Chris Hinkle for The New York Times
"It's amazing to see how soothing the touch of a skilled human hand can be," said Manny Granillo, a massage therapist.
Manny Granillo, 59, has been a massage therapist at Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson for nine years.
Q. How did you choose a career as a massage therapist?
A. It wasn't my first choice. I was born in the copper-mining town of San Manuel, Ariz. Everyone I knew — including my father, uncles and cousins — worked for the Magma Copper mines. I had wanted to go to college, but right after high school I married and was an expectant father at 18, so I went to work for the mines, eventually becoming a pipe fitter. My plan was to retire after 30 years with a nice pension package. That dream ended on June 22, 1999, when the supervisor announced that the mines would close because the price of copper had dropped so much.
Did they offer you an opportunity to work for another mine?
A social worker did suggest I could work for another mine, but I was afraid other mines would close, too. When I told her I wanted to study for a career helping people, perhaps as a massage therapist since I enjoyed working with my hands, she replied that as a Hispanic male I would never get hired at the spas in the Tucson area. But I never gave up. We have an expression in Spanish: Si, se puede — yes, you can.
How did you get the experience to become a massage therapist?
I worked three-day weekends at Miraval as a waiter and attended night classes at massage school. I still needed some kind of job, even though my second wife, Gina, who worked for a juvenile corrections facility, was there to support my dream. I never took a day off and finished a 12-month program in nine months. I'd massage anyone I could lay my hands on — friends, family, babies, dogs! I had a private practice for two years; I went on house calls with my table. With the encouragement of Miraval's then assistant spa director, I got up the nerve to apply to the spa but did not pass their test. I kept practicing, and a year later I passed the test and joined Miraval's spa team.
You sound so passionate about the work you do.
It's amazing to see how soothing the touch of a skilled human hand can be. We go through so much stress in our lives. Much of it we suffer alone, mostly in silence. Our muscles have memory of this stress and trauma and hold onto it a long time. When I see the power I have to relieve and release some of that stress, when I see people cry in gratitude right there on the table, I know I was meant to do this work all along.
Vocations asks people about their jobs. Interview conducted and condensed by Perry Garfinkel.
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