Dallas – Followed an Unexpected Path and Found His Calling

From pirouettes to pixels to teaching, Dallas embraced change and discovered a fulfilling career in massage therapy and personal training.

After an injury put an end to his ballet career in his late 20s, Dallas worked in visual effects for 10 years. He missed being active, and visual effects was a sedentary job. He needed a change.

“A friend of mine was attending MaKami College in 2020,” Dallas says. “I reached out to him and asked him a whole slew of questions, and he told me all about the program he was attending during the pandemic.”

He had always considered massage therapy as a possible career choice for when his dance career ended. Dancing often led to injuries, and massage therapy always helped him recover.

“I was always interested in muscles and how the body works,” he says. “I always thought it would be nice to help people.”

Because he knew it was important for massage therapists to have a strong foundation in anatomy and physiology, he wanted to make sure he was picking the right program. Dallas was living in BC at the time, and after researching MaKami and other colleges in that province, he discovered MaKami was a great fit.

“I knew I wanted to come to Calgary,” Dallas says. “I heard MaKami’s Massage Therapy program was phenomenal, one of the biggest in the Calgary area, so it seemed like a good choice.”

After touring the campus, Dallas enrolled in the Massage Therapy program and moved to Calgary within a month. Although he loved the experience, being an adult learner came with its challenges.

“It had been well over 15 years since I had been at high school or done any learning other than dancing,” Dallas admits. “I often struggled with some of the course load, but I used MaKami’s tutoring services and they helped keep me on track, and gave me a study schedule that fit my schedule regularly.”

The program’s available technology helped him learn.

“I used quiz apps to test myself and used other visual interactive apps to rotate an image of a body, peel off layers, and change the view to connective tissue, muscles, nerves, blood vessels or lymphatic systems,” says Dallas.

His instructors were also helpful in giving him information and study skills. “They taught me how to write flashcards and different ways to learn, and that’s how I found out I’m more of a hands-on learner.”

With their help, school became easier for Dallas. “Being an adult learner can be challenging, but we all have the capability. It may take a little more effort, that’s all.”

Dallas says students shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help if they need it. “There is an entire wealth of knowledge and information available. All you need to do is reach out and be willing to ask the questions.”

Dallas started to enjoy school so much that he decided to take another program at MaKami – the Personal Trainer certificate program. Learn more about Dallas’ progression into the Personal Trainer program, and how the combination of those two programs has helped him excel and fast track his career.