Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Culver.
Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Roughly 16 years ago a good friend of mine kept encouraging me to step in to massage and bodywork. I was reluctant at first, but after a couple years of gentle nudging I finally decided to check out Healing Hands School of Holistic Health. I began their HHP program and through the course of a year and 40hrs work weeks building safety control panels for Hewlett Packard and many Southern California Water Districts, I completed 1000 hours of massage courses at Healing Hands. From there I quit my electrical control panel fabrication job and started at the bottom in the massage industry. My first massage job was for Massage Envy in Solana Beach. I quickly became very successful there, but also sustained a severe shoulder injury due to a snowboarding fall. I knew I would need surgery if I went to see a Dr. so I avoided that like the plague. However Massage Envy wouldn’t let me work there anymore without clearance from a medical professional. So I had to resign. From there i contacted The Golden Door Spa and Fitness Resort. I told them I believe they should hire me because I am a fantastic therapist. They interviewed me and thought the same. I worked with the Golden Door for about a year and half. As I gained popularity there too, I obtained many Golden Door contacts that would always say if you travel to my city please let me know as I’d like to receive bodywork from you any time I can. Many of these contacts lived in the Bay Area. I had a friend who lived in Oakland and owned a rental in Berkeley, so I eventually moved up there and began a mobile massage business in the Bay Area with all of my Golden Door contacts. After a year of mobile massage, I felt the call to come back to San Diego. One of my teachers from Healing Hands contacted me and asked if I would like to rent a room from him at his clinic in Kensington. This began a wonderful 6 year stay at Zen Sanctuary. I thrived there all the way through the era of COVID. As covid began to subside I decided to leave the safe nest of Zen Sanctuary and began the journey of Andrew Alan Massage. I was able to bring a significant portion of my clients from Zen who now continue to see me in my mission valley office. It’s been 4 years of being completely on my own. I’ve taken on many hats, like website design, email campaigns and all the side work that comes with managing a sole proprietor office. Laundry cleaning, answering phone calls and booking clients. I forgot to mention that near the end of my stay at Zen Sanctuary, I met my beautiful wife. We’ve been married for 4 years now and have two beautiful children. A daughter named Amryn(22months old) and a son named Rook(4months old).
That pretty much brings us to current date.
Side note i absolutely love fishing and snowboarding. Aside from facilitating healing work, me in a nutshell is my relationship with my lord and savior Jesus Christ an intense passion for saltwater fishing.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Injuries have been the major bumps in the road. Separating my shoulder first, then a severe low back injury. Could t walk for more than a week. Torn ACL next which I did have to have surgery on 2 years ago. All I have healed from successfully using the knowledge of the body to help myself tremendously.
Struggles with the economy and people not being able to afford consistent bodywork. Long time weekly clients moving. There’s always an ebb and flow of clients. You gain some and lose some almost always. So keeping people on the table is a challenge, and selling myself is not my strong suite. But word of mouth has always been my most valuable form of marketing and I believe it always will be.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a massage therapist, but I prefer the title of Bodywork rather than massage.
When you get work from me, you will not experience some cookie cutter massage. It’s a blend of many modalities. All of which I have selected the best feeling and most helpful techniques. I paid close attention in school to what felt great and what did not.
All of that attention to detail has allowed me to facilitate healing at a very high level, I’m always listening to your soft tissue with my hands forearms elbows ect.. which allows me to tailor a session specifically to the nonverbal feedback I’m getting from your soft issue and your energetic presence. This is what sets me apart. I am very in tune with what is not being said and what may not be known. Sometimes I too can’t verbalize it, but I can feel it and address it within the soft tissue and the overall vibe.
I also use crystal tones singing bowls. They are not your average set of singing bowls. They are all hand picked by my best friend who is the one who got me in to bodywork all those years ago. They are specifically tuned to reset the endocrine system. I use these at the end of every session. It’s definitely the icing on the cake.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Believe it or not, the Bible and next would be Anatomy Trains.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andrewalanmassage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew_alan_massage
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/AzCUgpQnD0
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eeqDU8sb2eWi2Bm39
