Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities

EP# 56: Improving Lives Through Massage: Brandy Mullinax's Journey with Twin Oaks Massage

• Skip Mauney & Brandy Mullinax • Episode 56

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What makes Brandy Mullinax with Twin Oaks Massage a good neighbor?

Imagine transforming your career path following a life-altering experience. That’s exactly what Brandy Mullinax did, turning a personal health scare into an inspiring journey in massage therapy. On the Good Neighbor Podcast, we welcome Brandy, the owner of Twin Oaks Massage in Johnson City, Tennessee, who shares her compelling story of moving from restaurant management to healing others through the power of massage. She candidly discusses the common myths surrounding massage therapy, setting the record straight about misconceptions that often deter individuals from embracing this holistic practice. From emphasizing the importance of relaxation to debunking the myth that effective massages must be painful, Brandy’s insights promise to change how you view this practice.

Beyond her professional life, Brandy opens up about the joy she finds in helping her community achieve wellness and harmony. Her genuine passion for aiding others shines through in our conversation, as does her happiness found in personal moments with her family. We wrap up our heartfelt discussion with a note of gratitude to Brandy for her valuable contributions to the wellbeing of her clients and express our excitement for her future endeavors. Listeners are also encouraged to nominate local treasures for future episodes, ensuring more stories like Brandy’s are highlighted. Join us as we celebrate the impactful work of local entrepreneurs and look forward to welcoming Brandy back to share more of her journey with us.
To learn more about Twin Oaks Massage go to:

https://www.twinoaksmassage.com/

Twin Oaks Massage

(423) 930-3766



Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monning.

Speaker 2:

Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of stress relief? Do you have an aching back? Do you just need a good rub? Well, if you do, you're in luck today, because today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, Ms Brandy Mullinax, with Twin Oak Massage. Brandy, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, chip, I'm glad to be here.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're thrilled to have you and you know, I'm sure, that our listeners are like me. If they're like me, they love a good massage and I swear by them. So tell us all about your business.

Speaker 3:

Okay, my name is Brandy Mullinax. I'm the owner of Twin Oaks Massage and we are in our fourth year of being open. Now we are in a second location here in Johnson City, tennessee, and we are just happy and proud to get to serve our community and do what we love to do. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Very good, very good. Well, brandy, how did you get into the massage business?

Speaker 3:

It's actually a really good story. See, when I was 30 years old, I had a stroke, which is really uncommon for someone. I was in decent health, but I was managing restaurants that was my career before this and I had a stroke. I really didn't think that's what it was at first, but I went to the hospital to be safe and, yeah, I had a blood clot in my head. So we got it resolved. It took about a year and what we found out was that I had an underlining blood clotting disorder.

Speaker 3:

I was a brand new mom, so there were some hormones that play there too, and my doctor sat me down one day and was really honest with me and said your survival rate for a second stroke is only 50%. He said if you want to live to see your daughter grow up, you have got to make some changes. I was about 70 pounds overweight, so I started taking care of my health and really paying attention to what I put inside my body and the stress levels that I was enduring. And one thing I changed is I went and got a massage.

Speaker 3:

I went to the body health and mind center, I got a massage from a woman named Rhonda and it changed my life. I literally walked out of that room and said I want to make other people feel how that woman just made me feel. I was in school six months later and the rest is history.

Speaker 2:

Wow, wow, how inspiring. You know it's interesting. I've interviewed several massage therapists and all of them have said you know, how did you get into this business? And I'm telling you all of them were like, well, I got a massage and it was like this epiphany for me. Wow, well, in the massage industry. Are there any myths or misconceptions that you're?

Speaker 3:

aware of. Oh man, how much time do we have? There are so many.

Speaker 2:

Much as you need.

Speaker 3:

As much as I need. Some of my favorites are just go ahead and hurt me. I want to feel better, and that one just breaks my heart. Massage does not have to be painful in order to be beneficial. Um, a lot of times we think that we just got to get our money's worth. So we want to click off that deep tissue pressure on the, on the checkout form. But I'm here to tell you, sometimes our bodies need relaxation, for the muscles to loosen up. Our bodies and our minds need to kind of come together and harmonize and and really just quiet down to have a good session. So it doesn't have to hurt to be beneficial and that's not to say that it doesn't, that it won't sometimes be a lot of pressure to get to the benefit Sometimes. Sometimes hurts, so good as your best friend.

Speaker 3:

Another misconception is that, oh, I don't want to. I don't want a little girl therapist. I don't want the short, you know, tiny, petite girl to be my therapist, because I need some muscle, because I need some muscle man. It is those little ones that are going to bring you to your knees. Don't let the size fool you. Pressure comes in all shapes and forms and, honestly, as long as you know what you're doing. It does not matter what your therapist looks like. You're going to get what you need. Other misconceptions oh, we don't care if you've shaved your legs or washed your hair. Honest to goodness, just come as you are. We hear that a lot. Oh, sorry, I didn't shave my legs, don't worry about that.

Speaker 3:

That's just water under the bridge, and oh, there are so many.

Speaker 2:

That's funny.

Speaker 3:

One of my favorite misconceptions is oh, do your hands hurt? You must be so tired after that massage. Oh, I just couldn't massage all day. My hands be worn out. That is not the case at all. We are trained professionals. This is our career, this is our joy. It does not take out of our bodies to provide your body with care. Honestly, by the time I'm done with my workday, I am more limber and more loose and more energized than when I started. So yeah, we're healers. Yeah, that's what we do.

Speaker 2:

Wow, a lot of misconceptions apparently. Wow, well, outside of work, what do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

My family is my fun. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl nine years ago. I got a bonus stepson with my marriage and that's my fun. You know, every single Friday we have movie night. Right now we're going through the 80s genre. So we just finished Karate Kid and let me tell you watching my kids in the living room.

Speaker 3:

All practice their crane stance you know one leg hands in the air room. All practice their crane stance. You know one leg hands in the air. It's just beautiful. And if we're not watching movies together, it's board games. We're all kind of neuro spicy family, so we're all about board games and movies and fun and when the weather's nice, we're. We're always out in our community walks, hikes, parks, picn into. You live in a beautiful place for that. Yeah, oh yeah, we're lucky, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Well, let's switch gears a little bit and I may know the answer to this, but can you describe a hardship or life challenge, which you talked about one earlier, and how it made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

You know there's. There's plenty I could talk into. I'm a mom of a special needs little girl. I've had health issues, but I'll tell you the biggest life struggle was just growing up Appalachian poor. I mean that has probably taught me the most about life in general Just grit, perseverance, hard work, overcoming, having a good attitude, being generous, being kind. When you start with so little and you're able to build up and grow, you remember what it was like to struggle and I feel like, honestly, just kind of coming up with a little less than the average person has taught me more about life and any anything I've learned in my adult years. I feel like that was it Just overcoming struggling and succeeding. That's it.

Speaker 2:

Well, congratulations. I couldn't agree more. I grew up in Western North Carolina and I know exactly what you're talking about. At Western North. Carolina, and I know exactly what you're talking about. Exactly what you're talking about. So if you could think of one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about Twin Oak Massage, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

that massage is a treatment, not just a treat. You know, too often we treat massage like like aloe vera after you've gotten a sunburn right, but we could be sunscreen, we can prevent you from going into pain. And too often we think, oh, massage, that's just for, that's for the bougie among us and it's just so fancy and it's not for the everyday person. But honestly it is. You should be getting a massage every every few months, every month, just whenever you can. But honestly, if you want to live a pain-free life, if you want to go into your 40s, 50s and 60s and still have full range of motion in your shoulders, if you want to have the grip strength in your hands, if you want to be able to get out of bed and still have your back functioning how it did when you were 20, to have the knees of a 20-year-old, the massage isn't just a special, fun treat. It is a body treatment that you should put into your everyday life. That's what we're here for everyday life.

Speaker 2:

That's what we're here for. Very good. Well, you sold me. So I'm going to tell my wife I have to have a massage at least once a month. Then she's going to say yeah me too, I mean come on, yes, absolutely. Yeah, she, she just got one and loved it. So, um well, how, uh, Brandy, how can our listeners learn more about Twin Oak Massage?

Speaker 3:

The best way is to go online TwinOaksMassagecom. It's very simple. We have very easy and elegant pricing. We have our therapist and a little bio of everyone so you can kind of figure out who's going to be the best person for your needs and just what all to expect. Our services are all-inc inclusive, so we don't charge more for hot stones, we don't charge more for aroma, heat therapy, cupping lymphatic drainage. We build a really solid core price and that's affordable for everyone. So if you want to see if massage can change your life like it's changed mine and countless others, just go to TwinOaksMassagecom and give us a try.

Speaker 2:

Very good, we will do. I will do so for sure. Well, brandy, you don't know how much I appreciate you being on the show and appreciate what you do to help people, and we wish you and Twin Oaks Massage all the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, and thank you for having me today, jessica. I hope you have a great afternoon.

Speaker 2:

Thanks you too, and I hope we can have you back on the show sometime.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

All right. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.