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MaKami College Open House Saturday June 8!

Florin – A Passion for Helping Athletes

Florin, graduate of MaKami College Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy program helps athletes

As an athlete, Florin was always getting injuries, so over time he became very in tune with his body muscles and how they work.

“I played competitive soccer, trained and competed in Muay Thai and did calisthenics, so I had lots of injuries and factures,” he says. “I would often treat myself and fellow athletes when I could, and I really enjoyed it so I became a conditioning coach, massaging fighters before and during fights between rounds. I loved the positive feedback, prepping them up for their event. It was giving me a good feeling helping them, so I decided it was something I wanted to pursue further.”

Florin had heard about MaKami 10 years ago, through an ex-girlfriend he was dating at the time. “My ex-girlfriend and her mother were taking classes in the massage therapy program, and that’s how I heard about the school’s program. I got a lot of details about what MaKami was doing and how it supports students, and I thought it awesome. The school always kind of stuck in my mind.”

Florin decided to take a tour of the college for himself. “The thing that attracted me the most is they’re looking at people as individuals not just achievements. They are giving people second chances, and they offer you a lot of help through the program. The instructors are really willing to help you from the bottom and work your way up.”

Shortly after the tour, Florin enrolled in the Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy program in March 2021.

“I’m currently in my first year, just close to finishing it. The first year is really the introduction phase, where they teach you the basics like anatomy and massage techniques, but mostly for relaxation purposes. I’ve already learned a lot, but I’m really looking forward to my second year when you get into more details like neurology, pathologies and certain conditions and how to treat them. I think it will really help strengthen my technical skills for athlete conditioning.”

Florin says his experience so far at MaKami has been wonderful. “I have a lot of students in my class, and I’ve made a lot of friends who I help because I’m doing so great in school, and I find it easy to comprehend what we’re being taught given my background in fitness.”

In fact, Florin is known as a helpful resource to his fellow students and has already been recognized in many ways during his short time at the college. “I received a letter of distinction, received the award as a MaKami Champion for my top marks and have been offered to be part of the student mentorship program. I’m really proud of that.”

When he does need help, he always knows he has somewhere he can go. “The instructors are easy to talk to, everybody is so friendly and always willing to help.”  

As much as Florin is enjoying school, he is eager to get out and use what he has learned in his career. “I love helping athletes, they always complain of aches and pains and now I want to get to bottom of it so I can give them proper treatments,” he says. “MaKami is helping me with my own training and discovering my own body, but also making other people’s lives better by giving me the skills to be able to give them the proper advice and treatment to help them feel better.”

After graduation, Florin plans on opening his own business training and treating athletes. “I’m a business-oriented individual, I like the security of working for a company and to polish my skills but I’m looking to get my own business where I can do what I love and be my own boss. I love being in control of my own hours and my own pay.”

Florin says anyone thinking about taking MaKami’s massage therapy program should just go for it. “You can’t lose from it. It can be challenging for adults to decide to go back to school, but when it comes to anything you want to accomplish you need to face some resistance. If you take the path of least resistance, you’re not going to accomplish anything. You have to push yourself and break out of that comfort zone to grow.”

He adds keeping your end goal in mind can go a long way towards motivating you to keep going – even when it’s challenging.

“When you face struggles, you’re more likely to quit if you don’t know what your motivation is behind it. My drive behind graduating and getting my own business is treating people. Being able to listen to people’s health conditions and be able to treat them or recommend someone who can. Helping people and making them feel good. I want to help people achieve their goals. It gives me happiness to help others achieve their goals.”

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