Gainesville Spa and Massage

South America may seem like an odd place to learn shiatsu massage, but that’s where Alfredo Araujo first discovered his passion for it. Born in Brazil, a country with a large number of Japanese immigrants and strong ties to Japanese culture, Alfredo began studying shiatsu techniques. He came to the United States to continue his education and earn his license, learning Swedish, sports, deep-tissue, and hydrotherapy modalities along the way. Today, Alfredo aims to reduce pain and promote relaxation with his soothing treatments.

Advanced Massage's licensed massage therapist Gerald Roach matriculated at Florida School of Massage and continued to pursue a successful career using his passion for helping clients feel better. Upon entering the therapist's domain, clients fill out a form detailing their massage-related wants and needs and solve a worksheet of posture-related geometric proofs. A slew of massage modalities is available; Roach can also customize treatments to meet guests’ specifications.

Parisian Spa Institute is a "student driven" institute, training the next generation of beauticians in cosmetology, nail technology, skincare, massage services. The spa specializes in nail services and enhances every digit with knowledge of trending styles and an arsenal of acclaimed brands, including Minx, Shellac, and OPI Shatter. Private spa treatment rooms situated along a quiet corridor invite customers to take relaxing escapes with Swedish, hot-stone, and deep-tissue massages or polish up their countenances with eyebrow threading.

In a sage-colored chamber within Mosaic Salon Studios, Zen Soul Therapy's Deven McPhaul orders tiny, rainbow bottles of essential oils by color and begins heating her set of smooth stones. These are the simpler tools of her trade—the most important and complex, of course, are her nimble fingers. McPhaul studied massage therapy at the Concorde Institute, developing her strength and precision with rehabilitative deep tissue and trigger-point therapies, and practicing a flowing delivery of Swedish massage's five refreshing strokes and whispered rap lullaby. Since massage can ease both physical and emotional pain, she considers it part of a holistic wellness program for each client that could incorporate energy work.

Born with a penchant for serving others, Garrett Blanton began his professional life as a prison guard. "I'd always liked helping people," he says, but he soon realized that he also wanted people to be excited to see him—"a complete 180 from prison work." So, in 2008, he obtained his massage-therapist license and shortly after joined the team at Advanced Massage Professionals, where he set off on an entirely different career in corrections.

Though his expertise includes modalities such as deep-tissue and relaxation massage, Garrett specializes in myofascial therapy, which treats the connective tissue that ties together all bodily systems. He likens the human body to a sausage: "Things can't move around right if the casing's too tight," he says, not to mention the fact that it bursts when held over a campfire. After he leads them into a pale-blue treatment room adorned with Chinese lanterns and decorative dragonflies, Garrett’s clients stretch out on a biomat, whose amethyst crystals work to draw out toxins and relieve pain as his nimble fingers work. Placing hot or cold packs on sore spots as needed, he assuages muscles with raw and organic shea or cocoa butter, eschewing perfumes that might lead to allergic reactions or bees attempting to pollenate your bellybutton.