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- Elementary Touch Education
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- The “Death” of On-Site Massage
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- The History Channel Features the Massage Chair
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Category Archives: History
The “Death” of On-Site Massage
[This piece was originally published in Massage Therapy Journal Spring issue, 1995. Only a few people will remember that “seated massage” originally burst onto the scene as “on-site massage” when the first massage chair came on the market in 1986. … Continue reading
Posted in History
2 Comments
The History Channel Features the Massage Chair
When I was first approached by The History Channel last July (2015) about filming a segment on the massage chair for a series on contemporary inventions and inventors, I didn’t get my hopes up. After all, how many of these … Continue reading
Posted in Chair Massage, History
Tagged David Palmer, Living Earth Crafts, massage chairs
2 Comments
Massage Chair Inventor Profile
[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFlwzIZusY&feature=share&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOpzYNFdLmgAxAaKTzwrOi2z” title=”David%20Palmer%20-%20Inventor” fs=”1″]Sometime around 2008, New York-based photographer David Friedman flew out to San Francisco to include me in an online series of portraits he was doing on inventors. During the photo shoot he also recorded a video interview … Continue reading
Posted in Chair Massage, History, Videos
Tagged chair massage, David Palmer, ergo pro, inventor, stronglite, video
4 Comments
The Great Frame-Up
While dozens of massage chairs have been developed since the first one debuted in 1986, today there are only four basic designs that have survived the intense competition of the marketplace. What distinguishes each design is the unique metal frame … Continue reading
How Massage Became Therapy
The year was 1983 and the oldest national association of massage practitioners was about to change the face of an industry by turning “massage” into “massage therapy.” This is the story of what led up to that moment. The association … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
Tagged AMTA, David Palmer, history, massage, massage therapy
11 Comments
How Steve Jobs Revolutionized the Massage Industry
The first time we nervously walked into Apple Computer’s Macintosh division in 1984 to provide seated massage with our matching grey slacks, white polo shirts and blue blazers, we felt overdressed. At a time when the largest computer company in … Continue reading
Posted in Chair Massage, History
13 Comments
The Story of the First Massage Chair
My love affair with chair massage began in 1982, four years before the first professional massage chair came on the market. This is the story of what it took to get that first massage chair built. The problem The team … Continue reading
Posted in Chair Massage, History
29 Comments