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Valentine's Couples Massage Workshop Coming Friday, February 14.

Mike – Forging a New Future with Massage Therapy

Mike’s life has taken him down many exciting paths that eventually took a toll on his body physically and mentally.

“I worked as a lumberjack for 17 years,” says Mike. “It was hard work physically, and then a large tree accidentally fell directly on top of me, breaking my back and ending my career prematurely.”

After a long road to recovery, Mike sought out new career paths he thought would be a bit less risky, including IT and Human Resources. “But those fields weren’t quite the right fit for me, I found them too stressful or just not quite satisfying,” he says.

In the midst of trying to figure out where he belonged, Mike also sought out treatment and healing for the multitude of injuries he had, including broken fingers, wrists, ankles, being paralyzed temporarily and even a broken neck from a car accident. “After receiving many beneficial massage treatments, I became more curious and interested in the human body and started to wonder how I could treat other people who had injuries like I had,” he says. This thought persuaded Mike to give MaKami College a chance.

Mike had a fantastic experience at MaKami College. In fact, it was such a great experience that he ended up meeting his wife, Colinda, there. They were classmates at first but fell in love during their program. Towards the end of their two-year program, Mike, with the help of Calgary MaKami staff, planned an epic proposal at the Calgary campus. Of course, Colinda said “yes” and the rest is history.

After graduating, Mike and Colinda moved to Fort McMurray for almost two years to work in the massage therapy field. They created a two-year plan for the purpose of achieving a specific financial goal and within a year and a half, they achieved their goal.

“We were swamped with clients,” says Mike. “Most days we were busy doing seven hours of massages each. There were even times when I would make $1,200 in just one day.” In the time they spent working in Fort McMurray, Mike and Colinda gave about 3,000 massages each, often earning well over $150 an hour. After reaching above and beyond their financial goals, the two moved to Red Deer. They were able to slow down their busy schedules and take some time for themselves to enjoy the summer.

Mike then took a course in Active Integrated Radial Pressure Wave Therapy (Shockwave Therapy). He is one of only seven individuals in Alberta currently treating clients with Shockwave Therapy combined with his massage therapy techniques.

Mike currently works at Black Rock Therapy Clinic in Red Deer with Colinda but has many plans for the future – one of which is to open up a clinic on Vancouver Island. “I really enjoy the freedom I have with my schedule, and I use that freedom to enjoy the outdoors, travel and photograph the amazing places I get to visit.”

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