The music is New Age and almost always vaguely Asian. The lights are dimmed. The table you're lying on is heated, a warm nest as the massage therapist leans with his weight on the lavetor scapulae muscle in your upper back.
Hurts so good.
If you want to pay to get touched — and do so 100 percent legally — you have to see an LMT, or licensed massage therapist.
But given the spate of "Asian" or "relaxation" spas that populate Tampa Bay, some of which trade more in sex than in licensed therapy, how does the profession handle all the marketplace confusion?
"The basic idea is where do you go, looking for licensed, legitimate massage," asks Rich Dunning, the regional developer for West Central Florida for the national chain Massage Envy. "It is one of the most fragmented $6 billion businesses around."
As an alternative to those shady "places with curtains on Kennedy Boulevard," as Dunning puts it, or the legit therapists in small one- or two-table shops, Massage Envy franchisers locate in new shopping centers, with bright lobbies and professional staff with matching embroidered polo shirts. The clinics are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., allowing walk-ups and late appointments that other therapists can't handle.
"We make sure we go into places that are well-attended retail centers so there are always other people around," Dunning said. Each site has a minimum of 10 therapy rooms, with what seems like an army of massage therapists.
Massage Envy's price points are generally lower than other massage therapists, charging $39 for an introductory visit and offering a $49 monthly membership that provides one free massage and the chance to purchase more for $39 a pop. Non-members pay $65 for a one-hour massage session.
That compares with an average $60-$100 an hour for non-franchised massage therapists in Tampa Bay.
While massage therapists tout the health benefits of their work and downplay the importance of simple touch, Dunning acknowledges that, for some, getting a good rubdown is more than just medical care: "It's an indulgence."
And the competition is keen. There are more than 2,400 licensed massage therapists in Tampa Bay. But Dunning says his advantage is in having the first national brand for massage, with the type of membership plan familiar to anyone who has ever joined a gym. (Massage Envy's founder was a veteran of the health club industry.)
Dunning didn't start his career as an advocate for inexpensive, omnipresent massages. He got a call about three years ago from a friend who, like Dunning, had taken a buyout from a job at Intel. The friend knew that Dunning was looking for a business opportunity — and that Dunning loved to get massaged — and the friend pitched Massage Envy. "After I stopped laughing at him, I thought about it," Dunning recalls.
According to the Florida Massage Therapy Association, massage is the second-most-popular prescription for pain relief, the first being medication. Massage therapists in Florida must be licensed; the state requires more than 500 hours of training and ongoing education requirements about medical errors and HIV/AIDS, according to the association's website. Massage therapy is often covered by insurance to lower blood pressure, promote healing and increase flexibility, among other benefits.
Dunning has four centers open, in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Brandon and Palm Harbor. He plans to open a fifth, in Citrus Park, later this month. The chain has more than 500 clinics open nationally.
For more info, go to massageenvy.com.
Urban Explorer's Handbook 2007
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This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2007.
