We recently connected with Montgomery Norton and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Montgomery thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?
Wow, where to begin? My mother attended Massage School down in Orange County, CA, when I was just 13-14 (1988-1989). She wanted a change from her career in Sales & Marketing of Computer Hardware. As she was learning anatomy, she would share with my brother and I regarding athletics and sport physiology. In hindsight, I wish I had pursued a degree in one of the many sport physiology type disciplines (kinesiology, sports medicine, physical therapy, etc.). She originally wanted to be a Sports Massage Therapist and thus work with athletes. She volunteered her time at Marathons, Triathalons, and even went to the World Famous Kona IRONMAN competition several years in a row. My mother was an active person in general. She took Karate lessons that we also benefited from experiencing. She taught us proper weightlifting techniques before entering into our High School sports teams. She even volunteered her services to my swimming and water polo teams when I was a Freshman and Sophomore. I was fortunate to receive her ever-evolving skills when I had ankle injuries in football, shoulder injuries in swimming, and then a back issue as bad as a herniated disc while rowing my first year of college, which we resolved without surgery. Unfortunately, I would go on to herniate that same disc (L5/S1) two more times: Once in 2008 from sitting way too many long hours with the stress and homework of Grad School (I have a MA in Urban & Regional Planning with a focus on Sustainability from UC Irvine). And again, in 2016 exercising after recovering from my two brain surgeries. Wait, what? You had two brain surgeries? Yes, when I was managing a local restaurant & bar at a boutique hotel, Granada Hotel & Bistro here in San Luis Obispo, I started to get these major headaches lasting anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. I just thought it was due to long hours, stress, late nights, drinking, etc. Unfortunately, by the time the fourth headache episode came around over the course of a year, I became dizzy and couldn’t talk right. I managed (haha, get it?) to get through the end of my work week, but that’s when I went to a medical services office to get checked out. The doctor did a really basic neurological exam and recommended that I go to the nearest hospital – Sierra Vista – to get a more extensive examination. The doctors had me do a CT Scan and called in the Neurologist who was not on site. That first diagnosis was that I had brain tumors, which didn’t end up being correct. But boy, was that a scare! Fortunately, we ended up sending the CT Scans to other hospitals, because my partner at the time’s mother was an ER nurse in Boston at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. So we sent the CT scans there and UCLA. Both came back as Cavernous Malformations (CM) – basically collections of malformed blood vessels like the size of a blackberries (I had two of significant size). The one that was next to the front of my brain stem was leaking blood, and thus posing a critical threat to primary functioning. Needless to say, I was rushed into major brain surgery up at UCSF (University of California – San Francisco) less than two weeks later on August 12, 2014. I was released from the hospital way too soon, which seems to be the case these days, and because the bleeding in my brain had not stopped, I ended up being airlifted in a small airplane back up to UCSF. After maybe a week there, I was then released to an Acute Rehabilitation Center in Arroyo Grande where I spent two weeks recovering properly. Ironically, after the surgery to remove that first CM, the other one next to my left optical nerve started bleeding. Discovered by the same kind of headaches, I was off to another surgery at UCSF just 7 months later on March 23, 2015. In addition, the next January (1/18/16) I had a third herniated disc episode, thus receiving my second back surgery. Long story, shorter, this was all context and set up for the fact that in September of 2018, I decided to use my disability back payments to finally attend Massage School here in SLO (San Luis Obispo, CA) at the California Holistic Institute (CHI). I started working with some fellow massage students after finishing the Massage Practitioner program (200 hrs.), forming the Morro Bay Massage Collective in Morro Bay, CA. Unfortunately, the MBMC didn’t last but a few months, because both my partners were still juggling full-time work. Fortunately, I was also able to receive funding and support from the Department of Rehabilitation, and went out on my own, creating my own business – Phoenix Rising Massage Therapy (PRMT) back in 2019. The name was befitting of the story that I describe on my website that tells of how I finally went back to get certified in massage school following my “triple-surgery ordeal” and what has been 2 of the 3 major near-death experiences that I’ve had. The other one was being unconscious due to hypothermia and exhaustion having been rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter off the shore of Esalen Institute, the famous internationally known retreat center in Big Sur, CA when I was just 23 years old. That is a whole other story…! Back to the topic at hand, I went on to get several other spa massage positions, while continuing to build my own PRMT business. Unfortunately, those spa jobs really don’t pay adequately, like the therapist receiving less than 20% of what the hotel or spa is charging the customer. It’s quite the racket! Now, PRMT includes my partner, Tara Polizzi, who had her own story with massage. Growing up on a farm in upstate New York, Tara was the family’s masseuse, which meant she got to work on her siblings’ tired and aching muscles. She decided she wanted to be a massage therapist when she was 19, but life circumstances got in the way. She went on to attend massage school up in Oregon back in 2007, unfortunately not finishing because, again, life circumstances got in the way. She finally was able to return to massage school at CHI (California Holistic Institute) in San Luis Obispo and graduated in April of 2024. Tara and I met in December of 2020. She was referred to me by her business partner, Sam at Huston Fine Saddles, who was a massage client of mine. After two massages and an Astrology Reading, Tara decided to ask me out, to which I responded, “I don’t date clients.” She then said, “I’m no longer your client. You have my number. If you want to go out, call me.” Nearly a month from our first meeting, we had our first date. Now, nearly 4 years later, we live together in Santa Margarita, CA with our own “Big little” Massage Studio at our place. In addition, our unique partnership both business and personal, allows for not only our unique Couples’ Massage (double entendre), but also our very own proprietary 4 Hand Massage, where we both work with a client at the same time. Granted, instead of doing the typical (Not like there are many examples of dual massage. We only found a handful of videos and examples.) tandem massage where the therapists are on either side of the body at the same time; we decided to create our own protocol. Because of our height difference, we came up with our own “Contralateral Polarization” design, where we are polarized and complete a full rotation around the body both face down and face up. Basically, we unwind the chakra flow counterclockwise and then wind it back up clockwise! We also do Astrology readings and classes, with the unique service of a dual reading by both of us. Tara brings a much more mythological perspective to the astrology, while mine is much more informed by traditional astrology. Basically, you get the benefit of two synergistic perspectives at the same time, rather than just one! As far as what has been a long journey for both of us to get here, having our own studio space and business has certainly been a process. We both got introduced to the benefit of massage and holistic health at a young age, but embarking on the professional side of the experience took us both many years. We both went through some really difficult hardships before meeting each other and getting to this place of working together. Sometimes, most of the time, the journey is not what we thought or expected, but we often get to the destinations that we envisioned or some variation therein. As we move into December, a little Astrology preview: there shall be three T-Square formations to the Moon’s Nodes: Sun, Venus, and then Mercury. These are basically choice points in our evolutionary development. We get the challenge and opportunity (crisis) to choose how to reconcile the conflict. Usually, the best option is to look for the fourth missing element to complete the square and thus find a balance to the equation. In these cases, the Moon’s Nodes are in Virgo and Pisces and the succession of third planets are all in Sagittarius. So, the resolution is the opposite of Sagittarius, which is Gemini. Thus, rather than focusing too much on the big picture, we need to come back to simplify the equation and use our rational minds to figure out the solution. Communication shall also be key, forever an invaluable tool to employ heretofore as well. Often times, it comes down to figuring out the small steps of our daily routines, addressing what is right in front of us, that makes the most progress along our path of discovery and achievement!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Fortunately, or unfortunately much of this was explained in the previous prompts. Just to summarize, what is unique about what we do is several things: One, we both have many decades of working with soft tissue manipulation informally trying to help people resolve tension, issues, and injuries and thus feel better. Consequently, our sense of touch is much more developed than if we just went to massage school and decided to establish a practice (as mentioned previously). Second, we both have an extensive diversity of experiences, both personal and professional to draw from when solving the problems, puzzles, challenges & opportunities (crises) brought to us for resolution – Massage “Therapy”. These many experiences, including our own dark nights of the soul / near-death experiences provide us with incredibly developed sense of care, compassion, and empathy – not always the most developed quality in the human population. Third, we have both the challenge and opportunity of working together, bringing our synergistic benefit to bear in helping others navigate the complexities of health and life through the media of massage & astrology. Lastly, we have made it through our own existential crises, being able to rise again from the ashes – Phoenix Rising Massage Therapy! Specifically, what sets us apart is our services of Couples’ Massage as a couple ourselves, 4 Hand Massage, where we both apply our therapeutic touch together, and our synergistic Dual Astrology Readings, where you get double the perspective on your life’s challenges and opportunities!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
It was hard to choose just this one prompt to answer, because I/we could speak to so many of them. Basically, this question provides the biggest opportunity to share answers & information relevant to the most number of questions. Resilience is interesting, because I don’t believe that either Tara, nor myself would have ever thought that our resilience would be or could ever be compromised. She and I both grew up in harsh circumstances with a tremendous amount of responsibility from a young age. We both had to become adults way too young. Adults would often rely on our wisdom and thus burden us with much more information (TMI) than we deserved. And, because we were able to overcome so many challenges and traumas, we just thought that our souls were capable of burning bright as the Phoenixes that we both are. Not to mention, that we both carry elements of the Pluto/Scorpio soul, which is the sign of death, rebirth, power, and transformation. In Astrology, Scorpio is represented by three signs, because of its potential for transformation. The first is the Scorpion, then the Eagle, and finally the Phoenix. Well, both Tara and I embody the Phoenix energy, because of how many hardships we have endured and transformations that we have overcome.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
This is one of the biggest challenges in business, that I/we did not necessarily foresee. I was always under the opinion that the best way to market a business is to have a catchy logo, name, and/or business concept and to provide the best quality products and/or services. Unexpectedly, there is a lot more to creating a successful brand than just that, especially in such a saturated market (as mentioned, there is a wonderful massage school here in San Luis Obispo that Tara and I both graduated from – the California Holistic Institute. And, massage is a much more volatile industry than either of us realized. Having grown up working in restaurants and the food industry, I thought there was no more volatile and less dependable industry. So, it was shocking working in an industry, such as holistic health, which is considered even more expendable, a luxury, or only for the wealthy and privileged. Unfortunately, in our society, we still don’t seem to understand the value of holistic health. I often tell my clients, imagine if massage therapy was part of our healthcare system in that you received a massage once per month. Not only would we all feel so much better in our bodies, be less irritable, stressed, and in pain, but we would have so many less health challenges, just due to circulation and the value of touch. In addition, because it can be viewed as expendable and too expensive, clients are less likely to frequent our establishments and services. Even when, like me, I have had 5.0 Star ratings across the board for nearly the life of my business, clients rarely stick with the same massage therapists for more than a couple of visits. Again, the industry is viewed as a luxury, rather than a central keystone of a healthy body and lifestyle. Regardless, or rather in spite of these challenges, it is crucially important to keep getting our name and reputation in front of potential clients. One of the best ways to do this, I hope I am not giving away the secret here, is through event massage! My partner, Tara and I really enjoy being at events, meeting new people, and sharing our special touch. We especially feel like we make big impression when we show up with our equipment, looking all professional, and provide multiple therapeutic massages for a birthday or special occasion for family and friends. People don’t realize how easy it is to orchestrate a Spa Day at their home, on vacation, or at their respective places of business. In addition, providing massage treatments, whether Chair or Table at events like concerts and music festivals, is just the funnest way to get your name, face, and business in front of potential prospective clients. We even got to do Chair Massage at a winery here in Paso Robles when my mother, Kalaya Delmars (the one who introduced me to massage 37 years ago) was here from Kauai visiting for Mother’s Day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.phoenixrising-mt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenix.rising.massage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MassagebyMontgomery/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PhoenixRisingMassageTherapy
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/phoenix-rising-massage-therapy-santa-margarita
