Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1153082
A Business Model: LoDo Massage If you were to book therapeutic massage at one of the two LoDo Massage locations in Colorado, you would get what's called the Mile High Massage—a massage administered with CBD lotion or oil. In fact, every massage on LoDo's service menu comes with CBD, if you want it. And most clients do! When LoDo Massage first started offering CBD massages to clients in 2014, owner Ed Rich says the client base tripled. When the local newspaper wrote about LoDo's Mile High Massage service, "It exploded," Rich says. "From that day forward, business has never been slow." He says while a few clients opt out of having a CBD lubricant used during the massage, most want it included in their service to address pain and other health issues. A frontrunner in offering cannabis massages in Colorado, Rich says his company's national seated massage business will test the waters in taking CBD on the road. "With 4,000 [seated massage business] accounts nationwide, I am in discussions on bringing CBD into the workplace." With the greater acceptance of CBD and its huge growth, Rich says the time is ripe for CBD and corporate massage. His goal? "Being the first company nationally to bring CBD massage inside corporations—that's really where I'm heading right now." CBD AND MASSAGE SPECIAL EDITION 58 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k s e p t e m b e r / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 Massage therapist Matthew Behr first heard about cannabis- infused analgesics in 2013 when a friend offered him an oil she had purchased from a medical dispensary. "I began incorporating it into my private practice when I first opened in 2014 because I liked working with it so much, and recreational legalization made that possible here in Colorado," he says. "Locals were very excited to try CBD in their sessions from the beginning, while people from out of town tended to have a lot more questions about it. These days, it seems everyone is eager to try it." For an upcharge of $20, Behr says he incorporates CBD into a full-body massage or applies it to specific areas of pain and tension. "Objectively, I can feel the (client's) tissues relax with much more ease as the topical soaks in, and I am able to really get more work done. People leave feeling completely blissed out and report being totally pain-free." And, as a therapist, he reaps the benefits of CBD as well. "I used to have problems with my thumbs aching and feeling like they were going to give out after a long day of massage." Behr says there is a definite correlation between his CBD exposure and the diminished pain. "I have been pain-free for years now. My thumbs and wrists are my livelihood and I'm in this for the long haul, so it's vital for me to continue to apply the topical within, as well as out of, sessions." Photo by Casey Hogan Photo by Ellen Jaskol Photography