Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kerryann Bertrand. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kerryann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.

Since I was introduced to computers in 2004 by a dear friend, I thought that was the path that I needed to take. I was very good at math in school, and I am analytical, so it made perfect sense. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and applied for my first job as a Tech Support Representative, in that field at Cablevision, now known as Altice USA.

During my first few years on the job, I was very excited. I was competing with my peers on who could maintain top performance. I enjoyed troubleshooting with customers, helping them re-connecting their devices to the internet, configure their emails, and assisting small businesses to configure their network and phone lines. First, I was doing support over the phone, then after 6 months within the company, I was offered to be on one of the special project teams, doing live chat support. I was doing so well, after a year of doing live support I wanted to advance my career, so I obtained my Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certifications and was about to apply to work in the Network Operations Department. But yet I wasn’t sure if that was the path I wanted to take.

It was around that same time that I met my husband. He introduced me to the vegan lifestyle and it was then I began my holistic journey. I became spiritual and started taking better care of my health. And it was then that I started to question my life purpose. One evening, while I was writing in my journal, hoping that purpose would come to me, a commercial came on the TV about a career in Massage Therapy, I believed I had an intuitive moment. And it was then that I made the decision to do Massage Therapy and I never looked back. I Believed it was one of the best decisions I made in my life.

Kerryann, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a licensed massage therapist and the founder of Naturally Zuri Massage & Therapeutic Bodywork. Massage Therapy was a passion I discovered on my path of healing and holistic living. I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2018.

During my Ethics class in Massage school, Kerrie Flynn was a guest in our class. She mentioned to us that we need to set goals for ourselves because if we don’t our careers will get boring. It was then that I set my goal to work in a spa for at least 3 years then I would open my practice. And I did just that. Well, actually in two years.

After graduating in 2018, I worked in the spa environment and entered the entrepreneurship world in September 2020, doing mobile massages and then working out of a physical space in 2021.

I specialized in muscular pain and tension relief. I’ve mostly worked with clients dealing with chronic pain whether through injury, joint replacement, structural and functional postural issues. I practice and have knowledge in Medical Massage, Manual Trigger Point Therapy, Acupressure, Deep Tissue, TMJ/TMD massage, CBD Massage, and I am a Certified Cupping Therapist.

My life goal is to help individuals address their pain and tension through massage. So many people have become dependent on pharmaceutical products that mask the issue but do not solve the problem. I want to help people solve that problem. The fact that I can do what I love while helping people live in a state of well-being is truly an amazing feeling

The services that we provide are therapeutic massages, and cupping services, and will also offer at-home plant-based self-care products.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Knowing how to deal with different types of people is a key element. Having great customer service skills and connecting with people is very important. I am truly grateful, for having developed that skill while I was a Tech support Representative. As a Massage Therapist, you don’t know what type of person you might get on your table. The talkative, the one who wants to be left alone, the one who uses you as their psychotherapist, or the one who wants to tell you what to do.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Creating a top-notch unparallel healing experience while building a rapport with my clients has truly helped build my reputation in my field. From individuals experiencing chronic pain to working moms, they’ve noticed a difference in their bodies with just one treatment. With each client that gets on my table, I seek a treatment plan that finds the source of the problem and resolves their issues faster with minimal effort.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.naturallyzuri.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/naturallyzurimassage
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/naturallyzurimassage

Image Credits
Nile Bertrand of Images by Nile and Richard DeBose of Sneak Preview Photos