Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Fort Collins. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Nick George helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Fort Collins, Colorado.
Is your business serving the residents of Fort Collins? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpFortCollins.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins
E55: Divinity Beauty and Massage blends botanical skincare with therapeutic touch to restore your radiant self.
Ever wondered what transforms a massage from a mere service into a sacred healing journey? In this captivating conversation, Telicia Officer of Divinity Beauty and Massage reveals how her path from botanical skincare enthusiast to licensed massage therapist and esthetician created a unique wellness sanctuary in Fort Collins.
Talicia's approach stands apart in an industry often reduced to assembly-line treatments. "This is a calling and a purpose for me," she explains, tracing her passion back to childhood observations of her grandmother's natural healing abilities. That foundation, combined with her decade of experience in herbal and botanical skincare, creates experiences that go beyond physical relief to restore clients' most authentic selves.
The episode unpacks the fascinating parallels between Talicia's personal journey and her professional philosophy. Her resilience through ten years in Alaska's harsh environment and navigating a difficult divorce deepened her empathy and understanding of human needs on multiple levels. These experiences inform her holistic approach to wellness, where each client receives a customized, non-transactional experience built on trust and clear communication.
For health-minded individuals in Northern Colorado seeking more than just a massage, Talicia shares the story behind Divinity Beauty and Massage's unique blend of botanical skincare, massage therapy, and holistic healing practices. Whether you're struggling with stress, seeking restoration after physical activity, or simply curious about holistic wellness approaches, this conversation offers valuable insights about the transformative power of healing touch delivered with purpose and compassion.
Ready to experience a different approach to wellness? Visit www.divinity-beauty.com or call 970-443-8797 to learn how Talicia's healing touch can help restore your most radiant, authentic self.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Nick George.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a path to beauty where every experience is a sacred, holistic journey that blends botanical skincare, healing herbs and therapeutic touch to restore your most radiant, authentic self? One path like that might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, talicia Officer, with Divinity Beauty and Massage. Talicia, how's it going?
Speaker 3:Hey, it's going great. Thanks for asking.
Speaker 2:We're excited to learn all about you and your practice. Tell us about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Divinity started about two and a half years ago. I was in the herbal and botanical skincare for well over 10 years and prior to COVID hitting, I was selling at farmer's markets, fine art shows and I was seeing a lot of great results with the skincare. The befores and afters were amazing and that's always been a passion of mine. To you know, help resolve skincare issues. So, fast forward to 2022-23, I had the opportunity to go to a massage and esthetician school. To go to a massage and esthetician school and I just jumped on that opportunity. You know, to have a combined licensure, be dual licensed in a field that I was already kind of partially in, was just a no brainer, you know, right here in Fort Collins, I went to a small school, lots of hands-on experience, and I love it. Now I mean, I'm seeing, you know, people come in and out just completely renewed and re-energized and it's just a field of work that I'm absolutely passionate about.
Speaker 2:Awesome. I know how hard it is to start your own business, so how did you get into it from the beginning?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it just it took time, really, as any new business does, you know, you're, you're coming up with the business plan, You're coming up with the name. Lots of trips to the library, you know, with the Small Business Development Center, they were a great help in my journey. I have a mentor who's been in the same business for over 25 years my massage teacher, who was one of the first massage masseuse practitioners here in Fort Collins. Her name is Diane and she'd been doing it for over 40 years and so just you need that network of support and it does take some research, it takes time and you know that's how I really how I got started.
Speaker 3:I did start at a small med spa here as well, so that was the first step before I actually, you know, branched off into my own private office. So I got experience there seeing how they ran the day-to-day operations dealing with clientele and product usage. So, yeah, that's pretty much how I got started. Once I gained more experience at the med spa, I put funds aside for a couple of months worth of operating cost for Divinity, and so I would work there part-time and then I would go and work at my spot, and once I gained a good amount of clientele then I was able to just do full-time at Divinity.
Speaker 2:What are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?
Speaker 3:You know myths and misconceptions. Misconception is that people expect kind of a what I would say assembly line type of approach to massage, even though it exists. The type of massages that I provide are customized. So you're going to it's a very personalized, non-transactional type of experience, right? So you come in, your client intake form is already done online and your massage information is available to me so that I have an idea of what areas you would like to target what. What are we working on? Because I'm looking at long term goals here and not just a transaction, and so that's one of the misconceptions is that people are going to come in and just get beat up, and there's that approach to massage and you're certainly welcome to have that experience. But my approach is a little different.
Speaker 3:A lot of people are surprised to find that they will fall asleep during the service because the nervous system has been completely relaxed, they're feeling the vibes of the environment and the atmosphere and they absolutely love the service. There's communication that happens between the two of us. You know this is a very vulnerable state that you're in. When you come in right, you're getting undressed, you're in a new environment. It takes a lot of trust. You're getting undressed. You're in a new environment. It takes a lot of trust.
Speaker 3:So a misconception or myth, I don't know. You know this industry is an industry where you have to work hard as a professional in order to have a good reputation. You know, in certain parts of this industry there are kind of dark areas that need to be more regulated. They are, you know, they're kind of disguised as a massage, but, um, there's a darker side to it. Well, you know, when people come in, that's why I make such an effort to have a social media presence. You know my licensure is all up to date. We are insured. Um, you know, there's there's no funny business going on. You know we have both men and women that can come in. There's that clear communication. Again, there's no barriers, and so you know, your needs are respected. And just wanting to let people know that this is still a very well-needed wellness business within the wellness industry, and that's what I'm striving to provide are those wellness services.
Speaker 2:Who are your target customers and how do you attract them right now?
Speaker 3:Yes, my target customers are people within the local area, so Fort Collins, loveland, it could be anyone tourists but primarily they're health minded, they're focused on their holistic wellness and these are people who know the importance of coming in and restoring themselves. So they're typically active people or they're in roles that are high stress. That could be a parent, that could be someone in corporate, that could be military anyone who realizes the importance of coming in and restoring themselves.
Speaker 2:Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?
Speaker 3:I have, I have.
Speaker 2:I have.
Speaker 3:Outside of work. What do you do for fun? I do cycling. I have a membership at the local fitness club here. I love hiking. I love to fish so I lived in Alaska for over 10 years, so fishing to me, and anything wildlife related, is a plus. It helps me to restore and ground myself. I love exercise in general yoga, sound healing. I am a herbalist so I do love getting you know in the kitchen area and formulating bath and body care products. That is like a passion. I just I love the smell of essential oils. You know aromatherapy is a real thing and yeah, I also do sewing and I'm an artist as well, so it's kind of it's all helpful. You know things that I incorporate into my life. To refill, refill my cup, yeah.
Speaker 2:Let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you overcame and how it made you stronger? What?
Speaker 3:comes to mind Wow, wow, so, okay. So I a hardship? You know there are quite a few, so I would have to think. One of the first hardships I had was living in a climate like Alaska. Okay, you have to be a very tough person to live in that climate, even though it does have its benefits. It can be dark most of the year, there are wild animals that roam wild and you have to learn survival skills. Um, and that part was different. Having moved from Colorado to Alaska, um, the environment's completely different. It's wild, the air is fresh, the water is fresh, um, but you become a different person. You know you. You become a different person. You know you. You become a different person because now you're learning survival.
Speaker 3:Now you are learning how the natives learned to cultivate the land, how to use the animals responsibly, the entire animal. You are learning that once you're an hour away from the nearest hospital, you need to, you need to learn some. You, the nearest hospital. You need to learn some medical skills. You need to learn how to take care of yourself in extreme situations like that. You know you're looking at anywhere between a negative 25 to 30 degree temperature, so your car needs to be on a heating block. You need to learn to dress in layers Very difficult, you know.
Speaker 3:Coming from a climate like Colorado where you see more sun, you can get out anytime, just about year round and you have to learn psychologically how to deal with living in the darkness. What does that look like to you? Are you becoming a different person? How do you cope? So, yeah, that was a very difficult time.
Speaker 3:Personally, though, I went through separation, a divorce, had a divorce about five years ago after being with someone for a very long time, and during that time, as does happen in a lot of marriages and relationships, people grow apart. There's always that aspect of one person wants to grow and elevate and the other person wants to remain stagnant or they don't want to see you experience growth. So going through that transition was a very difficult period in my life, but it did help me to become more in touch with the human nature, with the psychological, spiritual and physical needs of human beings, and I think that has helped my practice tremendously, because it has helped my sense of empathy and compassion to just grow. Yeah, that took a lot of work and it's still ongoing work.
Speaker 2:Wow, I could talk to you forever about Alaska. Yeah, talicia, tell our listeners one thing they should absolutely remember about divinity, beauty and massage.
Speaker 3:I want you to remember that when you come in, you're dealing with a real person who has been and seen real life. I didn't just go through the training of techniques. I didn't just become licensed. This is a calling and a purpose for me. I used to watch my grandmother rub on people. People would come and sit next to her just so that they could feel her healing touch, and I embrace that. You know that was so fascinating to me to see how people could be renewed and, just you know, restored by being in the presence of another person who actually had a natural gift for that. And I want people to know that, that this is a calling, and Alaska was my initiation, my place of spiritual and health initiation, and Colorado is just continuing with that. So I just want you to know that I have that background. Yes, there is military in the background, so the work ethic is pretty strong and, yeah, that's that's the most important thing I want you to know about. Divinity is the person who's behind it.
Speaker 2:That's what this is all about.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:How can our listeners learn more about divinity, beauty and massage?
Speaker 3:Yes, so you can visit the website. It's wwwdivinity-beautycom. I also have a social media presence. On TikTok, it's divinitybeautymassage is the tag or the name, and I am on Instagram as well, and you can do a search for Divinity, beauty and Massage and I'll pop up in Google and you'll start to see all the links. You can see my reviews online as well, and that's how you can.
Speaker 2:And for us old folks a telephone number.
Speaker 3:Yes, telephone number is 970-443-8797. That is a local Colorado phone number.
Speaker 2:Cool Talicia, excuse me, I really appreciate you being on our show and we wish you and your business the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Well, I certainly appreciate you extending the opportunity and allowing me to tell folks about the business and I appreciate folks here in Fort Collins and in Colorado and everywhere for supporting a small local woman owned and operated business. That means a lot to me and I'm grateful for being able to serve the Fort Collins community. It's been an honor.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.