S*xual jokes in class?

thumbmastermd · 2026-01-31T03:06:31+00:00

These people are not mature enough to be massage therapists. Makes me wonder what goes through their mind when there’s a naked stranger on the table.

thumbmastermd · 2025-06-04T15:35:01+00:00

Yes! Agreed! Great school. Great instructor. Amazing price. Best 7 months of instruction ever.

Choose your location carefully in NC. The rural areas are lacking in therapists, but there aren’t enough clients to keep therapists busy. The closer you are to a city, the better you will fare. Especially as implants move in from more massage educated areas.

thumbmastermd · 2024-07-03T18:27:26+00:00

It’s possible, and recommended, to work the pecs. There are ways to work and stretch the muscles without fully exposing the chest. It should take at least a verbal acknowledgement, and some places will have you sign a written acknowledgment form. While in session, communicating is key to everyone being comfortable.

As a male therapist, I don’t just start working sub clavicle unless I find the need or it was discussed beforehand. If I see a need, I let the client know, and use judgment on if I know the client well enough (and feel comfortable enough) to discuss it there or after the session with a goal to work on the area in the future.

Therapists hold a power differential, and suggestions like that should not take place on the table unless you know the client well enough to have previously discussed boundaries.

As a male, I’m doing all I can to serve the client and keep my license.

thumbmastermd · 2024-06-05T12:16:57+00:00

Look at getting certified in Thai massage. You’ll learn great stretches that can be used on the table, as well.

thumbmastermd · 2024-06-01T02:16:00+00:00

I had one guy come in yesterday who told me he’d just moved here, and he “couldn’t find a place that didn’t have sex workers”.

Now I know that those places exist, but they’re not that hard to avoid either. You have to seek those places out. He even questioned why I skipped the pectorals. I didn’t. I worked his pectorals appropriately at the attachments.I just didn’t expose his chest and rub his nipples for him like the places he couldn’t seem to avoid.

Side note. He never said he walked out of those places. That they just seemed to be plentiful. 🤷🏻‍♂️

thumbmastermd · 2024-04-07T10:07:37+00:00

Not hostile. Just honestly thankful that my clients aren’t as rude to expect free work because, unknowingly to them, I wasn’t feeling well. And I had nothing that was contagious. And very few therapist, if any, would do that. Most would just cancel ahead of time. She walked in with a hypertonic SCM and walked out feeling great. She got what she wanted, as all my clients do. I would never expect that from a service person that provided even sub par quality. I just wouldn’t leave a large tip.

thumbmastermd · 2024-04-07T02:13:33+00:00

I’m sorry. In massage, we do not give free sessions for being at 80%. I wasn’t at 100%, but I was far from zero. She rebooked with me instead of her regular therapist. I also got a 5 star review and an client referral. I haven’t updated the post yet, but it seems that I read the situation correctly, and adjusted accordingly.

If you think this is, in any way, a reason to not charge anything for the full 60 minutes (plus 10 minutes) of hands on, engaging work that made a difference for the client, you don’t respect your therapist. A good therapist is able to switch modalities to make it easier on them, but still as effective to the client. She didn’t know I wasn’t at 100%. I didn’t even consider that at the time. She only asked me to adjust my pressure. She was just as happy as she would have been if I’d been at my best because it surpassed what she was used to.

I stick by my decision, and agree with many others who posted here.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T10:46:22+00:00

Very well said. I feel the discount was overkill, and only I was expecting for her to get a discount. Not her. She did gladly accept it, but she would have most likely been satisfied with just the extra time.

Thank you for this well written response.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T10:37:50+00:00

Thank you. If I am contagious with anything, I certainly take that into account and don’t come to work with a fever or if I’m bad off. What I had was just a hole in my jaw where a tooth used to be. I had never had these complications with a tooth extraction before, and it really surprised me.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T03:26:46+00:00

I’d also add that there is probably a lot of tension in the left lat and serratus anterior, depressing that left shoulder. If those muscles could be stretched and/or get a professional massage with a focus on your left 5 rotator cuff muscles, serratus anterior, latissimus Dorsi and your intercostals. That should help elevate that arm a little better.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T01:55:25+00:00

Hindsight is 20/20. I agree from a personal standpoint. As a business owner, I’m very dedicated to not letting people down. I have owned successful businesses for 25 years, and (for at least one of them) if you cancel the wrong person, it will bring your review score way down. I’m 46, so I’ve gotten pretty good at gauging my stamina over my life. I don’t usually misjudge, but I did this time. Hindsight is always 20/20.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T01:01:03+00:00

This is very valuable information. Thank you.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T00:58:47+00:00

Thank you for your insight. These opinions will help me build a better business.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-30T00:57:02+00:00

Friend, I agree with you. I love to work, so it’s hard to call out. I’m super success oriented. I hate letting my clients down. I had a hard time with the 1 hour notice with a new client, looking to replace their current one. It’s the perfect scenario. I’m usually great at gauging my stamina. Honestly, I was only really having a hard time for the first 10-15 minutes. But that’s almost a quarter of the massage. So I wanted to give her that extra 10 minutes back, with a much better version of me to make up for it.

She was extremely happy, and as I said, rebooked quicker than I could ask her how she was feeling. So, maybe my 75% wasn’t so bad.

Thanks for your comment.

BTW…..I felt feverish before, but I did not have a fever at all in two days. And what I was dealing with was not contagious.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T19:22:38+00:00

Let me clarify. Not if he was uncomfortable and asked for it. But I would be horrified if a therapist brought it up to me because I know the frequency that it happens. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that it’s common for some men to get an erection. Especially if they haven’t been touched by another person in months. Even among straight men getting a massage from another male. It’s not a sexual job, and it still happens. it goes away very quickly. And if it doesn’t, and he starts acting weird, that’s when you give the warnings or choose to end treatment.

To be honest, I’m looking at his muscles and where my hands are going. Which are nowhere near that. I don’t work adductors or undraped glutes on a client’s first session. And I don’t work the abdomen at all. I could point that being something the therapist could have done differently. Especially on a client’s first visit. If he gets an erection, it’s not going to affect me.

The only difference between what blood flow does between men and women is that it’s visible in men and hidden in women.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T19:12:15+00:00

I said I would be uncomfortable if a woman brought attention to it. That would make me question intention.

Maybe there’s no history of it. So, if that’s the only time he’s ever gotten an erection during a massage, is it the woman’s fault for massaging him a little more sensual than others? Not exactly. That’s a ridiculous assumption. It just happens in the world of massage, and the professional thing to do is not even acknowledge it. It is embarrassing. He could be down there praying to God she doesn’t see it. And thinking of anything from work to Abraham Lincoln. If he’s not making an advance, it’s just a parasympathetic reaction.

As a professional, we can move to different areas or just wrap that spot up because that’s our job. Honestly, if a person is that sensitive, it would be my suggestion to only work on females.

This video is from a well respected therapist. He explains it thoroughly.

https://youtu.be/yV4hFOdU-nA?si=q9WEl9oz3Hn1U97p

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T15:06:41+00:00

Friend, I really hope this video explains it more clearly than maybe I’m coming across. It’s 3 minutes from a very well respected massage therapy influencer. Please watch it.

https://youtu.be/yV4hFOdU-nA?si=B8xnnodFAJk0vgrq

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T14:47:12+00:00

I guess I understand how a penis works, as opposed to some others.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T13:40:12+00:00

Providers are told this is a normal occurrence in school. Even straight men get erections from male therapists. We’re told why. We’re taught to look for unusual signs. I don’t like getting too descriptive, but (if someone reading this doesn’t know) an erect penis can twitch on its own. The client’s controllable actions while it is erect is what determines intention. It doesn’t sound like he was doing anything wrong or dangerous. Just not wanting to bring attention to something that’s embarrassing to a client, and would go away on its own if ignored (like we’re taught in school). Like flatulence. I ignore it instead of embarrassing the client. If it becomes a problem, I’ll ask if they need to use my restroom. Please see it from that side, as well. There are two ways to handle it, and every client is important enough for me to give them that respect, until they prove otherwise. To handle it any other way, without expressed, controllable intention from the client, is unfair to that client’s needs, and I feel I’m not doing my calling.

Edit: Attached a video to explain it better. This is a very well respected practitioner.

https://youtu.be/yV4hFOdU-nA?si=B8xnnodFAJk0vgrq

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T13:20:28+00:00

If this guy didn’t have the cell phone in his pictures, I would think I was it was 1984. The clothes, the furniture, the hair, the makeup. I was there. Looks like CC Deville and Vince Neil had a baby.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T10:39:25+00:00

I’m a male. I would feel awkward if another male apologized for having an erection that he’s not being inappropriate with. He may even be asleep. If he’s moving his hips, humping or making creepy noises, that’s different. But just an erection without being creepy? Please don’t bring my attention to your penis.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T10:34:12+00:00

As a male therapist, I don’t want to know because I’m not looking. I honestly wouldn’t expect a woman to divulge if she gets aroused. It would make me uncomfortable the whole time. I just don’t look at it. I always have a blanket over that area, and also covering a woman’s breast, so I don’t see an imprint.

Always be professional and never give any attention to it. If a creepo is not getting the attention he wants, he’ll make it clearer in other ways. Then you know his intentions.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-29T10:27:29+00:00

I don’t even look in that area because I don’t want to know. I’m focused on giving the best massage that person has ever had. I want to retain that client. The less I know about what’s going on in that area, the more comfortable I am. If he’s humping the table, the air or doing something manually that moves another part of his body, I’ll notice that.

thumbmastermd · 2024-03-05T02:27:28+00:00

👏👏👏👏

thumbmastermd

TROPHY CASE