Meet Eli Parr of Massage Snob in Culver City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Parr.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was always curious about healing arts even as a kid. I think I got it from my grandmother who was an organic farmer and very into the almanac, seasonal living, and folk remedies. I spent every childhood summer with her on her farm where I had an “animal hospital”. I would tend to all sorts of patients from a baby bird fallen from the nest to a rabbit that survived a coyote attack. A great way to spend summers as a kid! Fast-forward to graduating college (B.A.) and relocating to L.A. where I discovered a whole new much larger world of healing arts. Soon after arriving, I decided to pursue Massage Therapy and started certification. I immediately LOVED massage and felt naturally in sync as a practitioner. I also really enjoyed the science aspect and continue to appreciate that massage is a career path where there is a lot of ongoing opportunity for learning — there are enough styles of massage throughout the world that you could study your whole life and never know it all 🙂 Coupled with finding people endlessly fascinating, it’s what makes my job always new and interesting. It’s very satisfying to put together the puzzle pieces and be able to help someone out of discomfort, stress, or pain and into a more naturally relaxed and feeling good state.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is a lot of competition in Los Angeles so one of the main obstacles is how to set yourself apart but also make it simple to understand what is different about you. Massage Snob offers a few things that differentiate but too much info and you’re overwhelming, not enough and no one “gets you” so either way It’s easy to get lost in the crowd. The name helps a lot with that! Expanding the massage business beyond a solo practitioner has some challenges. It takes a lot of sorting to find the right therapists to grow with. We are doing more and corporate massage, and on-set massage, which is great because it is fun for us and also really needed. People are working more than ever hunched over their computers and really benefit from even a short massage. Massage has lots of things to consider therapists, quality, clients, scheduling, products, and more. It’s not a simple “cookie cutter” type of business, so that has its own unique issues but mainly I am sure one that all growing businesses face — How to expand while maintaining the highest quality and differentiating yourself from the competition. Getting the word out to the right audience is a bit of a puzzle piece too. Still working on that one!

Please tell us about Massage Snob.
I LOVE a great massage so I know it’s disappointing to go get a massage, really be craving the relief that it promises, only to leave thinking — “I still need a massage!” I know plenty of other people have had that experience too, so that’s why I created Massage Snob — for those of us who are picky about massage. Besides the obvious standard of quality, I think what makes Massage Snob stand out is the attention to detail and really listening to you, the client, to make each session your perfect session. We tailor each session to the individual and also offer niche treatments. One of my personal favorites is Cupping Therapy, remember Michael Phelps in the Olympics? That’s how he got all those “hickeys”. We also do a lot of post care for cosmetic surgery and liposuction using micro-current and lymphatic massage. These kind of sessions are often hard to find so that helps set us apart. But for all sessions I utilize as many aspects as possible to create synergy and maximize results — herbal balms, essential oils, all our music has been clinically proven to reduce anxiety and calm the brain, sometimes we even include hypnotherapy! Whatever it takes so the clients feel better after a session. So far the business has grown mostly on word-of-mouth referral. Lucky for me people that are discerning about their massage also know other picky people 🙂 But I am definitely looking forward to more growth opportunities to spread the word in the future.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
7 years old sneaking into R rated karate movies with my karate teachers. Such a rebel! Baking our old family recipe sugar cookies with my grandmother every holiday and then eating way too many of them.

Pricing:

• In-home starting at $195
• Corporate/On-set Starting at $290

Contact Info:

• Address: Washington Place, Culver City CA.
• Website: www.MassageSnob.com
• Phone: 310-780-1806
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/massagesnobLA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/massage-snob-culver-city

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.