MT Takes Outcalls on the Road

Monique Scuderi, a massage therapist in Montclair, Virginia, is driving her practice to success—literally.

In one week, Scuderi decided to change her career path (she was an office manager for seven years), enroll in massage school and purchase a 35-foot recreational vehicle (RV) with the words “Stress Relief” painted across its sides. Why such a purchase? Because 28-year-old Scuderi wanted to tap into a market known as mobile massage, bringing massage and massage-therapy techniques directly to her clients’ front doors.

“I had always received massage in a spa-type atmosphere before I decided to do massage therapy,” she says. “The reason I couldn’t get a massage so often was because of that time constraint, and I wanted to provide a solution for people in my situation.”

After graduating from massage school in December 2006—and giving birth two weeks later—Scuderi and her husband, Chris, renovated the RV and prepared for the launch of her business, RelaxAmerica Massage, in April.

Since then, her RV has attracted attention from people in parking lots, neighborhoods, hotels and in cars, who will simply pick up their cell phones and inquire about the business. Scuderi even had one client schedule an appointment in a parking lot, after seeing the vehicle on her way home from a stressful day at work. Clients can also schedule appointments online at www.relaxamericamassage.com.

Scuderi travels 20 minutes away from her home for individual clients, and up to an hour away for corporate or group events. She provides Swedish, Ashiatsu, pregnancy, geriatric and sports massage.

Therapists interested in working from a similar mobile setting should “go after it with all their passion,” Scuderi says. “Know that it is possible female practitioners can drive 35-foot vehicles and achieve their vision of running a practice from an RV.”

—Jennifer Whalen