Podcast Intro:Greetings and welcome to “The Hands Of History Podcast: A Production of the Society Of Massage Archives”, where we delve into the rich tapestry of massage therapy’s past, exploring its evolution, and the stories that have shaped this vital practice.
Today is Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
I’m your host, Kirby Clark Ellis, and I’m joined today with Benny Vaughn.
In their 2000, Millennium issue, Massage Magazine recognized Benny Vaughn as one of the 50 most influential professionals of hands-on, soft-tissue therapy, over the past 100 years.
He is a graduate of the University of Florida, with a degree in Health Education. He is a Board-Certified Athletic Trainer as well as a Board-Certified Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork practitioner. He holds a Texas and Florida massage therapy license. Benny began his career in sports massage therapy in Gainesville, Florida in 1975.
Benny has nearly 50 years of massage therapy experience treating athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and active adults; he is known internationally as an expert in the assessment, treatment and care of athletic related soft-tissue dysfunction using manual techniques. He has lectured for wellness and therapy conferences throughout the US and internationally, including: Australia, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and Russia.
Mr. Vaughn served as Medical Liaison at Olympic Stadium during the 1996 Summer Olympics and was a full-time member of the medical planning staff of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, serving as a Program Manager for Athlete Medical Services. The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China; the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England Benny was a member of the USA Medical Staff for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In 2024 at the Paris Olympic Games, Benny served as Physiotherapist and Life Coach to a medalist in the Decathlon.
Benny was also a member of the Sports Medicine staff for USA Track and Field for the 2003 World Championships in Paris; again in 2007 in Osaka; 2009 in Berlin and returning for 2013 in Moscow. As well as the 2010 Indoor World Championships in Qatar as well as the 2012 IWC in Istanbul.
Benny Vaughn has received numerous awards of achievement and recognition including the 1989 AMTA National Meritorious Award, the 1996 International Achievement Award from FSMTA. In 1999 he received an Award of Excellence from the National Athletic Trainers Association for his educational video “Massage for Sports Health Care” (Human Kinetics). In 2016, Benny received the Massage Therapist of the Year Award from the Florida Chiropractic Association.
In 2010, Benny Vaughn was inducted into the University of Florida, College of Health and Human Performance, Alumni Hall of Fame. This award was in recognition of his professional contribution to the promotion and well-being of others through Health Education, Athletic Training and Massage Therapy. Benny Vaughn is a Certified Life Mastery Consultant with The Brave Thinking Institute. He offers Life Coaching for individual clients and groups. As a teacher, advisor and speaker, he inspires generations after generations to achieve their dreams. Welcome Benny!
Greetings and welcome to the hands of History Podcast a production of the Society Of Massage Archives, where we delve into the rich tapestry of massage therapy’s past, explore its evolution, and share the stories that have shaped this vital practice. Today is Wednesday, December 11th, 2024. I am your host, Kirby Clark Ellis, and I’m joined today with Benny Vaughn. In their 2000 Millennium issue, Massage Magazine recognized Benny Vaughn as one of the 50 most influential professionals of hands-on soft tissue therapy of the last 100 years! He is a graduate of the University of Florida, with a degree in health education. He is board certified athletic trainer as well as a Board Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork practitioner. He holds a Texas and Florida massage therapy license. Benny began his career in sports massage therapy in Gainesville, Florida in 1975. Benny has nearly 50 years of massage therapy experience; treating athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and active adults. He is known internationally as an expert in the assessment, treatment and care of athletic related soft tissue dysfunction and using manual techniques. He has lectured for wellness and therapy conferences throughout the US and internationally including: Australia, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and Russia. Mr Vaughn served as medical liaison during the 1996 Summer Olympics and was a full-time member of the medical planning staff of the Atlanta committee for the Olympic Games, serving as a program manager for athlete medical services. As well as returning for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, and the Tokyo, [Japan] 2020 Olympic Games. In 2024, at the Paris, [France] Olympic Games, Benny served as physiotherapist and life coach to a medalist in the decathlon. Benny was also a member of the sports medicine staff for USA Track and Field for the 2003 World Championship in Paris,[France] again in 2007 in Osaka,[Japan] 2009 in Berlin,[Germany] and returning for 2013 in Moscow[,Russia]. As well as the 2010 Indoor World Championships in Qatar, and the 2012 in Istanbul. Benny Vaughn has received numerous awards and achievements and recognitions including: the 1989 AMTA National Meritorious Award, the 1996 International Achievement Award from FSMTA, in 1999, he received an Award of Excellence from the National Athletic Trainers Association for his educational video, “Massage for Sports Healthcare (human kinetics). In 2016, Benny received the Massage Therapist of the Year Award from the Florida Chiropractic Association. In 2010, Benny was inducted into the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance Alumni Hall of Fame. This award was in recognition of his professional contributions to the promotion and well-being of others, through health education, athletic training, and massage therapy. Benny is a Certified Life Mastery consultant with the Brave Thinking Institute, he offers life coaching for individual clients and groups. As a teacher, adviser, and speaker, he inspires generations after generations to achieve their dreams. Welcome, Benny!
Thank you so much, Kirby! That was great, just listening to you read that. It reminded me that I’ve been doing this for nearly 50 years! So in September of 2025, that will be exactly 50 years. On September 10th.
Oh wow!
And that will mark exactly 50 years. So that was when my first massage license – which was in Florida- was issued to me. In 1975, after completing 10 months of massage therapy school, and then another six months apprenticeship that I did with my teacher to really gain a tremendous amount of experience in a very short period of time. And just listening to all of the places that I’ve been, the opportunities that I’ve had to meet other people in other cultures… I guess, yeah, it takes about 50 years to do all of that!
So thank you for taking me down memory lane there. Because many times, I find that when I’m in the forest, I forget to see the trees. And as I reflect on that in my life. I have been, Kirby, in my human experience- I’ve been in 39 different countries and much of that is attributed to massage therapy. That gave me opportunities to work with athletes, work with sports teams, but it also earned an income that has allowed me to travel around the world. I mean, this is what I do. I mean, after this wonderful, amazing opportunity with you today, I have massage clients.
And to our viewers and listeners; Yes, Benny Vaughn still sees clients and does massage. Amazing, but true! And my hands are still- I mean, my hands are just still very flexible, and mobile, and you know they’re not gnarly or anything. “Gnarly” was a word I heard from a young kid. I’m not quite sure what- I’m not sure it’s a medical term but, I think your listeners know what I mean. So yeah, thank you. Thank you for this opportunity and I’m thrilled to be here, to share my knowledge and experiences. Which is the wisdom of working with people.
Yeah, definitely. It’s an illustrious career that you have developed. And I’m in awe, at this moment, just to have this conversation with you! And I know it’s going to be a great conversation. And memory lane is our favorite place to be, here at the Society Of Massage Archives, so we’re going to get into it! We like to start with our guest’s background and journey. So our first question; I want you to take me back to 1975 and tell us about your background and what initially drew you to massage?
Yes, so I began massage school in 1974. At that time, in the state of Florida, it required a thousand hours of training. And that occurred over a 10-month period. There were some programs in Florida. When I attended massage school, there were only two massage schools in the entire state of Florida. Amazing, but true! Lindsay Hopkins’ Vocational Technical School in Miami, which taught everything from elevator operators to housekeeping, and they had a massage therapy training program at this vocational technical school. The second school was in Gainesville, Florida; that we know now as the Florida School of Massage. And at the time that I attended, the name of it was the “American Institute of Massage Therapy”, and then many years later, I had an opportunity to own that school- along with two other partners. And then we merged with another school, that was run by my teacher, and it became, ultimately, the Florida School of Massage.
So I went to school in 1974. And then I did an apprenticeship on top of that because I became clear that the way to excel in massage therapy was full immersion and repetition, repetition, repetition. Learning how to use my body, body mechanics, taking care of my body, taking care of my hands, how to communicate and interact with my clients. And that repetition. So in the early days, I became interested in massage because of my athletic career.
So, I’ll go back to the very beginning. I attended the University of Florida. I was a first year student in 1969. I was in the first group of African American athletes to integrate the South Eastern Conference, the SEC. Arguably, the most powerful college sports conference in America. In all sports; be it swim, gymnastics, basketball, baseball, track and field… you will always see SEC college teams in finals in National Championships. So I was in the first group in 1969, the SEC began to integrate. Prior to that, my high school- let me step back one more block here. I began High School in 1964, in Columbus, Georgia. President Johnson had just signed the Civil Rights Act. And the federal government told schools in the Deep South, “you can no longer be segregated. You can no longer practice the American version of apartheid. And that you had to allow African-American students to attend your schools.”
So I was bussed to the previously all-white high school; Baker High School, in Columbus, Georgia. And what I will tell you Kirby, is that I went under protest. With my mother. I did not want to go to the previously all-white High School. I did not want to contend with the racism that I knew would greet us. Many white Americans did not want this to happen in the Deep South. But my mother insisted! And she said it was the law, and that I had to go to the previously all-white High School in Columbus, Georgia. So I did. And that was where I met an amazing coach, Sam Roberts. Who took me under his wing. And I went out for track at my high school. I was the only Black kid out there. And the day that we had an opportunity to see what boys would make the team. So he had a time trial. I didn’t know what any of this meant, Kirby. So there’s a time trial! So he said to me – he says, “okay, Vaughn. You’re gonna run the 880”, and he said, “that’s two laps”.
This is on a sender track. I had on a pair of $1.50 tennis shoes from Gaylord’s Discount Department Store, because that’s what we could afford. And the other kids, the other white boys, they were putting on track spikes. And I’m looking at this and like, “oh my goodness! Man, that’s so cool! They’ve got like real track shoes. Wow, like man, I’d like to have a pair of those someday”. And so I ran the two laps, as best I could, and then I was on the infield of the track. Which also served as the football field at the high school. And I was on my hands and knees, breathing hard and thinking, “man, this hurts so bad!” And Coach Roberts walked over to me; coat and tie, because back then that’s how coaches- they wore coats and ties on the sideline at track meets. And he’s smoking a Marlboro! And he takes a couple of puffs, and he puts his hand on my shoulders, and he says to me- he said, “that was pretty good son. That was pretty good.” And I’ll never forget this, he said, “if you stick with me, I will send you to college on a track scholarship.” I didn’t know such a thing existed! I didn’t know, like, you mean the college… like let you go to college? And if you run track, they’ll like pay for it?
And I went home and told my mother this, Kirby. And her response to me was, “uh sure son. I’m sure Coach Roberts tells all the boys that.” And I said “no mama, he told ME that. He told ME that I could go to college!” So fast forward- four years later, at my senior year, I’m at the state track & field Championship in Jonesboro, Georgia- which is just a suburb south of Atlanta, Georgia. At Tera Stadium, named after the Tera Plantation from Gone With the Wind. So we’re at Tera Stadium and I’m entered in the mile run. I win the mile run on Friday. The next day, I run the 880. I win the 880. I run the 440, I win the 440. And then I run on our mile relay team and we win the state championship by a mere two points over the favorite Atlanta team! And I am awarded the most valuable athlete trophy for that meet. In that particular year, I had won the state cross country Championship – the first African American kid to do that at the two mile distance, at the Atlanta Waterworks. Because up until now, black kids weren’t allowed to run in it! So I want that. I won those events, got the most valuable athlete, and 42 days later, the head coach from the University of Florida flew down to Columbus, Georgia and signed me to a full athletic scholarship. All college expenses. And I went to college.
So now, this is where massage comes in. So I had a great career at the University of Florida, as an athlete. In 1969, there were only a total of five African American athletes at the entire University of Florida. With a student population, at that time, of 28,000 students; only five black athletes on campus. 112 black students total on campus out of 28,000. These were the early days of desegregation. So two athletes on the the Gator football team and three of us on the track team. So I was one of those three on the track team. I went from being in high school, running track, where my coach would have to call ahead to the motel where we were staying to check whether negros were allowed in that motel, so that I could stay with the white boys on the track team. My coach did a magnificent job in high school of protecting me and making sure that I receive an equal opportunity to compete. So, had I had my mother NOT insisted that I get bussed over there, I would never have had that experience. And I think that was part of creating the person that I am now. Going through that experience. And it was running track that I read an article, in Track & Field News, about massage and how European athletes use massage for recovery and performance enhancement.
I was fascinated with this concept that, like you know, massaging a person can help you like perform and and feel better? I was just fascinated with this idea that touching someone carried that sort of power! So I bought a book. The first book that I purchased was- and there weren’t many books out there. In fact, I think there were only two books at the time. And the one book that was very popular, out of a California press, was The Art of Sensual Massage. And the other was The Massage Book. And that was it. So I got that book and I actually bought the book- Kirby, you’re going to love this; I bought the book as a gift to a friend of mine in college. And I said “part of the birthday gift is that I will give you a massage. I’m gonna give you this book, but I’m gonna give you a massage. And I’m gonna follow the instructions.” And I follow[ed] the instructions, you know, I put a blanket on the floor – I did this all on the floor. And it said “take some oil and warm it up”, and I did that. And I’m like going page by page. This was like two and a half hours working on the floor, following the instructions. And then, at the end of it, I asked my friend- I said ‘I know this is a gift’. I said “would you mind if I borrow your gift for a few weeks to read?” So I read that book, cover to cover. And then, I found the second book – The Massage Book. And I just said, this is like fascinating to me! This is fascinating! Then my friend said, “oh you know, they have a school like in Miami, where you can like learn this.” And I’m like “you mean like there’s a school you can attend and learn massage? Wow!” So I was preparing to move to Miami, and then, looking in the help wanted ads, as I did every day; under schools and instructions, there was a little ad that said “massage school opening in Gainesville in September- applications are being accepted now”. So I went over, filled out an application. It required a $100 deposit, I got on my borrowed bicycle, rode over to the bank where I had a passbook savings account with exactly $115 in it. Closed the passbook savings account, took the $115, got on my borrowed bicycle, rode back to the massage school, and submitted my application with the $100 fee. And that’s how my career began!
What I’m hearing a lot Benny, is a lot of self-determination. A lot of self-education, especially with the book at first. And yeah, just doing everything you can. Really following the idea of learning massage. And yeah, I think you’re right; mama must have known what she was talking about when she told you, “you got to go- it’s the law!” I mean, that story about running the track and your shoes being different than the other boys. I mean, like did you- certainly, you couldn’t have expected that that integration, and that start in track & field athletics, would eventually lead you to where you are now, right? I mean, what was that like?
Yeah. When I reflect back on that… So I operate from a model that all of our human experiences that occur- I operate from a model that we are all luminous light-beings, having a human experience. My interest in meta-physics has been around a long time. When I attended college, I took religion courses. Initially, I took the religion courses because I’d heard it was an “easy A”. I mean, let’s just be truthful about it. Like, I didn’t go into it thinking, “oh I’m gonna go to seminary”. No. I was looking for an “easy A”. But what happened is that I became very curious. So I took a religion course on Hinduism, I took one on Buddhism, I took one on Judeo-Christianity and I was fascinated with these models of thinking that I was learning about. The one that resonated the most with me was Buddhism. And my professor, Dr. Scutter- I was so fascinated with just, you know, the idea that, with a mind shift, you can have peace with yourself. You can have peace because your perception of all that’s occurring around you is based on your perception. So that began my strong curiosity about the relationship of touch and thought. How you think, your mind shift, and the power of touch. Because in all of these traditions, hands and touch were integrated into rituals. It was integrated into meditation. Body positioning, body movement, and what was going [on] in your mind. And in all of those traditions, hands and touch kept coming up! And I continue to be curious and fascinated by the power of touch and by the power of thought! And how these two elements dictate our perception. I believe that one’s perception is one’s reality. So if you perceive that “oh this is like really, really, really bad”, you’re right; it’s really, really bad. If you perceive “oh this is really, really good”, you’re right; it’s really, really good. And looking at balancing that; to not deny facts, but to always reveal truth. Not to let conditions and circumstances dictate your decisions, but to let your truth dictate your decisions.
I just saw a strong relationship with the platform of touch, with the platform of massage, for supporting that part of the human experience. Because when I receive a massage, my state of mind and the way I feel, is very much at peace with the thought-energy around me. And what I am emitting, and some people describe to me after massages, like “oh I’m really spaced out”. Which I think is an interesting sort of linguistic thing, because out there in space… The James web space telescope is confirming a lot of what physicists have thought. One of the things that I do, Kirby, and maybe this is the science geek part of me, if that’s even a category… Is I love looking at the images that the James web space telescope sends back to the scientists here. I just look at these images and these like billions of galaxies! Like billions! And these black holes, and this dust and stars, and and I’m just thinking “this is all, like, energy”. And where do we fit into this? I believe strongly that the role of the massage therapist is supporting people in their human experience by keeping them connected with their humanness through touch. Touch is so powerful. And I believe the massage therapist’s role in the future – So for those who will be watching this 50 years from now, my human experience will have been completed. But hear my words now, your role in 2075, is supporting humans to have that connection with their humanness. Because we are in a technology renaissance right now. With the advent of AI and with the advent of everything just communicating between devices, that ability to communicate with another human being; through sight, through audio, through smell, but most importantly; through touch. And I think that, you know, Ashley Montague, the Great British-American Social Anthropologist, really summed it up in his wonderful book, titled “Touching”. Where he talks about the significance of the human skin and the significance of touching in all mammals. And massage therapists are going to play a much greater role in society that goes beyond just technique-based, that’s what I believe.
I can definitely see like a connection… Well, because it’s true what you said. You can make that projection about 50 years, I imagine because that statement has still been true for the previous 50 years, right? The touch and getting clients back in touch with their own humanness, that’s how you can make a projection like that. I like what you’re saying about the advent of AI and more technology. And I feel like that human touch is going to become more and more rare, but more and more significant. I have a feeling. Talk to me about your initial training your entry level training, in terms of those two working together; touch and talking and was there much emphasis…There’s always much emphasis in massage about how you touch. Was there as much, in 1974, thought about how you think and how you talk?
Yes, for me it was. So my teacher, Mr. Bruce Simer, he was an amazing teacher. And when I apprenticed with him, it was even more astounding. And when I had the grand opening for my facility, that I’m sitting in right now. Which was my dream facility, that was constructed specifically for massage therapy. So everything in the building is designed for massage therapists, to support massage therapists, to create the most fantastic work environment for massage therapists. And to create the most therapeutic experience for our clients, for our guests. So this building was built from the ground up, right with everything that I had learned in that first 40 Years of my massage therapy experience. We’ve been in the building now for 10 years.
Wow! Congrats!
Yeah, thank you. And I had my teacher [Bruce Simer] brought here from Florida, he was in fourth stage of pancreatic cancer. So he wasn’t able to fly, but he could ride in a car. So I secured a driver and a car that drove him from Florida to Fort Worth, Texas for my grand opening. Because I wanted my teacher of massage, I wanted him to see what he had inspired in me. And one of the things that he had inspired in me was the connection that massage was more than just technique; it was how you speak to the client, it’s about the words you choose- especially if the person perhaps is experiencing some pain, or anxiety, or apprehension, lack of mobility… And so my teacher and my training, he emphasized the connection between mindset and conversation with clients. As well as the technique. So for me that worked out.
My experience with mentoring and life coaching massage therapists today, what I am observing with those that I have worked with, is that they had not- up until now, received any training or mention about the communication component and the mindset component. And that’s what I do now. I life coach athletes, and I life coach massage therapists who are looking to expand their success. So I teach them how and ways to make a mind shift that creates a therapeutic and safe experience for their clients. And no matter where they’re working, no matter where they are. Because it’s within the massage therapist. So it doesn’t matter what your work platform is; you could be working in a franchise massage business, you could be a standalone, a solo-preneur, you could be in a group, you could be part of another wellness/care professional’s office. You know? Like physical therapy, or chiropractic, or a sports team. Because it’s within each of us. So for my training, there was a lot done and it came under, at that time Kirby, it was under the heading of quote “sales and marketing”. And not under “the metaphysics of thought”. So I call it the “metaphysics of thought” now. But that’s how I was trained and my teacher was just brilliant! So when I did my apprenticeship with him- this was on top of 10 months of massage school. I did six months of just intense apprenticeship! And I was in a system of 30-minute massages, and it was factor work; I work three days a week and I would see on average 14 sessions a day, almost three days a week. Fourteen 30-minute sessions and it was factory work! But I knew that that repetition and that full immersion would make me better. That I would develop the neural pathways, I would develop so much faster than my classmates- who simply elected, “I’m just going to do the school thing, take my license exam, and move on”. So for me, that’s where I really learned that. And here’s just a a note, so this is 1974, I’m doing the apprenticeship after the schooling and that went into, you know, the beginning of 1975. And then I took my licensing exam in July of ’75, and my license was issued in September. When I was doing those fourteen 30-minute massages on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays at the Gainesville Executive Health Club- that’s where I was learning. I was earning $1.50 per massage. Yeah, I was earning $1.50, and Kirby, I was happy to get it! I was happy to receive it! Okay? A dollar fifty. And then later, as things moved on, I got a raise, and I was getting $3 a massage! $3 a massage, I was like “man!” And then you fast forward to 2024, I get $350 a massage now! So it’s been a good progression. But in closing on this segment, what my teacher did is, he sent me to a Dale Carnegie Sales Course. That was being held at the Ramada Inn, every Wednesday night, off of Interstate 75 in Gainesville, Florida. There were about 45 people in the class. Dale Carnegie, sales coach. And there are all types of salespeople in there. I remember there’s one guy, he sold folded paper towels. For like institutional bathrooms. And I just thought, I can remember as a young lad, I thought “this guy makes a living selling paper towels?” and I’m thinking like, “what’s there to sell?” But then I learned there’s a trifold, there’s a double-fold, there’s an automatic paper dispenser, there’s a mechanical, there’s a this side… and I was like “wow”!
There’s a lot below the surface.
Yeah! So my teacher thought this will be good for you, because you will learn how to win friends, influence people, and be able to sell and market massage. Because what I learned is that simply because we’re massage therapists, and simply because we give massage, and quote “everyone loves massage”- which, by the way, is not true. That you’re just gonna be flooded with people wanting a massage? Well that’s not the case. We have to educate people, A.K.A. sell them. And selling, for me, is really, Kirby, just educating people. Just educating people and so that was how that got integrated. But my teacher was a very- he was very wise. Very wise. And that’s what was planned for me. So I got sent to a Dale Carnegie Sales Course as a young massage therapist. That’s when I began to see the importance of mindset, and words, and providing a use/value greater than what the client was paying for. That’s how I have been successful. I give my clients more in use-value with my massage than they pay for. That’s how you earn a great living; by providing great service. So the amount of income that the massage therapist earns, is a direct reflection on the amount of service they’re providing. So I think that we have so much to give to people. And with the technology, as you mentioned a few moments ago, wow- our important role in society… it’s massively important. Yeah, it’s massively important.
Keeping with your entry level. So you did a six-month apprenticeship with your teacher. It wasn’t required for you to be licensed in Florida, at the time? It’s something you did to progress your career? Excellent! Incredible! I love that! Then tell me a little bit more about the school; were there specific texts that your instructor taught from?
Yeah, there weren’t. Not a whole lot of text books out there, back then. I mean, like nothing. There was “The Massage Book”, that was probably, you know, that came out of California. So that was kind of like a popular, only thing that was there. And understand this; when I began massage, the adjustable massage table had not even been invented yet! That concept, right? And it was Living Earth Craft that came out with the first adjustable-height massage table. I remember when I heard about that, I was just like “whoa! You mean you can…” I mean, we were just like “oh my goodness! You can like adjust the height; whether you’re 6’1” or 5’1”.” Because up until now, massage tables are all the same height. And I don’t know who decided what that height would be, but they weren’t adjustable. So the books…that’s just a little bit about the massage tables that were… yeah, and the face cradle hadn’t been invented yet. It was all face holes, and you learned how to take a towel and pad the face hole and do everything you could to make it comfortable. Because the face hole was designed for a greyhound dog snout, not for a human face! So you just figure out ways to make it work. So the book that we used, it was a green book. The reason I was leaning over, it’s on my bookshelf at home and not on my bookshelf here. But it was a green book, “Massage and Hydrotherapy”. That was like the only book. And the title was “Massage and Hydrotherapy”. It was a green book and that was it. And then you could supplement it with “The Massage Book”, but you would get that on your own. Just go to the bookstore and get that. And that was it, yeah, that was it. This is why I say to massage therapist now; oh I am so proud to see the textbooks that we have now. Written by massage therapists with Master’s Degrees, and PhDs, and Bachelor of Science Degrees. Oh my goodness, and research! None of that was around when I began. And that has propelled our profession just dramatically! Because the push back that I experienced early on in my career from other healthcare professionals w[as] that, “oh you all aren’t science, you’re just giving a rub down, all it does [is] feel good”. “There’s no science, there’s no research, there’s no blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” And there was no response that we had, at that time. But now, we have just like amazing books out there with references and bibliographies and citing research. I mean, we’ve got The Touch Research Institute, Dr. Tiffany Field. I mean, my goodness! Wow, wow! Duke University doing a study on touch. You know, prenatal… you know, babies! I mean, just our premie babies and it’s just so awesome now. So awesome!
But look at what you were able to build and what you were able to accomplish, with much less at the time, right? I mean, that’s just incredible! And to sit there and witness the advancements that have come along in the profession has got to have been incredible. A sight to behold. Benny, at the time, in 1974/1975 can you recall any local, or regional, or even national big names in the profession that you were aware of?
No. There were no big names that I was aware of, because the profession was really just kind of starting. I’ll tell you an impact that was made on me while I was still a massage student. My teacher took me to my first AMTA convention. And this was in 1975, and it was in Orlando, Florida. And I believe it was like a Winter meeting. Which is probably why they were having it in Orlando. I want to say winter, like February. So I went to my first AMTA convention, there were three other black folks there. Okay, that was it. And one person was from Canada, so I wasn’t even sure if I should count them. In my thought, like well this is the American Massage Therapy Association and you’re from Canada. And then there were two other black folks; one from Florida and one from New York. And that was it. So I was like, “wow”. So my teacher took me to visit a colleague of his, Mr. Charles Canfield. He was a six foot, five man with a head of shocking white hair. And he was the massage therapist at the Contemporary Hotel that had just been built at Disney, which was that triangle shaped hotel and the monorail went through the center of it. And then, you know, 1975 that was like “whoa, that’s pretty modern”. You know? Like ‘whoo, look at that!” Right? He wanted to go visit Charles Canfield and show me what a massage and spa looks like. I had no idea what any of that looked like. So we went to visit Charles Canfield and I was so impressed. So here’s this massage therapist, he’s dressed in all white. White shoes, white socks, white pants, white belt, a white polo shirt. He had a name tag on and he was sitting at this counter, where he would welcome his client. And then I was given a tour of the massage suites, and all the massage tables had like this gold vinyl with chrome legs. And the towels were all neatly folded and white. I was just like, “wow man, this is so professional looking and this is so cool!” So when I returned and as I prepared for my first job, I got white shoes, white socks, white pants, white belt, white polo shirt, and I had myself a name tag made; that said “Benny Vaughn”. And at that time I said “Registered Masseur”, because that was the term being used in Florida; “Registered Masseur”. And I just looked professional. I looked like I knew what I was doing. And I believe that had as much to do with how busy I was. The perception of professionalism that I created for my clients, and it was inspired by this veteran massage therapist. I was just so impressed with, “wow man, this is a cool looking place and you look so professional.” I was like, “wow”. So that had an impact on me and so I emulated that. So I started dressing in all white. Somewhere in my archives, I know I have a photo of me sitting on the side of a whirlpool in my all white…
Oh, we’re going to have to try and find that.
Oh, I was 25 years old at that time! Anyways kind of cool.
That’s great. Well then, how was that first convention in ’75, in Orlando?
It was… so that first AMTA convention I went to in ’75 it was… For me, it was useful, because I had a chance to talk with veteran massage therapist. People who have been doing it for 15, 20, 30 years. I found talking with them, I really received wisdom on how to be successful. There is one massage therapist, Tony Bassetti [with]Core Ridge Massage Clinic, which was somewhere in central Florida. And I remember talking with him and he was just giving me- he’s, all these people have passed away- But I remember he was giving me some advice on just like, “when you’re working with clients, you know, make sure they are comfortable. Make sure they are comfortable. Discover and find out all that is required to ensure that you create a comfortable, safe space and experience for them.” And I’ll never forget that. He was just so… because he saw this young kid and I think I was emitting like “I’m serious about this, this is what I’m going to do with my life.” And so for me, at that conference, it was just visiting with veteran massage therapists, who willingly and happily gave me guidance, and mentoring, [and] advice. In terms of presentations, to tell you the truth, I don’t even remember any presentation. I’m not sure, it’s not like it is now. I think back then, it was more of a social event more than an educational event.
Sounds nice.
And then later, it started morphing into more education. I actually did a presentation at an AMTA convention in Philadelphia, it was my first one. And it may have been the first scientific presentation ever given, and I’m gonna say it was probably 1978. So my partner in my business, at the time, I had a massage school. I had taken over the American Institute of Massage Therapy and I had a business called the North Florida Massage and Therapy Clinic. My business partner, also [a] massage therapist, had a PhD in neurobiology and taught anatomy at the school, Dr. Jerry Erkridge(sp?). We went to the AMTA meeting and we presented an educational presentation. This was just a thing; we’re all in a big room, and each presenter would just go to the front of the room and do your thing. We brought with us a biofeedback machine, okay? So an autogenic device. And the presentation was, Jerry would talk about the science of relaxation and the impact that massage has on relaxation, and we would measure it with the biofeedback. So we used the frontalis muscle. So we go to the front of the room, I set the massage table up, we have a subject who’s volunteered, I put two electrodes on the frontalis muscle, and then we set up the biofeedback machine on “audio biofeedback”- so if there’s a lot of tension, the pitch goes up; if it’s relaxed… and then I began to give the subject a neck and head massage, while Jerry lectured about the nervous system and sympathetic and parasympathetic and relationship with muscles and so forth and so on. And the audience was dead silent! Everyone was just looking at this like, “oh my goodness!” I believe that was the first ever scientific presentation at an AMTA conference. They were just stunned like, “what in the world?” And what we wanted to show was the efficacy of the relaxation response from massage.
Yeah, definitely.
So, so yeah. So that was my first educational presentation outside the classroom.
Let me make sure I understand this though; your first time going was 1975 to an AMTA convention?
Yeah.
And three years later, which is essentially also three years into your massage career, you’re giving a presentation there? Wow! I mean like, did you know you were legacy building at that point?
I did not. I knew that I was moving fast. And I’ll tell you why I believe I was moving fast; there was such a vacuum in the profession. I mean, there were very few massage teachers. There was very, very, very few massage schools. And so there is this huge vacuum. I think any massage therapist who decided that was their purpose, had the opportunity to rise rapidly. But yeah, I moved very fast, and I moved very fast because I was very focused and I had a burning desire. I love doing massage. I love – like right now. I love coming to my office, I love coming here! I love seeing my massage clients who bring me, “oh Benny, my neck is doing this, my hip is doing this, my feet are cramping up!” I love this! And when I’m often asked Kirby, “what is it that’s allowed you to remain in this profession for 50 years?” And my response – and what I share with you now, Kirby, and all of your listeners and viewers – is that I am still curious and I am still a student of the power of massage. The power of touch, and the power of thought. And those all go together with what we do.
Many times when massage therapists visit me, and with the permission of a client, I allow them to sit in on the session in the therapy suite. And, at the end of it, I do a debrief with that massage therapist, to check in if they have any questions about what they saw. And what they often say to me is like, “wow I use those same techniques, but I don’t get results like that. I use those same. I move the joints that same way, but I don’t get results like that.” And what I say to them, “it’s what you don’t see, what you cannot see, that I’m doing that makes the difference.” And what that is, what am I thinking? What are my thoughts? Many times, when I have a client that comes in to see me, and they are experiencing temporary pain, or they have a complaint or something that matters to them – many time those people just require love. And so I often say… you know, I’ll be massaging their neck, or their feet, or their hands, or their hamstrings… and I say, “I’m just loving them”. That’s why what you see- you say, “well I do that! I do that!” But what you can’t see is, what am I thinking. And many times, humans just need to experience love. They just need to experience love, respect, courtesy, and to be heard. To be heard, that’s all they’re asking for! And many times, that’s what I do! I don’t do anything, technique-wise, that any trained massage therapist cannot do. But what you have to include with that is your mindset and your mind shift. I go into every massage session with the strong belief that I am helping this client.
There’s never been a client that I’ve ever seen, in my 50 years, where I have ever said to them, “there’s nothing more I can do. There’s nothing more I can do.” I’ve never said that to a person! But what I’ve said to every person is that, “I will help you. I will help you.” And I suspend my need to know how. I’m going to help them and I just focus on the what. I’m helping you. I will help you. I can help you. And I say that to all my clients before they come in. Once I find out what it is that matters to them? Oh, I will help you. And I don’t require knowing how I’m going to help them, but just believing that I will help them. Because massage therapists help people in ways beyond technique. That’s what I want massage therapists to really know; we help people beyond technique. But we have a powerful way to transfer that and it’s called touch. It’s called massage. So we have a powerful way to transfer that by actually touching them. That’s why I just believe in our profession; we have so much that society and civilization requires for the human experience.
Imagine if we could just, the whole profession, collectively have that mind switch of “technique is important, but also thoughts and the relationship that you build with these clients is consequential.”
Yes!
Tell me Benny, have you ever served on your state’s regulatory board, either in Florida or in Texas?
Not in Texas. And not in Florida. Early in my career, I appeared before the House of Representatives and hearing committees in Tallahassee, Florida. On licensing rules and regulations. And then I served on the AMTA Board, as a Vice-President. As first Vice-President when Elliot Green was President. This was, I guess, as late 80s maybe. Late 80s, early 90s. Whenever Elliot Green, who came after Bob King, was President. And it was during Bob King’s administration as president of AMTA. It is when the AMTA had its quantum leap into modern day times, I believe. Because up until then, kind of like a social organization. But, under Bob King’s leadership, that’s when the quantum leap of the AMTA was made; to be like an association that uses its leverage and influence to the benefit of the profession. Then Elliot Green came after that and I was first Vice-President with Elliot Green. So I served on the AMTA Board of Directors. Later I served on the steering committee that created what we now know as the National Certification Exam. So I was part of the original 11 therapists who created this concept of a National Certification Exam. So I was on that steering committee. Others on there were; George Kousaleous, Ben Benjamin, Sally Neiman Petersburg. I mean, there were a lot of Educators who were on that as we created this model of a National Certification, that was in line with other health and wellness professions. Like Physical Therapy, like Chiropractic, like Athletic Trainers, so we have that same legal status now because we created that National Certification. So I was deeply involved with that. And then, in the state of Florida, I just- I participated in… I was the President of the Florida AMTA Chapter during, you know, that period. And that was like, mid-late 80s I was doing all that.
I never, with all that there is out there and all the background research I did for this interview, I never knew that you had served as Vice- first Vice-President of AMTA National. Or that you were so involved with the National Certification Exam. So I just- I’m amazed. But I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m amazed, I’m not surprised. Tell me just a little bit about owning a school.
Yeah, so the school that I purchased, with two other graduates from that school, one of them was Adrien Carr – the late Adrien Carr, who was like an amazing massage therapist. So our teacher, Mr. Simer, wanted to move on to some other business ventures. His massage therapy career began in the YMCA system, is where he began, and he wanted to move into some other business ventures. He was quite an entrepreneur. So he offered to sell the school to myself, Adrian, and another graduate. And keep in mind, there were only two schools in the entire state at that time! So it wasn’t like it is now. Oh my goodness, there’s so many schools! And I saw it as an opportunity, both business-wise but also I love teaching. I love teaching! And so we purchased it, and then a year after that, I bought out my two partners. And then brought in a new partner, Jerry Erkerd, who at that time was an employee teaching anatomy. Because he taught anatomy in the nursing program that was in Gainesville. And we thought “okay he’d be great to teach anatomy to massage students”, and then later, he became a licensed massage therapist because he was so fascinated with it. So he and I owned and built the school. I was so into teaching, I mean, I physically – with another massage therapist who was also a contractor, like I physically built out the classrooms! Like framed it, put the walls up, I mean, that’s how into it I was! And I remember buying desks at a school board sale, where you can buy old school furniture. And I bought desks, sanded the desks, repainted them, and varnished. I mean, just me – by myself! I got a sander in the back parking lot. I’m sanding desks because I thought this would be so cool that students will have like real desks to sit at and they’ll be like a school. And I did this myself. I mean, I was a young guy too; I had a lot of energy so you know. It might tell you how well I was doing in relationships, because I had a lot of time! But I was just into it! Yeah I was so into it and yeah, I just love massage! It just turned out to be… yeah, man. I mean, I look at all the… my progression with the massage businesses that I opened, and it finally culminated with what I built here in Fort Worth. You know, this was like my crown jewel. Because I took everything that I had learned about making an environment for massage therapists, built by a massage therapist, designed by a massage therapist. And I’ll just give you just several examples of what I mean.
So, when I began my massage career, the first part of my massage career, I worked in rooms that had no windows. And I just – like, oh man, I just felt like I was in a closet! So I have eight amazing therapy suites; they’re all 144 square feet – that’s 12 by 12. They have 30-foot ceilings, they all have windows – we’re on a second floor. All have windows, and the landscaping there are trees outside all the windows. So when you walk into the therapy suite, you’re looking at this huge window and you see trees. And all the massage therapists have decorated the rooms to reflect their personality and what they bring to the table. And we have some beautiful, welcoming therapy suites, but they all have windows. Okay, that’s one thing I did. 144 square feet, 30-foot ceilings; you don’t feel closed in or anything! I have eight-foot sliding doors, because I wanted them to look like shoji screens – so they look like a yin yang sign. So black outline, glacier white in the middle; so it looks like the yin yang sign. And they have these 33 inch brush stainless steel handles, so the doors open up just like a shoji screen. And we don’t lose any of the square footage for use! I had the electrician put industrial electrical plugs in the center of the room. And why did I do that? Because I purchased eight electric high-low tables, so that the massage therapist can adjust for whatever size client they have. And there are no cords running out from the table, right? Because the plugs are right underneath the table! Just little things like this. And there’s dozens of other things that I did, but the big thing that closed the deal with every massage therapist that I recruited. Everyone in this facility is handpicked by me, mentored by me, taught by me. I mean, they all went to massage school and then I helped them to see the view that I have. So I’d be recruiting a massage therapist, I’d be giving them a tour and here’s what always closes the deal.
So I had designed and built a full-sized laundry room! Okay? Full-sized laundry room, you know, it’s got like the drain in the floor – like industrial style. So that water, if you happen to have a leak/spill. Two heavy duty washers, two heavy duty dryers, permanent folding tables, and shelves for linens. You just have to bring your linen and whatever detergent you use. No massage therapist takes linen home from this facility. You can do it during the day, while you’re here. When I would show them that? Seal the deal! Never mind the 144 square foot room, never mind the 30-foot ceilings, never mind the windows, never mind the electric high-low table. Never mind any of that; it’s the laundry room that closes the deal! Because, Kirby, I grew up taking my laundry to the laundromat, on my bicycle! And then coming back to the place! And I said, “man we need to have laundry like right here”. So those are just a few of the things I did. If you’re ever in Fort Worth, I’d love to give you a tour.
Oh gosh, I’m there! Say the word, Benny.
Yeah. And then I’ll show you some of the other things. Like the fact that we completely clad the building in pure copper.
Wow! Now tell me, what do you mean by you “clad it in copper”?
Okay, so the entire building is covered by… So the sidings, the roof? All pure copper. Yeah, yeah, all pure copper. To block and reduce the microwave tower emissions that are in this development. I mean, I’m looking at two of them right out my window right now. So you get these microwave towers, which we require for cell phones, but being exposed to it all the time is not good for you. Especially children and animals. And so the copper reduces the absorption of the microwave frequency. I mean, you know, microwaves have been weaponized and are used by the military. And I mean, yes, it’s great for phones. But it’s not great for constant exposure. So anyway, we wanted to reduce the microwave frequencies entering the building. So we covered the building in copper. And then copper also has, historically, healing properties. Throughout ancient times. It’s antimicrobial, it’s naturally antimicrobial. The vibrational frequency of the copper element is healthy for you. You got copper bracelets and copper all kinds of things. So our entire building is sealed in pure copper. So when we were building it, and they were taking the sheets off of these big trucks, you know, the copper was that bright shiny penny-look. So in the early stages- we had three buildings, it was stopping traffic on the road, because people going like “what in the world are they doing over there? Is that copper?” Yes it is. But now, you know, because the outside has been exposed to the elements, it starts to patina. But the inside of our lobby, which is sealed off, you still see the pure gleaming really copper.
Wow. I bet it kind of just like takes your breath away when you first walk in or clients…
Well, you feel different when you come in. Yeah, and I tell people it’s because you’re not getting bombarded by these microwave frequencies. Everything in the universe is vibrating. I mean, the physicists tell us that. So I’ll stop there, and then when you come visit, I’ll show you the other elements. But I have windows everywhere, I have skylights down both the hallways, I put all the therapy suites on the east side of the building so that at sunrise we get the early morning energy from the sun. So one hallway are all the therapy suites and they were intentionally put on the east side of the building so that in the morning, we get the energy of the sun and a new day.
You’ve thought about it all, Benny!
Yeah. I’ve been thinking about this for decades. And then had an opportunity for a family to finance it.
What’s it like to see a decades’ dream come to fruition like that?
Besides being rewarding, up until now, there was an element at the level of fact; stress involved. It’s a three and a half million dollar building! So there were moments of financial stress and mental stress. But here’s the thing, I focused on the what. What would I love? That’s what I focused on. And there are times where fear is an indicator that you’re on the border of your comfort zone and you’re moving into some new territory. You’re making a quantum leap. But I always knew that I could design the ultimate massage therapy facility that supports and celebrates massage therapists and celebrates our profession! And that, we don’t have to be relegated to a janitor’s closet at a fitness center because they figure, “well we can earn some money by putting a massage therapist in this closet”. Where, when you’re trying to do effleurage, you know, your hip is hitting the wall! And I’ve worked in rooms like that. Where other businesses said, “oh yeah”. Or you know at a chiropractor’s office, “well that used to be where we stored files, we could put a massage therapist in there”. And we, as a profession, require ourselves to respect ourselves first, if we desire others to respect us. And that’s professional self-esteem. Respect your profession first. Respect yourself first, if you desire others to respect you. So other wellness providers, healthcare providers, for years in the beginning of my career; I had very-there were very antagonistic interactions from chiropractors, physical therapists, and others. Because, “oh you massage therapist, you’re just rubbing people. It’s making people feel good. You don’t even have to really go to school to do this and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah”. And that had an impact on the professional self esteem of the profession.
When I would hear massage therapists say, “well I’m just a massage therapist”. I began, at conferences, to float this concept out. I said, “what do you think about opening a facility and you hire a chiropractor? You hire a physical therapist?” Oh, “well, we can’t do that.” I said, “why can’t you do it? Why can’t you do it?” So in the facility that I designed here? There’s a physical therapist, there’s a registered dietitian, sports nutritionist. There’s three athletic trainers, there’s a Pilates, gyrotonic instructor, licensed acupuncturist. No! You can do this. But the concept, the idea. I can remember when I would float the idea; “well, why don’t you hire a chiropractor?” And they were, “well I’m just a massage therapist”. Yeah, but because our professional self-esteem, at that time, was so low we thought the only way that you could work with the chiropractor, is that you had to work for the chiropractor. And that’s just not the case. It’s not the case and here’s why; what we do, massage therapists, we are the experts on touch. We are the experts on soft tissue care. We are the experts because we have spent more time than any other profession touching the human skin. And just because you’ve earned a DC, an MD, a DPT, or any of this, does not mean that you are proficient at touching people. Massage therapists are. Because we do it more than anyone else. And there is value to that! And I’ve had interactions with physical therapists who have said to me, “oh, I don’t do massage. I don’t do that.” Fine, I do. And they say it in a way as if somehow it’s beneath them. But do you know where the results really lie and where it really matters? It matters with the client. It matters with the patient. It matters with that other human being who has met someone who is knowledgeable of the human body, experienced with the human body, listens to you, has compassion, has love, and touches you in a safe, compassionate way. With one goal and one goal only; for that person to get better. And massage therapists are the best prepared in our society to do that. Hands down. No pun intended, hands down!
I love it! We love puns too – that’s great! Yeah, you’re preaching, Benny, you’re preaching!
It is the truth. It is the truth! And I have no issue at all supporting and debating our position as massage therapists with any other health care provider. Because when I have, and when I do, what I gain is that I have educated them and now the respect comes. I’ve educated them. This is what we do, we educate people. We can’t expect other healthcare professionals to understand or know what we do unless we educate them! Unless we speak up and we say something. “Oh yeah, I can help that.” Because the only thing that’s available to many people who are challenged with minor muscular tenderness conditions, myofascial conditions. Nothing that requires you to go to the emergency room, or to be hospitalized, or to see your primary care physician, or anything. We live on a planet with gravity. And movement is how we communicate with gravity. And if there’s an interruption with our communication with gravity; because muscles maybe aren’t elongating well, maybe they’re feeling tight, maybe they’re spasming, maybe there’s some pain involved. Touch is the best way to solve that. Not giving them ibuprofen or Tylenol. Yeah, temporary maybe, but it’s not addressing what’s going on. Our body’s relationship with gravity is what brings people to us, and so what we do, as massage therapists, we enhance our client’s relationship with gravity through touch. Through creating a therapeutic experience that celebrates them, that listens to them, that treats them with respect and courtesy. And that’s what I’m doing. And the massage is just a beautiful vehicle to create the environment for them to receive it. And I often say, it’s not rocket science.
We like to treat it like it is. But we also, the profession as a whole, we also just, we want someone else to do the educating for us. You know what I mean? It’s like someone else better do it. But I like the mindset shift of “you’ve got to get in the habit of doing this for yourself and being your own advocate as the professional”, right?
Yes, yes. Absolutely, Kirby. And here’s the other piece to that. We, as a profession, do not require validation from another profession that we’re okay. We don’t have to have some MD march up on stage at an AMTA meeting and tell us that what we’re doing is good. We don’t require that! We don’t require to have some celebrity walk up on stage at the AMTA and tell us that, “man that massage really helped me out at the Olympics”. We know that already! Bring somebody on the stage to tell us something that we don’t know. And bring somebody on the stage that’s one of us! And celebrate us! You know? I don’t need an aerobics instructor to tell me that “oh massage is really good”. Really? Or that eating whole grain bread is better than… seriously!?! We do not require other professions to validate who we are. We are our own people. We are our own people with confidence, with knowledge, with experience; let’s celebrate us! Let’s respect us! We don’t require some other profession to validate our worth and value. I certainly don’t!
No, that- I mean- like that’s another mindset shift, though. I mean, it’s nice to hear that from other professions. But now that I think about it, yeah, I’d much rather hear that from someone [in the profession] who’s had a career of 50 years, you know?
Yeah, I mean it makes sense to me! I’m just saying! But what I want to emphasize we can celebrate ourselves. We can celebrate each other. Our existence does not require validation from some other profession that knows little about what we do and how we do it. And have certainly had zero experience outside of perhaps receiving- which is a good thing- but, you know? What that’s like, for me, let’s say I’ve had several surgeries (which I have not), but let’s say I’ve had four surgeries, and then I’m invited by the American Medical Association to speak at a conference and tell them, “man you know, you surgeons are really good!” You know? “I’ve had four surgeries on my back, I’m feeling good, man you guys are like the greatest!” You know? “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Okay? And that’s what we do it. We march somebody up on the stage, who’s had half a dozen massages, maybe they’re a celebrity- because they’re on TV, to tell us that we’re good? Really? We don’t require that anymore. Let’s go a little deeper than that. Let’s celebrate ourselves!
Exactly, yeah. I love that! If we can shift gears, Benny, let’s talk a little bit about your sports massage background. The history of sports massage and your experience with the Olympics. Which were you first introduced to Benny, sports massage or Swedish massage?
Yeah, when I went to massage school, there was no such thing as sports massage, okay? I mean, the term wasn’t used. Jack Meagher’s book came out, and the title was “Sports Massage”. Okay, and that was the first time I actually saw the word publicly. Was in Jack Meaghers’s book title, “Sports Massage”. Then Bob King wrote a book for human kinetics, called “Performance Massage”. And then there was this growing interest of massage being used in athletics. So massage had been used in athletics all along, primarily more on the European landscape.
Gotcha.
And it was being done by physiotherapists. And so, the massage that I was taught at the time, was titled Swedish massage. I began using the term “sports massage” to put out a vibrational frequency to attract a specific demographic of clients. And that was why I started using the term. So effleurage, petrissage, deep transverse friction, tapotement? That’s what I was doing. But the key was the strategy with which I applied the techniques for a particular athlete, based on what matters to them. More focus on athletes that are using their hips and pelvis, more focus on athletes who may be using their upper extremities, a throwing athlete. It’s all connected, of course, as we know. So I began using the term “sports massage” to attract a certain clientele. Because words have power. And so I wanted them to know, if you’re an active adult, if you’re participating in some physical activity regularly; I can help you. But I’m still using the same fundamental techniques. The difference is that I have a different mindset and strategy on the sequence of those applications now. So if I’m doing recovery work on an athlete, I’m going to do effleurage, but the amount of pressure I’m using will be greater than the amount of pressure I might use if it’s a pre-activity massage.
Gotcha.
So the strategy is adjusted. The techniques are essentially identical. I don’t know how many other ways… Well, the way our profession has tried to distinguish at times is by the names that we use to represent it. And really those names are a way for you and I to communicate. Because if I apply digital pressure to the lateral epicondyle of the humerus of a client, that’s all I’m doing. But if I show that to five different massage therapists, I will get, “oh, you’re doing trigger point”, “no, you’re doing neuromuscular therapy/you’re doing NMT”, “no, you’re doing myofascial release”, “no, you’re doing rolfing”, “no, you’re doing blah, blah, blah, blah”.
No. All I’m doing is applying digital pressure. And that’s all the nervous system knows. The nervous system knows “hmm we’ve got 30 pounds of pressure right around the lateral epicondyle. Here’s how we’re going to respond, here’s how we’re going to react”. It doesn’t know that it’s “NMT” or “Rolfing” or “Myo-Fascial Release”. Or if you study with John Barnes, or Joe Jones, or Sally Smith! Your nervous system doesn’t know and it does not care! It doesn’t care. So these terms that we have invented as a way for you and I to communicate. So we can communicate about things.
We have to have some sort of common language so we can communicate. You know? You go to Germany, speak German. Go to Japan? Speak Japanese. And so if two people, who do massage and body work, communicate we use the [same] language. So what it does is, when you say, for example, “I’m doing neuromuscular therapy- Paul St. John method.” So now I have an idea of how you’re approaching this. Or if you say “I’m using the Rolf method to do my structural integration.” Now I have some idea. So it’s a way that you and I can communicate and be in sync with what direction are we going. For the the clients, it doesn’t matter. For the nervous system, it doesn’t matter. It don’t know the difference. So that’s what I began to do that started separating out what I can considered “sports massage” and what might be termed “Swedish massage”. And the difference began [becoming] “what’s the end goal?”. With sports massage, for me, it was more specific; “oh, I have a pulled hamstring.” Whereas for the Swedish massage, it was “I basically would like to relax. Oh, and I got a little kink in my neck.” Okay, but on the other side this person is telling me, “I’ve got a marathon that I’m running in three weeks.” So we have some other checkpoints on the goals and what our progression is. Whereas, on the Swedish side, it’s like “man, this is great. I feel great! I’m moving on.” And so it’s all one and the same, what changes is “what’s the goal?
What’s the strategy that I will adjust the techniques to support and help that client?” And then the last part of that, that changed it for me in the early days of my sports massage career was an acute understanding of Anatomy and Kinesiology. To be able to do a thorough and comprehensive assessment of “what’s the contributing factor to this musculoskeletal dysfunction that’s being presented to me right now as a massage therapist?” So Orthopedic assessment became a critical element. Because in massage school, in 1974, none of that was taught! None of that was taught. And it wasn’t taught because it was considered, “well you’re diagnosing. You’re diagnosing.” And I was the first educator to start teaching Orthopedic assessment. And do you know who my apprentice and mentee was?
Tell me.
Whitney Lowe!
All right!
And so Whitney… up until then, Whitney was my assistant. And I was using all these different handouts from different sources about assessment. And Whitney came to me and said, “hey look, I could write up an orthopedic assessment manual that we could use”. At that time, because this was all brand new, I was kind of piece-mealing it. I’d take some stuff from Hoppenfield, I’d take some stuff from this, and I make these little handouts. So Whitney was my assistant, I said “sure, that would be awesome!” So Whitney wrote that first workbook called, “Orthopedic Assessment for Massage Therapy”. And of course he’s had several editions. But that’s where that began. I was the first massage therapist educator in the United States teaching Orthopedic Assessment to massage therapist, despite the fact that there was all this apprehension. “Well, you’re teaching people how to diagnose. You’re… you know… we own…” No, you don’t own anything. You don’t own anything! And my feeling was; the best massage therapists are the massage therapists who know when NOT to, and when to refer, and who to refer to. You are giving your client the very best service by knowing that. And how do you know it? You have assessment skills! You have assessment skills so then you can recognize like “Whoa! Oh, you need to see a doctor, you need to see a chiropractor, you should see a physical therapist, you should… blah, blah, blah”.
How are you going to know that if you don’t have assessment? So I just continued teaching assessments. Whitney wrote a great manual, our first manual, and then he wrote more. That’s where that all began. So now that’s become a standard thing. James Waslaski is teaching it, Whitney Lowe’s teaching it, others are teaching it now! And no one’s afraid anymore that “we’re diagnosing”. “You’re diagnosing”, I jus t- I tire of that. And I’ve been in the profession long enough where I can make fun of that. Okay? Because I used to get that too; “Well, you can’t diagnose”. I’m not trying to diagnose. I don’t want to diagnose. If I’d wanted to be a doctor, I would have gone to medical school. It’s not what I want to do. Your job is safe, you know?
And in hearing that, I just think to myself; “God, where would this profession be without Benny Vaughn?” Right? I mean, no seriously! I mean, like right? Does that ever… Like, does that ever cross your mind? “Like where would we be?”
Well, now that you mention it, wow! Because I think of the people that I influenced and inspired. Which is, you know, Whitney Lowe, James Waslaski, Paul St. John… was one of my students in the 70s. Scott Lamp was one of my students, who wrote the book, “Understanding Sports Massage” with Patricia Benjamin. George Kousaleos, who teaches CORE, he was one of my students. All these people were massage students of mine back in the 70s. And then, they’ve gone on to do amazing things in the profession. And that’s just naming a few. At one point in time, when I was still in Florida and a number of massage schools had opened, every one of the directors and owners of those massage schools were former massage students of mine.
That’s awesome!
So I believe they were carrying my style of education into what they were doing. But yeah, Michael McGillicuddy, Jody Stork in Florida, Iris Burman. I mean, these are all people that I mentored and supported, and they went on to be great educators. Michael Loomis in Florida. I’m just thinking of people that I’ve influenced. I’d never thought of it that way, but now that I think about it… It’s sort of like in coaching, in college football. When they talk about head coaches, who started out as a graduate assistant or an assistant to you know Nick Saban at Alabama, or somebody at Michigan, or USC. And then they went on to become… and they came from that “coaching tree”. And now that you bring that up to me, I have a pretty extensive “massage therapy influence tree”. Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that.
Don’t ever forget it, Benny. Because, I just can see so clearly a lineage. And how, not just you, yourself, has helped shape the advancements of the profession, but those that you’ve taught, and educated, and coached, and mentored. All of that! It’s just like this web, right? So don’t ever forget, don’t ever forget that! And the influences and thank you for all that have done, Benny. Talk to me about the Olympics; take me back to 1996, how did you first get involved with the Olympics?
Well, Kirby, my involvement with the Olympics began with an invitation from the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to interview for a managerial position with the organizing committee. And this position was in the medical department and specifically, it was athletes medic medical care. So we have two divisions in medical. One is fan medical care. So the medical care that’s available to the fans who are in the stands, first aid emergencies, these sorts of things that involve fans. And the other division is Athletes Medical Care and the majority of the delegations that attend the Olympic Games will have their own medical staff. But there are many countries that may have two, three athletes participating and so they rely on the Medical Service’s Sports Therapy Services that are provided by the organizing committee. So I was invited to interview for that position. At that time, I was an assistant athletic trainer at the University of Florida, Athletic Association, where I was the Director of Sports Massage Services for all University of Florida athletic teams. So I was responsible for bringing in and vetting licensed massage therapists to work there. Organizing scheduling for athletes. And then I, myself personally, provided massage therapy services for athletes. So I managed the University of Florida’s football program, providing massage therapy services for football athletes, and then I directly was involved with providing massage services for Florida’s swimming and Florida’s track and field. Those are two sports that utilize and recognize the benefits of strong sports massage services. So I was an assistant athletic trainer on staff and I was responsible for directing all the sports massage services. I was invited to interview for the job in Atlanta. I interviewed for the job, I was hired by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, and that’s when I departed my position with the University of Florida’s Athletic Association for this opportunity to be the program manager for athlete medical services for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. And I believe, in all likelihood, I was the first licensed massage therapist to hold a managerial position in Medical for the Olympic Games. At least as an American massage therapist to do it.
Right, definitely! I would be surprised to hear anything to the contrary, right? I understand that there was a Centennial Olympic Park explosion, that a bomb went off, during the ’96 Olympics. Were you there at that time?
I was not in the Centennial Park, Kirby, but here is the story. So I was stationed at Olympic Stadium. During the games, I shifted from program manager [for] athlete Medical Services, because the job had been done. And then at games time, I had a new title and a new position. At Games time, I was the medical liaison for Olympic Stadium, and what that means is that I’m responsible for coordinating the medical providers for various athletes in various countries and what their access will be in Olympic Stadium during the Games for their athletes. I was also the intermediate person between the venue manager, who’s managing the Olympic Stadium, the competition manager, and broadcasting. So NBC was the broadcaster in the United States. So if there was an issue that came up with an athlete; an injury, or family members trying to get to their family members who might be competing, and me coordinating how all of this worked. For example, there was a situation with NBC during the decathlon, and as you recall, and as most people know; Atlanta, Georgia, in August, is hot!
So medical, we had the seating for the decathletes in competition that was covered. But it was plexiglass, sort of what you see at soccer matches. It’s a plexiglass covered bench. So we had had those where the decathletes could sit and, because it was so hot, the decathletes covered that with towels and had umbrellas so the cameras could not see the athletes when they were resting. So the broadcasters were concerned about that, so I had to negotiate a compromise; one, we have to ensure the health and safety of the athletes- it’s hot out there people. These athletes are competing in 10 events over two days. Arguably the most challenging event at the Olympic Games. So we came up with a system where the athletes could still have shade, and they could position the NBC cameras in a way where the athletes would still appear on the broadcast. The sponsors were happy, the people who were spending $100,000 an ad were happy, and so those are some of the things that I worked. And just coordinating that the massage therapist had the supplies, and tools, and things that they required. Making sure that towel delivery was occurring, just things like that. So I was the liaison, I was sort of managing what the venue manager required, what broadcasters required, and then what a medical delegations required. Yeah, it was pretty cool.
Did that explosion have any effects down to you as a massage therapist, at the time as the medical liaison?
Yeah, so the explosion. So I would be at the Olympic Stadium, often until midnight, and then I would ride – I would take the train back to my apartment. Because the the idea of trying to drive a car, into downtown Atlanta, during the Olympic Games, and find parking under $100 an hour? Non-existent! So I took public transportation. So I took the train, Marta, back to my apartment in Atlanta. And went to sleep, didn’t know anything about the bombing. I show up the next morning around 6:00 AM for my shift at the stadium, and the line through the employee entrance is moving, Kirby, at a snails pace! And I’m going, “what is going on here? Why are we moving so slow?” Another Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games worker said to me, “didn’t you hear about the bomb in Centennial Park?” I was like, “No!” And so there are monitors everywhere. I look up at one of the monitors, and NBC on The Today Show, they’re going, “oh you know blah, blah, blah, yada-yada” and I’m going like “wow, okay”. I knew nothing about this. So I finally get into the stadium. This is in the early days, Kirby, of mobile phones. This was the era of the flip phone. And, you know, you had to tap the number one three times to get the letter “C”. So it could take you hours to send a short message. So my phone is off, I turn my phone on, and it immediately- I think the term that young people use now; my phone blew up! Just people calling like, “woah, are you okay?” And I get a call from a friend of mine, who has just come in from Singapore, and they are staying at my apartment, they’re here for the Olympics. And I get a call and they say, “call your wife! She’s been trying to reach you!” So I call her, and she is in tears. And “oh, are you okay? The bombing…” and I said, “I’m just fine”. And my wife, Joan, says “I’m watching The Today Show right now, and they’re broadcasting from the Olympics”. And I said, “where are they broadcasting from?” This is early morning now, Kirby, so the stadium’s not open yet, and she says “they’re in the stadium”. And I say, “hold on a minute”. And I did something, Kirby, that I had vowed I would never, ever do in my life. Because up until now, I found it annoying. And that’s the person walking behind the broadcaster doing something [waves arms] like that. Well under the circumstances, I gave myself grace. So I walk down the track, I see where the NBC broadcasters [are] broadcasting from the Today Show, and I slowly walk behind him. And I say, “can you see me now? Can you see me now?” So I caused my wife to go from hysterical crying and tears, to laughing hysterically now. Because she knew I had vowed I would never do this, ever. So I did it to show anyone who knew me that I was okay. So that’s my Centennial Park bombing story.
Wow, that’s just something else! Thank you for sharing that, Benny. I’ve also heard you talk before about the ’96 games. And something that really struck me, you talk about how, with just the enter [key] on your keyboard, you were able to totally influence the Games and get massage therapists the same credentialing as other medical and allied professions. Talk to me about wielding that kind of influence on the Games.
That influence, Kirby, I felt was a responsibility. If I see myself as a leader, as an inspiration, to a profession that I love. A profession that I believe is absolutely essential for the health and wellbeing of the human experience, it was what I was supposed to do. It’s what infinite intelligence had guided me and put me in this position to do. Because throughout my career, especially the early days of my career, I was confronted often by other allied health professionals, medical professionals with lots of initials at the end of their name. Who were very, in my view, disrespectful to the art and science of massage therapy. As something that “anyone could do” and “didn’t really require any training” and I found that disrespectful. And what I discovered, within myself, is that whenever I was faced with that disrespect, I took it as a moment to educate that provider. By not backing down, and by speaking my truth- the truth of our profession, and doing it in a professional, dignified way. Where they had that educational moment and they realized that this is no joke. That’s not funny, what you said. And it’s not acceptable. So when that opportunity to include massage therapists, not as the sideline, not working outside of the Olympic Village on the sidewalks, not having to sneak around and do whatever. No, we are equal partners at the table! Providing care for athletes visiting our country and participating in the largest sporting event that we have, that brings all nations together. And I had seen some data from the USOPC training center in Colorado Springs the uh US Olympic par Olympic Training Center where the two most requested Services by athletes at the Olympic Training Center and at the olymp games were massage therapy and Chiropractic and it just made sense to me right it just made sense to me and I was determined that we were goingon to be respected we were going to get the same uniforms we were going to get the same medical credentials because our role is valuable yeah so I I felt that um you know um my Integrity is more important than my influence but when you can put the two together and that’s what I did the result speaks for itself and the massage therapist who were there had the same rights and privileges as the certified athletic trainers as a certified physical therapist as a certified chiropractors and as the medical doctors who were there we had the same medical credential same medical uniform which was the Olympic rings with the red highlighted so that’s how you knew uh those individuals were medical so at all the games the uniforms are are color coded for easy uh you know like recognition sure like so if you saw somebody that had red sleeves you knew that they were medical so massage therapists were issued those same uniforms.
wow did you know you were making history at the time and like raising us up as a collective at the time
Kirby I was not thinking about making history…I was thinking about moving the massage therapy profession the perception of Massage Therapy to the American public to a higher level so that when I came up in the early days in the mid 70s yeah and when someone discovered or I would say to them when they say oh you know like what do you do you know like at a social event and I’d say oh I do massage you know I’d get this like “you’re doing like massage?”, “you’re like touching people?” and you know and all the you know the phobias that people have about touch would come up but I would resort to a very stoic response you know and then they would see like oh he’s serious right so what they thought was a light-hearted joke. I found that the most powerful response was no response yeah so they didn’t get a ha oh that’s funny no I’ll show you the look they would get and I wouldn’t say anything yeah and then go oh oh I’m sorry. So right so yeah I felt that it was an important piece for our profession.
gotcha well thank you Benny and let’s fast forward to the more recent 20 20 Olympics in Tokyo. They were delayed by one year due to the covid-19 pandemic of course. What effect do you think that the rescheduled 2020 Olympics had on those games and how did the pandemic affect you in your role as a massage therapist?
Well the effect on me as a massage therapist: I made the adaptation quite smoothly because I was required to do it at my massage therapy Center here in Fort Worth Texas and we did it beautifully. I mean Kirby we had the forehead thermometers. I mean we had a whole system yeah and so I have been doing that already you know. People had to be invited from the parking lot to come in. I would greet them at the hand washing station. Kirby I had a timer set for 35 seconds and I would witness the handwashing so I started the timer. They washed their hands for 35 seconds that that’s what was recommended by the CDC or somebody yeah and then I would hand them a paper towel to dry their hands then they would turn I’d get their temperature on this very cool expensive forehead thermometer that I purchased on Amazon and and after they finished the handwashing I had a little button that I got from Office Depot that when you press it a recording says that was easy. So after they wash their hands and dry them I would press the button and would go that was easy and then I’d take their temperature. Then we’d escort. So I had this system down and I was accustomed to wearing an n95 yeah sometimes a double mas k n95 and a regular face mask and I wore a full face shield. I mean a full face shield like what you might see with a hazmat team.
Really that’s what I did when I was massaging and so when I went to Tokyo. I wore that on the plane at the airport and I had the type of face mask that you could flip up like a welder’s mask okay and that’s what I did massaging every day at the high performance training center for the US team. So I worked at the high performance training center for the US team and what that looks like – it’s like if we take the USPOC ( Olympic Training Center) in Colorado Springs and we moved it to Sag gaaya City, Japan which is just a suburb right outside of Tokyo and it was a 30 minute bus ride from the Olympic Village to get there. So all the US athletes would come there to train and to get Services. We had a dining hall we basically had our private Olympic Training Center for the US team and that’s where I did massage on any US athletes that required it. There were two massage therapists assigned there because all of the US teams carried massage therapists with them for that particular team like USA swimming they had three, USA volleyball had two and so all the USA Track and Field they had six and then other athletes like you know rugby or Judo or synchronized swimming… all those teams that then normally carry a massage therapist primarily because they tend to be smaller. Those services are provided at the high performance center and that’s where massage therapy is a critical value service there.
Gotcha
I mean we we’re busy all the time and so I did massage with a double mask in 95 full face shield and you know the sanitation routine was quite extensive between we probably I’d say on a daily basis, we’d have like a thousand sheets and a thousand clean sanitized towels delivered every day because we have to change that following protocol. We went through thousands of sheets and towels daily. oh wow Because they’re all you obviously you know one use. Yeah it it was it was pretty cool and and let me just say this Kirby if I may uh you know just I want to give uh so much gratitude to the Japanese people and the Japanese organizing committee because they are the only Olympic Committee that’s ever been tasked with running an Olympic games during a global pandemic. So Kirby, every single day every single day, every human being in the Olympic Village was required to be covid tested every morning every morning you had to be covid tested we were staying offsite. Our staff was at a Tokyo Hotel as many staff members were and we had to provide saliva samples every morning before 9:00 a.m. and if your sample was not there, then you would get a text message because they had tracking systems on who provided samples. It was all barcoded on the test tubes and if you didn’t have your test in by 9:00 am you got marked as a positive test.
oh wow
Yes and the consequences for a positive test is immediate removal from the Olympic Village and you were put into quarantine wow and so the Japanese had this one and the Olympic Committee had this. They use this wonderful technology to just keep up with every human being and I don’t believe that any other country could have done this as well as the Japanese people. It was spectacular, it was organized, it was Speedy and it was courteous. I think it’s just a reflection historically of Japanese culture so it was very very cool so with that in mind, one little thing that I did Kirby is on my face shield I had a dome here and before I left the US I put an American flag sticker on one side and I put a Japanese flag sticker on the other so when I went through customs I got a lot of comments about the fact that I had the American flag and the Japanese flag now my ulterior motive was that this will speed me through customs a little faster than everyone else.
Did it work?
It did work. I got a lot of comments about oh man your face shield is very good and oh look you have our nation’s flag on it yes please I’ll just take your bags.
Wonderful let me ask real quick Benny did you have any apprehensions about participating in those games due to the pandemic
Uh no Kirby I had no apprehension at all. My degree is in Health Science Education so I understand the whole biological system and I believe that and even to this day you know. I mean I still follow this when I travel on planes to this day Kirby. I wear an n95 mask. So my wife who is a renowned wildlife photographer, you know, when we’re on just four months ago, we were in East Africa in Kenya photographing parts of The Great Migration. So on that 16-hour flight to Nairobi okay we wearing n95 mask because you’re in close quarters so I still practice many of the procedures. It’s just good hygiene and really simply washing your hands man that’s in my view that’s like 90% of it – washing your hands. So I had no apprehension at all and I was just so pleased the way the Japanese organizing committee operated but like I said I’d been running this protocol in my massage practice back here in the US. I was very confident and I mean I had it down. I had a good system. I trained all of my clients and it didn’t hold up anything. I mean once I got them trained they knew the drill and I made it fun – having a timer, having them know they would push the button after they were done. That was easy: turn around, forehead, boom boom boom just easy simple down to the therapy. Everything’s in plastic containers. All the things that were recommended to do as massage therapist I did and maybe above and beyond.
Never heard go above and beyond I don’t think
Yeah because I think it’s important for us, for our clients to feel safe.
Benny let’s shift gears. I want to talk about personal insights we’re recording this in December but these uh this episode will be released in February to recognize Black History Month also in an effort to celebrate and lift up the stories of black massage therapists can I engage you in a conversation about Ray
yes
All right um tell me when you began your massage therapy studies back in 1975/’74 where there many other therapists of color with national ubiquity.
There was. In my class there was one additional African-American student and I’m going to say 32 students in that graduating class and there was one other African-American and when I went to my first AMTA meeting as I said previously, there were just a handful of African-Americans. There at the American Massage Therapy Association first convention that I ever went to and and I didn’t even know any African-Americans who did massage and when I began so there’s a photo in my office here on the wall of my first Massage Therapy Clinic and School – the American Institute of Massage Therapy and it was a North Florida massage and Therapy Clinic where I and other massage therapists. And I have a photo on the wall there’s 45 people in that photo and I’m the only African-American in the photo. wow and and I’m the person in charge. I just found it just you know interesting and I have to say Kirby I never thought about race until it was impressed upon me by the behavior of some white Americans.
right
And then I was reminded that some their perception of you is not based on your merit or your integrity or your skill but simply on the color of your skin. So I redirected that to mean something even better. Space has been made for something even better and what I mean by that there were times early my career where a client would show up and in each of these cases the clients were white males from America and I would greet them at the check-in desk. This was at a health club where I had my first job, the Gainesville Executive Health Club and I would introduce myself – hi I’m Benny Vaugh. I’ll be your massage therapist today and the typical drill would be oh my, I forgot my checkbook in the car. I’ll be right back. Well they never came right back. They would just leave once they saw and then even in you know the 2000s even in my practice here in Fort Worth and I have a highly successful amazing professional facility and I provide Massage Therapy Services to this day at the highest level, right. I have had clients come and this has typically been a parent bringing a young athlete who has a family member to see me because they’ve heard about me and they say oh yeah this massage therapist, Benny, but they’ve never seen a photo of me and so when I go out and greet them I love the surprise look and there have been cases. Kirby I’ve actually said to them to just break the ice.. I will say to them Kirby “yes he’s black” and then they start laughing. Oh well I didn’t. I can feel the vibe yeah and what I’m saying to you is that that’s okay, yes I’m black and it wasn’t malicious. It was just a surprise as if I never considered that an African-American massage therapist existed, right… that African-Americans do this and it’s sort of like… so Kirby I listen to a wide range of global music okay and two types of music that I love that I will play in my office at times when I’m sitting here writing is Opera and Celtic music. All right, I love Celtic music and I love Opera like give me some [belli] any day. I often play his work in my office so here’s my point – you can’t judge any human being simply by the color of their epidermis, right, just absurd. Yet that’s how our caste system has often been designed. So I’ve used race as an advantage to stimulate curiosity, to learn more about another person, that up until now you knew nothing about and then the discovery occurs. Oh my, we’re really not that different from each other. Hello. So that’s my mission right and so that’s what I mean by “I use race as an advantage to educate” and I know for a fact that I have white clients, white American clients who see me regularly not for my amazing massage techniques not for my knowledge of massage and how to help and support people, but they’re curious about what’s this human being’s life like who looks different from me right. And so that’s been but I had plenty of people who missed out on getting the most amazing massage of their life by leaving because of their perception of an African-American so they missed out that that’s how I frame it.
Yeah absolutely. Have you noticed a change in that throughout the years Benny of the that become less frequent
Yes I have seen a change in the current generations in America especially younger adults who come to see me. I see that less and less and less now that was not the case in the mid 70s and the early 80s yeah but I see oh so much less of that now.
Gotcha so. Yeah, are there other ways that you’ve seen the institutionalized and systemic racism of the United States impact your position as a massage therapist or the industry as a whole?
Well the systemic notion of racism and institutionalized racism that you know are part of the fabric of America, that’s how America got something called slavery. It was something called you know prison farms in Louisiana and Mississippi where basically you’re creating massive products but you don’t have to pay the employees. Yeah anybody can get wealthy that way right but it’s not right. It’s not correct so a lot of the infamous prison farms in Mississippi and Louisiana was an expression of that institutionalized racism and the impact on me in the massage therapy comes from what I learned early on living in the Deep South growing up as a young boy and that was the way I can even the playing field so to speak, is to be better than anyone else right. I was inspired by the Tuskegee Airman for example and so they inspired me to earn my pilot’s license. I was inspired by George Washington Carver and Martin Luther King. I was inspired by Muhammad Ali because of his platform in athletics and his speaking truth about race and poor people and so my big hero coming up as a young man in the Deep South was Malcolm X of course and Martin Luther King Jr and then the Tuskegee Airman inspired me with the can-do attitude.
So that was the attitude that I took into massage therapy because my father who was an Army cook taught me to do everything that you do meticulously, pay attention to detail and do the very best because when you are the very best people have a way of getting past the Race part of it. So when the white bomber pilots flying missions over Nazi Germany discovered that the Tuskegee Airman escorts were not losing any bombers, they started requesting the black Pilots for their escorts because up until that moment the white Pilots refused. We don’t want these black men flying escort for us, you know. We don’t believe they can do the job and then word started getting around like man they didn’t lose a single bomber on that mission. They didn’t lose a single bomb or then pretty soon it’s like even the German Pilots showed respect to them and by calling them the red tailed Devils because they painted the tales of their p-51s red and so the German measurement Pilots showed respect to them by calling them the red tail Devils so so those were Inspirations for me that demonstrated like Muhammad Ali, be the very best in Massage therapy and that transcends. Oh it’s a African-American. oh you know it’s this gender or that it just transcends all that if you’re the best you’re the best right you it doesn’t matter you know the color of your skin your gender where you live your ZIP code. None of that matters. So that’s why I’ve said that the racial challenges I turned into ways to leverage progress because frankly you know for me it was the way that I was gonna move forward – is that man you better be really good because what I saw is that you could be a white person and be mediocre and still keep getting promoted and moved. A black person in America you can’t do that, so what does it do it – inspires us to be the very best so for me it made me the very best I don’t think there’s any more arguments
There’s certainly not going to be any right here at this conversation about that um Benny talked
to me about um being the keynote speaker for the 20 24 uh black massage therapist
conference their second one right
Yes so being the keynote speaker at the second annual black massage therapist conference again. I feel it’s a responsibility as an elder in the massage Community. Oh and by the way, I’m African American. So the first one I was out of the country. I was in Slovenia because my wife is a outdoor photographer and we were on a planned photo shoot throughout Slovenia going through the Italian Alps and the Julian Alps excuse me Julian Alps and I spoke to the organizer and the founder of this idea – Devonna Willis and I said look I will be your keyote speaker but I’ll do it through zoom and this is the the wonderful thing about technology now right because I felt compelled, Kirby, that it was this important and I personally couldn’t think of a better person to give a keynote a address at the first annual and the second annual black massage therapist conference because I have seen the change. So I recorded a keynote address in the event that some technology came up right and so I was at a small little Shau hotel in this little town in Slovenia my wife was having lunch some Cafe somewhere and I said I’ve got to get back and be right and so I set up my computer on the porch with these beautiful fur trees in the background and to the left are the Julian Alps and we got it coordinated on what time it would be there and where I was and so they played my recorded message and then they went to me live where I gave a couple of minute remarks about how important this moment is and that I celebrate All of You in attendance and so to do it live for the second one was more rewarding for me because it provided an opportunity for me to interact directly with young African American massage therapists.
And Kirby I feel if I’m an elder in the massage Community, if I am wise and wisdom is a combination of you knowledge and experience and 2025 will be my 50th year of doing massage. 50 years and I still do massage. Before this interview I’ve already had three massage sessions today I’m still doing massage my hands are working like really good. My mind’s working really good but here’s the key Kirby here’s the key – I love massage therapy. I love providing support and compassion and courtesy and respect to other human beings through the power and the vehicle of touch and I’ve said this before in many places Kirby and I will say it here with you –
massage therapists are playing a major role in The Human Experience of other humans and it will become greater and wider the role that we play in a society that has the potential to become more touch deprived than ever with the Advent of Technology but technology doesn’t have to drive us away from being connected with our humanness and that’s where the massage therapist comes in. So I feel a deep responsibility and I feel deep and profound gratitude for the privilege to inspire other generations of massage therapist to come and so for me it’s what I loved and I oh I was just so impressed with the massage therapists that I met all these African-American massage therapists who are getting it done and the businesses, and the Expo. These African-American owned businesses making massage supplies and products and Equipment I’m like wow okay none of this existed when I began 50 years ago right and I’m just so pleased and proud. Oh my goodness I was just like wow like okay I’ve seen that product and whoa an African-American owns that company oh I love it yeah so it’s very cool.
Wow yeah I imagine well actually I can’t even imagine going from like your first AMTA convention where there weren’t that many other African-Americans to the black massage therapy conference and you’re there in person connecting and inspiring I just what’s that like Benny.
I’ll tell you what it’s like Kirby; it just seems fitting for my career at the 50-year mark. You know what I mean it just feels like -wow yeah – so I’ve had a hand in this no pun intended but there it is I’ve had a hand in this yeah and so I continue to Inspire and motivate and do it with Integrity because you know my Integrity is more important than my influence but when you combine the two it’s powerful
Absolutely yeah and I hear that the bmd C just keeps growing every year and um yeah I I just I think it’s really awesome and incredible and especially that you have been a part of it
Yeah I think it’s like super cool and and let me just say this Kirby since we’re on this subject of the AMTA so while I was there at the second annual where I gave the keynote address – there was a table of AMTA Representatives = yeah all African-Americans really including the president-elect and I was like wow like whoa Nelly like and I acknowledge them from the stage like wow I just want to say I’m just super impressed and proud to see this number of African Americans you know in the front office so to speak right I thought that was very cool because I didn’t see any of that in the early days yeah absolutely yeah so that that’s like super nice yeah so yeah I enjoy that and yeah
All right, Benny, to kind of close out this topic about race and kind of Shifting Gears kind of segwaying into a conversation about the future of Massage Therapy what ideas do you think we could do to further the conversation about racism and massage therapy and also support more divers in the industry?
I think a great way to support expanding diversity in the massage therapy industry is by educating wider populations about the benefits of massage and to expel this notion that certain groups of people based on the color of their skin won’t invest in receiving massage because that’s the argument that I’ve heard before. Oh black folks aren’t gonna pay for a massage and oh these folks aren’t going to pay for a massage we’ve just got to go to like you know wealthy white women they’ll pay for a massage. No that’s that’s not true. That’s a myth you know the African American community and other communities of color they’re value driven in their investing so when we educate other communities communities of color about the value of Massage Therapy that’s how you expand diversity. I believe it’s an education piece because up till now their only exposure to massage might have been something they saw in a a bad movie right and so it’s on our profession to expand the awareness of the health and wellness benefits of Massage Therapy from a trained licensed massage therapist and when we do that that’s when we’ll see diversity expand and that’s when you’ll see that the concept of racism is not required to navigate those waters because we have created more knowledge about who we are and what we do as massage therapists and so now it’s no longer unfamiliar. When a person has a massage therapy experience and see that the use value is greater than what they paid, what they invested, that’s when you see the growth and the expansion of diversity in my opinion. That’s how you do it. I think you know we educate people and we educate the communities of color. This is why the black massage therapist conference was so awesome because here I am. I had no idea we had that number of people of color at the executive level of the AMTA and I’ve been an AMTA member for what 48 years wow and didn’t know and I told them that and I’m thinking maybe there needs to be some way that we we let the membership know I don’t know yeah so anyway it’s very cool so that was when I realized yeah we we just educate people .
Yeah absolutely and yeah I’m with you right there why. Why hide it under a bushel you know why the membership should know let us know
Yes yes so yeah it’s very cool and I just believe that you know the power of touch really just is one of the great ways to overcome racist views perceptions and myths it’s just so powerful yeah it’s just so powerful .
Absolutely yeah thank you for that Benny. Let’s go ahead shift gears let’s talk about the future of Massage Therapy. First I want to know what do you think the importance of Massage Therapy history is?
I believe the importance of massage history is to remind all massage therapists of the starting point and how much space we have to continue expanding that starting point and my vision of the role of Massage Therapy in the future is that we will fill the gap between traditional Western medicine which is amazingly fantastic for trauma. If you fracture your femur, if you fracture your skull, if you have a heart attack – that model is awesome right and then you have functional medicine which is becoming a thing which has a section of that is Energy Medicine where we’re looking at the behavior and this impact on your health and wellness. The gap that massage therapists are filling and will fill even more and more is between the two models of lifespan versus health span. So our current medical model is focused on the success of – is the person still alive right not on the quality. Yeah, are they alive? Okay we’ve done good. They’re still alive. Sure still alive but the massage therapist using touch and our knowledge and expanding on that can be the person the professional that helps the health span of our clients by providing them with information and letting them know that there are options for what matters to them. You know I look at a lot of the you know playbook information.
Okay if you have these numbers on your blood test then the Playbook says that I prescribe a Statin to you yeah so there are lots of other options and now I see this proliferation of ads for the different types of pharmaceutical for lowering this and lowering that and by the way I lost you know 33 pounds in the process and so the little sub message is that hey you could lose weight if you take this. We don’t know what the long-term effects are and you know that 30 seconds where they are required to tell you what the side effects are which includes death right makes me think wow you mean that I have so much discomfort and suffering that I’m willing to die to get some temporary relief that only occurs if I continue to take this pill or this medication or this injection I just think that that model is all about lifespan right it’s not about quality of Health. It’s not about quality of life right because here is my view on that Kirby yeah we all in The Human Experience no matter our color gender or thoughts we all have an end day for this Human Experience. It is guaranteed right. Here’s what’s not guaranteed we don’t know when that end day is. We know what our start day is already – I know when I was born. I know when I started, but we don’t know our end day but what we do know is that you, me and everyone else are having the Human Experience. We are guaranteed an end day we are guaranteed to find a way out of this experience it’s gonna happen so with that in mind let’s have the highest quality of life which means: Are you joyful? Are you happy? Are you mobile? Are you flexible? Are you enjoying what you do? I mean there’s so many other factors that you know all these studies about blue zones have looked at and one of the key things about blue zones where you’ve got people who live in these blue zones where they’re living into their 90s and their hundreds the one element that was a Common Thread that the researchers found was that people who had purpose – people who had purpose seem to live longer their end day came much later with purposeful living and I believe that massage therapist providing Massage Therapy Services supports the health span of an individual which may actually create a longer lifespan but it creates a support system through touch the most fundamental required experience to have a quality Human Experience is touch is touch and massage therapist are the best prepared to do it in our society absolutely and so it is.
Absolutely Benny, what do you think that today’s practitioners can benefit from an understanding of Massage Therapy history?
I think what today’s massage therapists can benefit from understanding massage history is that the fundamental premise of Massage is was and always will be touching another human being with thoughts of compassion respect courtesy and boundaries for feeling safe and it’s not as much about the technique we’ve been doing petrissage and effleurage a long time. Petrissage and effleurage will be around for a long time right but it’s our thoughts when we are administering this to our client that is the key to the expansive Progressive success so understanding the history of massage understanding the fundamental techniques that we find in history and then understanding the fundamental thought process and the people who were Educators in this when you look at the influence of massage from uh you know the early days. We all heard about Per Heinrich Ling but there’s a whole lot of other people when I look at the role that Bob King and Jack Meagher played in expanding the concept and acceptance of sports massage. When I look at the role that Janet Travel played in expanding the understanding of trigger point and that you can use your hands are looking at the role that Leon Chaitow played in the many books that he wrote and so many other educators out there about these are the people who wrote who taught and who lectured that inspired generation after generation of massage therapist understanding the importance of massage and what it does for the health span of our fellow Human Experience Travelers right right on so that’s how I see it
Benny. Let’s go into some closing thoughts. What Legacy do you hope that your work in massage therapy will have for future Generations?
well the Legacy that I will have I’m not hoping for it it, it it is it’s already here
right
So the Legacy that I am leaving and I’m committed to to leaving and this opportunity for the privilege to speak with you and do this interview that someone will see 40 years from now my message to that massage therapist generation remains the same: touch is a powerful vehicle for delivering Compassionate Care, courtesy, respect and safe boundaries to our fellow human experiences that allows that person to grow and be the best version of themselves simply because they had an interaction with the massage therapist with touch and they discovered that there was someone out there who cares and that makes a difference in any society yeah and so I’m inspiring massage therapists to maintain that focus of commitment to the Art and Science of Massage Therapy.
Benny I know we’re recording in 24 but 2025 is right around the corner uh I would like to say the first maybe to congratulate you on 50 years in the profession [and ask] whose account of Massage Therapy whether this person would be dead or alive right now uh do you really wish was recorded and preserved
I would love to have had a conversation with Ida Rolf. I would love to hear the perspectives about the human body and its relationship with gravity. Yeah, I’d say Ida Rolf. I’d love to have a conversation with Ida Rolf. The other person, Robin McKenzie, the physiotherapist from New Zealand who created the McKenzie back protocol. I’d love to have a conversation with Robin McKenzie. So those two people there. There are others if I sat down and thought more but those two people come to mind immediately.
Gotcha I’m kind of along those same lines. You were challenged by not only our first guest on this podcast but also our second guest on this podcast who would you encourage or challenge to participate for future episodes
I would the list that I would so here’s here’s what my list looks like and these are all people that at some point in time were students of mine right so I guess there’s some bias there: Whitney Lowe, James Waslaski, Paul St John who may be in his 80s now. Judith Walker Delaney. George Kousaleos. Those are some that I would (add to the list) because they’re they’re all still providing care .I would find Paul St John – he’s still alive he’s in Florida and he’s still seeing people. Paul St John was a major your inspiration for the concept of neuromuscular therapy in the United States okay and this was in the late 70s alright yeah and it was it was really he who put that on the map in the United States
all right see if we can track him down and get an interview out of him
yeah yeah telling that Benny Vaughn suggested it all right and he and he’ll probably with surprise oh ah he’s still alive too where is he yes sir
okay Benny is there anything that we haven’t touched on that you’d like to address or do you have anything to promote how people could get in contact with you learn more about your facility in Fort Worth anything like that?
Well here’s what I would just make your listeners and viewers aware of – I am transitioning my massage therapy practice into life coaching for massage therapist alright so this is what I do now so I have massage therapists who want to expand their businesses they want to earn more. They want to help more people. How do I design my massage therapy business? How do I work for a franchise and earn the abundance that I desire and help the people I desire? I am a certified life coach with the Brave Thinking Institute out in California so I have been trained, I have been tested and I’m certified technically as a life Mastery consultant but most people know it as life coaching so I typically use that term. One of the groups that I enjoy working with are massage therapist who are committed to making a difference and I share I mean I have a structured program called Dreambuilder that goes for three months that they study with me and I teach them I have specific lessons and then it is interjected with my realtime life experiences building a highly successful massage therapy practice so they can uh you go to you know www.Bennyvaughnlife coach.com and they’re ways that you can schedule a consult with me and determine if we are a good fit. I don’t accept everyone. It’s required to be a good fit for both of us but what I will tell you is that those massage therapists that I have coached are all highly successful so yeah just www.Bennyvaughnlifecoach.com and the other group that I work with are Elite athletes. I have a unique life coaching for elite athletes because I combine massage and Bodywork with the live coaching and that makes it true cure Mind Body Work right
awesome I love that well thank you Benny um I want to thank you for your time and participating in this podcast with us uh you’ve been listening to the hands of History Podcast a production of the Society of massage archives you can learn more about the society at Society of mass archives.org we are also on Facebook and Instagram do you know someone whose hands of history have helped shape the practice of massage if you were someone you know would make a great guest for future episodes of this podcast please email the society at Society of mass archives gmail.com