Now and again, I encounter websites of Thai Massage therapists or schools, boasting about the celebrities they’ve given massage sessions to. That’s of course to get higher credibility i.e. more clients or students. It’s plain advertising and there are enough people who buy it. And to me, well, that’s — no problem!
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The truth however is that saying you have or had famous clients, doesn’t say anything about your qualities as a therapist or teacher. It often only means you had the “right connections or business attitude” to get acquainted to a certain group of people. And if you have “caught” one of them, most often more will follow almost automatically. That’s just how the world functions.
Nevertheless, I don’t feel it’s something to be particularly proud of. Because famous people are not like other people. The difference is that it will often cost you when you make a “mistake” — you run the risk of losing all your other famous clients. As the proverb goes: he that climbs high, can fall deep!
And besides all that, it’s generally far less interesting to do “celebrity sessions,” because you are often expected to put on a show being overly respectful, polite, diplomatic, careful, and so on.
And what is more — you are most of the time considered a simple commodity and genuine respect is hard to get. You’re somewhat like the Pizza-delivery guy bringing them the Thai-Massage-Pizza… now! These are the people often having a personal coach, personal barber, personal tennis-trainer, personal yoga-teacher, and so on.
In Thailand, there’s even a Thai Massage style called Thai Royal Massage, specifically designed to “handle special persons” and VIPs. This style, for instance, teaches you to take a minimum of about fifty centimeters distance from your client, doing the massage solely crawling on your knees, not to face the client, not to move over him or her, not to do (impolite) stretches. And so on…
So, you see, having famous clients can come with a price. It will most probably cost you. But if you’re aware of that and willing to pay the price, well — be my guest and go for it! After all, celebrities are, perhaps, the people in the most need of therapy.
