Blog

Throughout February, we’re telling the stories of some of our amazing graduates who have had massive success in their careers. Today, we’re looking at two women who have gone on to have incredible success in their professional careers after graduating from Swedish Institute’s massage therapy program. Anne Heckheimer (Class of ‘98) and Robin Ehrlich (Class of ‘83) talked to us about their time at the school, building a business, and what makes Swedish Institute graduates stand out to an employer.  

*  Interviews have been edited and condensed for this article. 

Anne Heckheimer, class of ‘98, founder of the Prenatal Massage and Movement Center 

Tell me about your time at Swedish Institute. What were some of your favorite classes, memories you have, challenges you faced… anything that comes to mind.

When I started going to Swedish Institute, I was already working as a personal trainer, so I worked in the morning and went to school in the afternoon. It was a high-intensity schedule and a very fast-paced lifestyle for me.  

Swedish Institute was pretty rigorous. The classes were new material to me, so a lot of study groups and getting to know your classmates. There were some instructors I loved, like Vincent Metzo and Russ Beasley, who I believe still work at Swedish Institute.  

Tell me about your career path. When and why did you open your own practice? 

After graduating I worked at a spa part-time, seeing my personal trainer clients in the morning and doing massage in the afternoons. I had already developed a desire to work with pregnant women from my time as a trainer, and in 200,1 I decided to go it alone. I rented an office space and marketed for prenatal massage. This is pre-internet, so I pounded the pavement and brought my brochure to OBGYNs and the like in order to build a client base.  

How do you balance running a business with your passion for massage?  

I still love to work hands-on. Over the years, I’ve sought out continuing education classes, which have given me new ways to practice. While everyone in my office knows how to offer prenatal massage and care, there are special services where I’m the only person in the office who can perform it. I take on more advanced treatments, such as spinning babies and abdominal massages, which allows me to keep working with patients and hone my skills.  

That said, running a business is hard, it’s a lot of work. The more it builds, the harder it gets. But I have a good team, and I still love working with my clients. The passion is still here.  

As an employer, why do you seek out Swedish Institute graduates when you’re hiring? 

I know that Swedish offers a very strong foundation for massage therapy and that it requires pretty rigorous training. Plus, it helps to know anatomy and physiology. But I know I can take these graduates and support them. I want Swedish Institute graduates to find their own techniques and build their own foundation.  

Any advice for graduates who want to start their own business someday? 

When you start out, try to work at a facility that is specialized. Find a place to work where you can hone your skills and build a solid base. Get experience working on as many different people and body types as you can and establish what sets you apart. Beyond that, just make sure you’ve developed your communication skills and a solid work ethic. Network. Set boundaries and goals for your business. Do all of the things that prove you’re taking your career seriously, and make sure you’re ready for the future.  

Robin Ehrlich, class of ‘83, founder of Eastside Massage 

How did you get into massage in the first place? And why Swedish Institute? 

I was doing massage for friends and family in Brooklyn growing up because I loved helping people, and from there, it built a passion. When I was 21, I went to Swedish Institute to learn more about massage. To help people gave me a tremendous reward, and I knew this was going to be my profession as a massage therapist. 

Tell me about your career path and how you eventually opened your own spa. 

After graduation, I worked at the Institute for Crippled and Disabled, working with veterans especially. I also worked with some preeminent doctors who referred me to celebrities like Michael Douglas and Mariah Carey. I was jetting around with these people during the early days, balancing high-profile clients and medical massage on the lower end.  

I knew that I wanted to open up my own business just like the Swedish Institute clinic, something that I found to be inspiring. The first I set up was called Medical Massage Associates, and that grew into Eastside Massage Therapy. I grew from a small backroom with two contractor massage therapists where we worked in shifts into a place where we have five treatment rooms and 25 massage therapists over 7 days a week. We have a variety of massage modalities and that includes the medical massage I found so important back in the start of my career.   

How do you balance business ownership with following your passion?  

I still practice. I specialize in post-surgical massage, and I work through referral and with short-term care; post-surgical medical massage to accelerate the healing process for people. I treat with the intention to make a difference. 

I started as a massage therapist, and I’ll end as a massage therapist. I have to handle the administration, and I have the support, but I still have the passion. 

Why do you hire Swedish Institute graduates? 

Swedish Institute is so iconic. It’s over 100 years old and it’s steeped in the tradition of massage, and the training is so comprehensive, more than what’s out there. It’s based on the history of massage, the proper application of techniques, and more. But it’s combined with teaching the morals and ethics of massage as a practice. 

Any advice for soon-to-be graduates? 

Networking is key. Find doctors and other massage therapists and different types of healers to work with and refer to and back to. Caregivers need a community of other caregivers. Don’t just poach clients, build a base that’s unique to you. Make contact with reliable people, whether they’re physicians or yoga studio owners or personal trainers or nutritionists or anything in between.