My Story

One of the questions I get the most often from our customers is, "Why are you doing this? Why do you only ask for $5 for massages?" But, to explain that, you have to understand my story, and how we came to open this business in the first place...

My story starts 14 years ago, which is when pain began taking over my life. At first, it was really just daily stomachaches, which were bad, but not debilitating. Soon, however, it was constant stomach pain, coupled with joint and muscle pain, and migraines. Then, when the dizziness and fatigue were added in, my world really came crashing down around me.

At that point, my life became a blur of doctor's visits, new medications, and depression. All of my money went towards my health, and my time was spent searching out new treatments, or trying to find food I could eat on whatever diet the doctor had me on at the moment. I was consumed, and had never felt so alone in my entire life. Nobody understood what I was going through, and even the doctors often suggested everything was all in my head.

After 10 years of trying anything and everything that had come across my path, I was exhausted. The only thing that kept me going was my family and my faith. I'd become a Christian during my illness, and I felt that somehow God would use all of this for some good in the long run. I just never guessed He would use me by opening a business.

The turning point came when I was out of town with my family for a concert and we were looking for a health food store. Next to the health food store was a sign proclaiming, "Free Massage!" which we were skeptical about, but not so skeptical that we didn't stop in and see what they offered. After 40 minutes on their massage therapy bed, we all had the same response, "Wow!" And after learning about the therapeutic elements of the bed, we knew that at the very least it was something we wanted in our home.

But, after praying and considering the options for my future, we all knew we wanted to offer the use of these beds to our community. 6 weeks after trying the bed for the first time, we opened our first business in Old Mesilla. Our desire was to offer hope to all of the people who were hurting, just as I'd been for so long. In fact, the verse that defines our business comes from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, and says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

When we were setting up the business, we knew we wanted to offer a place that was simple and affordable, where people could come regardless of their current circumstances. And so, we set up a business model that most people still don't understand... We ask for tips. Basically, we ask people to leave a minimum of $5 whenever they use our equipment, so that they can afford to come as often as they want. Most people are able to leave $5, and some people are able to leave much more, but what people leave isn't as important to us as being available to help everyone feel better. We've been trusting God to provide for us for four years now, and He's never let us down.

In the past four years, we've been able to offer a sanctuary of comfort and relaxation for thousands of people. And, interestingly enough, the answers to my own health struggles came through a doctor recommendation from one of our customers. I am now healthy and pain free, and have more energy to help our customers and friends. And, I wouldn't trade what I do for anything.