information. Listen in as we rap about the tough decision at the time and all the things considered to make such a difficult decision- money, safety, social responsibility, and healthcare ethics. To all of the clinic owners that I’m sure have closed by now, we are all in this together!

We invited Nina to our office for an Unprofessional Hour  which happened to be the day that the CMTO sent us all the email saying we should halt any non-essential Massage Therapy treatments. With all of the panic and uncertainty already going on in the world, and the new panic and uncertainty that was about to come from thousands of self-employed, small business owners shutting their doors, we thought we needed some good ol' light hearted banter about the ridiculous life of RMTs to bring forth some laughter...and Nina delivered! from being asked out by clients, to toilet humour, to living in a South Asian community and being raised by South Asian parents, and of course, what we would do if we won MILLIONS!

Wanda reached out to us to talk about going back to work as a Massage Therapist post injury. At the very start of her career she had a serious injury but wasn’t ready to give up on Massage Therapy yet. She tells us about the accident, what she had to do to recover, and how it felt going back to work. Now 10 years into her career, Wanda has also added a second stream of income by deciding to join a multilevel marketing company to sell products that she once thought she knew nothing about. As a Mom, Wanda appreciates the flexibility we have with this career and is enjoying a slower paced massage career these days with the help from her side hustle! Listen in as we talk about everything and nothing all at the same time.

We had Jaime come into our office just to rap about what it’s like to have a career as a Registered Kinesiologist. Jaime is super passionate about making connections with her clients and helping them to incorporate movement in their life to feel better. She’s a firm believer in exercise is medicine and describes herself as your last resort Kinesiologist. She says many people find her when they have tried everything else and aren’t improving. We discussed what kins do, how clients view them, extended health coverage, and what the future of kin may look like.

Being a Massage Therapist has to be the coolest career in the world. We have flexibility in our schedule and work environment, the ability to work with so many different populations, and the opportunity to help people physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually...AND we get paid to do it! We follow a lot of RMTs who do cool stuff and have had many on the podcast. Christine Parker, RMT has been in practice for almost two decades and her life is a perfect example of what this career can offer. She’s an athlete who recently made The Team Canada Field Hockey Team and will be competing in London, England this summer and she’s also a sports photographer! Christine has taken all of her passions- athletics, photography, travel, and therapy and has a pretty sweet gig!

It might be an annual episode to have Nicki, RMT and world traveller on our couch when she touches back down in Toronto after another adventure in new countries! This is Nicki’s second visit with us to talk about her fabulous life as a self employed RMT who works 10 months of the year and takes time each year to explore new countries and have massage in those countries! Nicki wants to visit 50 countries by age 50 and has already experienced massage in 13 different countries. She may also be starting a new series called the unpopular opinion! Listen to Nicki’s travel stories, her unique massage experiences, and her opinions on hot topics that not everybody will agree with...