1st Impression Nacogdoches: Laura McKinney (Sports Massage Therapist)

Intro by King Musa

“Yo, what it is? You know what it is? It's your Man, King Musa! Welcome to First Impression Nacogdoches, the podcast where we're all about showcasing the vibrant local businesses, unique brands, and hidden gems right here in our incredible town. We're here to help students, parents, and visitors discover what truly makes Nacogdoches special. I'm your host, King Musa, and today we're digging into another local favorite that you need to know about. We're excited to have a very special guest who's making a real impact in our local scene. We are here to learn more about Ms. Laura McKinney, the sports massage therapist out here in Nacogdoches. But before we learn a little bit about her, let's get to know about her life before sports massage therapy. Introducing Ms. Laura McKinney!”

Getting to Know Laura McKinney

King Musa: “No, thanks so much for having me. Yes, ma'am. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm glad you're here. But before we jump into all the, you know, fun questions all about you, because massage therapy sounds great. We're going to icebreaker, right? NBA finals just finished. Football is about to get started again. Baseball, they've already been started, everything else like that. So what is your favorite sport to watch, to play anything else like that?”

Laura McKinney: “Right now, I'm watching WNBA. Big Paige Buckets fan. So Dallas Wings, I want to go to see her live. I think that would be awesome.”

“Can you introduce yourself in what you do here in Nacogdoches?

“Yep. Laura McKinney. I'm a massage therapist at Well Body Solutions here in Nacogdoches. I've been a therapist for 11 years. I have two kids. Pretty much grew up here. You know, family's from here, local grown.”

Background and Passions

“You say you're from here, you know, so explain what was it like growing up here? Did you have any siblings? And then what got you into sports and all that?

“I have two siblings. What got me into sports? I never did anything until later in life. I love being in the gym now, but I was a little goth girl in high school and was not interested. I would watch soccer because that's where all the cool kids went. But until I started working with my first client who was a wide receiver, I just was like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ I didn't realize how it would shape me as a therapist later. So now I'm like really fangirling.”

“Do you have any family members that were, you know, part of the whole massage therapy, sports or anything that?

“Sports wise, my brother, little cousin, and uncle were all track stars. They set records everywhere. My mom was a feature twirler here at SFA. So she was the best audience member. And then you realize these people need help.”

What about interest and passions outside of, you know, sports massage therapy? What do you like to do?

“I don't really have a lot of free time. Today, I'm booked all day. And when I'm not working with clients, I'm researching everything they do and how that informs what I do. But in the spare time I do have, I just hang out with friends, really. I would love to go out dancing here. There's not, we're building it. Just hanging out with friends, really. That's the best thing. I do go to Dallas for work. And then I will definitely go and hang out and shop and eat is the most important thing.”

Becoming a Sports Massage Therapist

What is a massage therapist and how did you get into it?

“I did go to school, and Texas says you have to go to school for 500 hours. I got into it because over the years, people kept telling me, ‘You need to be a massage therapist. You're really good at this. You got to do this for a living.’ When I finally got into massage therapy, I was like, this is for me for sure, for sure. I started off on my own. Then I worked for Massage Envy in Longview for many years as their lead. And then I came back here and went to work at Well Body. And that's when my first athletes started coming in.”

What would you say are some of the challenges on being a massage therapist? I'm sure it's not just oils and massages. There has to be some type of science. Explain, you know, what are kind of the misconceptions and challenges.

“For me, what I always try to fight against is, I mean, I do a relaxing spa massage and there are benefits to that. And so you do have to play therapist. You have to listen to people and try to help them out, as well as helping their body out too. But I think I try to fight every day the misconception that massage therapy is just fluffy. And that it's not going to help at all. I do kind of fight against that every day. I would love people to know that, yeah, actually, before you talk about going into surgery, if your doctor says it's okay, come on and see your massage therapist. Let's see if we can help you out.”

I did not know that a little massage can stop with big surgery.

“It can! This past year, I worked with the Lady Jacks basketball, and they went to conference and were amazingly successful. I went down with them and helped them. We were doing like 9 p.m. sessions just to get them to the next day because the recovery was not there. They were playing every day. I talked to Coach Bishop and we talked about injury prevention and I said, ‘I want to work.’ All of my work at SFA is volunteer. It's free. I want to work every week with the Lady Jacks to keep injuries down. I want everybody who's able to play on the court at all times. Especially because we had such a small bench last year, keeping them on the court was the most important thing.”

What would you say is the vision of where you're trying to go? What are your goals for the future?

“I've learned that I can have goals, but it's where God puts me. My ideas are I would love to continue this with SFA to see where that goes. But, you know, that's depending on a lot of things. I love almost every athlete I've worked with at SFA has just been top-notch, top-tier people. Would I enjoy being an NFL massage therapist? Absolutely. NBA? Absolutely. I do have ties here that kind of keep me here for right now, family-wise, but yes, I would like to do that. But if not, then, you know, we'll just see what happens. I'm up for anything. If somebody has an idea, just let me know. NFL players, NBA players, she's like, 'Y'all know, just get your massage on, Brees. She's taking care of me. Get her into the door.'”

Laura McKinney & Her Audience

For Visitors:

• Where I work, Well Body Solutions, we offer a lot of different things: IV treatments, facials, and all kinds of things. So there's something for everyone there, even if you don't want a massage.
• If you're traveling, and you've been driving, I can help you out with your sore shoulders, etc. Relaxation after a long trip is important too.
• We all are experts on the area. So if you need to know about a restaurant or whatever, just stop by and we'll chat.
• I can give 30-minute massages, which is often all athletes have time for. I also like giving two-hour massages where you can just chill out, fall asleep, and wake up feeling like it's a new day.
• We do couples massages and facials too.

For Students:

• We give a student discount!
• I find a lot with my students' 'tech neck' – they're looking down all the time, on the phone, on the computer. I can fix you up with that.
• Relaxation, just taking time for yourself, taking deep breaths, and kind of putting all your worries away. This is a stressful time for a lot of people.
• Getting some perspective by kind of shutting things off for a little bit and sitting away, not taking time away from it, is really important.
• Frequency: Everyone is different. Some people feel the benefits right away and don't come back for a month or two. It's about what you can fit in your schedule. I'd love to see you weekly or every two weeks, but it's not always feasible.

For Parents:

• You can buy your mom or dad a massage for Parents Day or when they come in for Homecoming. It's a great gift card idea.
• Definitely treat yourself! Enjoy this time with your kids, but treat yourself when you can.
• Nine times out of ten, when I put my hands on somebody, they have no idea how tense they are, how stressed out they are, or how much pain they're in.
• Just try it. Take that 30 minutes, do that hour. Just give yourself that time. You don't really have anything to lose. If nothing else, you've come out saying, ‘Well, I can always feel better. I should probably start working out more. I should probably take a walk.’ It really helps you connect mind and body too. You have to check into your body. If you don't take care of your body, your body can't take care of you.

How to Stay Connected

Connect with Laura McKinney:

• Instagram: You can find me at @LauraMacLMT
• Well Body Solutions: Find us at @WellBodySolutionsNac on Instagram.
• Book an Appointment: To get in with me, it's best to contact me directly because the business is busy, and I know my schedule better.

Outro by King Musa

“Thank you so much. She's already told you all you need to know. I don't think I need to recap anything, but I want to give a massive thank you to our amazing guest, Ms. Laura McKinney. And just teaching us a little bit more about massage therapy and sports massage therapy that you have for the athletes, your insight was very insightful. Thank you. I really appreciate you. You're what makes Nacogdoches unique. Remember, our town is full of incredible local businesses, unique brands, and First Impression Nacogdoches is here to help you find them all. Subscribe and connect with us on social media and join our community. Until next time, this is King Musa signing off, telling you to go out and explore Nacogdoches. Thank you.”