Well, hello there. Welcome to our first ever blog post. I figured it would be fitting to start with an introduction of how The Back Rub Company came to be. Given that blogging started in 1994, I might be a little late to the party. But better late than never, right?

According to wordreference.com, the term “running away with the circus” means something wild or adventuresome that someone might do on an impulse.

I’ve always been known to take things too literally.

That’s me.

No, not the beautiful painted lady dangling precariously by her heel from a hoop hanging in the ethers. The pudgy girl with the red glasses.

It was 2001 when Cirque du Soliel hoisted their blue and yellow tent at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Arizona. I was a massage therapist specializing in sports massage for athletes. The show needed a massage therapist and I just happened to know someone who knew someone who worked on another Cirque show and got an interview.

My job description was to provide 30-minutes daily of sports-specific massage to the artistic team of the touring show, Dralion. Cirque’s artistic team is comprised of the performers and the musicians who play live during each show. And massaging them is no small feat because each artist, depending on their act, has a different set of issues.

The trapeze artists have overworked lats and forearms, while the teeterboard performers struggle with tight legs and glutes. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of relieving pain and increasing the mobility of these impressive athletes. Being a circus performer takes a huge toll on the body.

I must have done something right because about two-weeks before it was time for the show to head out to the next city, a group of artists -mainly the clowns- petitioned the lead Physiotherapist for me to join them on the rest of their North American tour.

Being that I was in my 20’s with nothing to tie me down, I barely hesitated as I loaded up my little Ford Escort ZX2 and headed east to Louisiana.

The first stop was New Orleans, where I met the absolute best family, a brother and two sisters, and hung out with them the entire time I was there. We went to all the pre-Mardi Gras parades and threw beads from the Bacardi balcony on Fat Tuesday. I ate every Cajun-inspired dish I could get my hands on, from muffalettas to crawfish etouffee to Café du Monde’s world-famous beignets.

Next, we toured the Bible Belt region of the Carolinas and landed in Raleigh where my grandpa happened to live at the time, so I was grateful to get some quality time with him.

In every city, the show “goes dark” on one Monday so we get an extra day off. Twenty or so artists, logistics team members and administrative staff rented a few houses on Holden Beach, and we had an absolute blast. Being in the presence of people from all over the world in a setting like the one we had on Holden Beach is one of the most eye-opening and enriching experiences a person can have.

Up the coast to the Outer Banks, past Kitty Hawk and into the Inner Harbor of Baltimore was where we set up next. This is also where my car was broken into and EVERY SINGLE THING I owned, except for my massage table, was stolen. I donned a new wardrobe made up of thrift store finds the remainder of the tour.

Each city hosts an opening night party when Cirque comes to town. The best, by far, was hosted in Baltimore.

Our tour also took us to New York City and Fire Island to visit the cast from another touring show, Varekai, one of the best Cirque shows I’ve ever seen. This was my first time in the Big Apple, and it did not disappoint. From Times Square to trying to navigate the subway, I wouldn’t have wanted to experience it any other way.

After spending the remainder of Dralion’s North American Tour with the amazing cast and crew, it was time for them to head back to Montreal to change out performers. They do this to ensure the artists are in top shape, giving their bodies time to rest. (Fun Fact: Cirque performers put on an average of 476 shows each year.)

That meant, it was also time for me to return to Phoenix.

By now, you’re probably thinking “that’s all well and good, but what does Cirque du Soleil have to do with a chair massage company?”

Well, when I got back from the tour, I had my own set of issues. Working with athletes is not for spa therapists. Athletic massage can do just as much damage to a massage therapist as a repetitive act can do to a performer.

I developed piriformis syndrome and some on-going issues with my wrists after the tour. As badly as I wanted to continue to provide sports massage to my clients, working with the Cirque artists had left its mark and I just couldn’t do as much as I hoped.

The idea for a chair massage company was born out of something I remembered on tour. While the artistic team could receive a massage anytime they wanted, the offer didn’t extend to the logistics or administrative employees, who also felt the effects of their jobs; from carpal tunnel to sore backs to stiff hips.

I decided everyone should have access to the therapeutic benefits of massage therapy, and why not start in the workplace, where we could reach multiple people at once and help improve the health, morale and productivity of employees with on-site chair massage. In 2005, I launched The Back Rub Company and worked alongside my massage therapists for the first three years.

I let my massage license lapse once we grew to a point where I had to manage the office. At times, I miss being in the field with my therapists and the satisfaction it gives me to see someone find relief from a 15-minute chair massage.

I’m proud to say that The Back Rub Company now boasts more than 400 massage therapists and wellness providers in 78 cities nationwide, and we extend our chair massage and wellness services to hundreds of thousands of people. We see growth every day as more and more people are drawn to massage therapy and holistic health.

During my time as a licensed massage therapist, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of massaging for four Cirque du Soleil shows: Dralion, Varekai, Corteo and Saltimbanco, each one vastly different from the next. I’ve have had one-of-a-kind experiences and met some of the most amazing people, many of whom I remain friends with to this day. Shout out to my PB!

In January 2015, Dralion performed for the final time. I’m so grateful for that most incredible opportunity and that it led me to founding The Back Rub Company. We have so much more to share!