Scott and I had the amazing opportunity to visit Scottsdale, Arizona April 16-18 to attend an influencer event with Massage Envy. It was seriously one of the best experiences we have been a part of since we started He & She Eat Clean. As you probably know by now, we closed on our house on Friday (and started moving in), unpacked on Saturday, and flew to Arizona first thing Sunday morning. The timing of the trip wasn’t ideal with all that we currently have going on but I am so glad that we were able to make it work! We landed in Arizona, rented a car (as we were deplaning), and drove to hike Camelback Mountain. I climbed this mountain years ago when I was in Scottsdale on business travel in a past life when I had a traditional 9-5 (read more here). It was before I was even “into” fitness and I don’t remember the hike being as hard as it was. I think we tend to forget the pain of life’s experiences long after they are over, because I would totally do Camelback again right now if I was still there even though it was very strenuous after the move (on little sleep) and four hours on the plane!
We ended up eating at Whole Foods twice on Sunday (lunch and dinner) and crashed at 8 PM Arizona time (11 PM Eastern time). On Monday Scott played golf with some of his co-workers that just happened to be in the same area for a work event. I took a lazy day, which my body really needed, and just hung out by the pool and worked. Monday afternoon was when the real fun started…
If you follow us on Snapchat (hesheeatclean) and/or Instagram (heandsheeatclean), I’m sure you’ve seen the fun from the event, but we really wanted to describe in more detail what happened and what we learned. On Monday afternoon we went to Massage Envy to get our first ever massage there and we were impressed. From the moment we walked in, the aromatherapy to the actual massage itself, we loved the whole experience. The interior was beautiful and everything was thoroughly explained to us so that we were comfortable. I’ll be honest, Scott and I were both under the impression that the massages would be some of the “frou-frou” ones and not exactly the deep tissue massage that we were looking for. Boy, were we surprised! We communicated that we wanted a deep massage and that is exactly what we received (and needed!). The therapist also checked in with us periodically to request permission to go even deeper on certain spots where she felt we needed it. The communication before, during, and after was perfect. We both walked out of there feeling like our bodies had been mended back together from all the stress of the move, travel and workouts. It couldn’t have been better timing! On the way back to the resort from getting our massage we had to make a pit stop at the Cubs Spring Training facility (Sloan Park) to take some pictures…what a beautiful facility! We hope to return to Arizona soon to catch some spring training games (and hike Camelback again)!
After returning to the resort, we quickly got ready for dinner. We met some of the other guests (some amazing bloggers!) and went to dinner at Twisted Grove in Scottsdale. Not only was the food delicious (we both ordered the Ahi Tuna) but we were able to meet and really spend some quality time with the Massage Envy leadership and marketing teams.
Tuesday, we started the day off with yoga on the resort lawn. It was a great start to an amazing day! We had a delicious breakfast where we chose the yogurt parfait, smoked salmon, eggs, and fruit. After breakfast, we got started with the main event. We spent even more time with the staff of Massage Envy and learned more about the direction that the company is headed in. We LOVE their brand promise, “We help you take care of you” and were amazed by the passion and desire the ME team has to deliver value and amazing experiences to their membership. ME truly gets it from a business perspective…even though they’re the industry leader, they’re not settling!
One of our favorite events of the day was the Total Body Stretch session. Stretching is something that most people tend to overlook/bypass whether they are active or not. I know that it’s normally the section that I skip when I’m in a hurry. Unless I attend a yoga class, I’m more than likely not going to stretch. Even if I practice yoga, the stretching is nothing near what we experienced at Massage Envy…you just can’t exercise your full range of motion without some help! Not to take anything away from the awesome massage we had but I think both of us really benefited from the Total Body Stretch session MORE! We work out hard and sit at a computer all day, so it’s easy for your muscles to shorten up which can lead to injuries or imbalances in your posture. Get the thought of grade school calisthenics where you bend over and touch your toes out of your mind…this stretching is the real deal and tailored specifically to your body. You are being stretched by a PRO. Just like the massage therapist did, they communicated throughout the process and listened to our individual needs. After our Total Body Stretch session, we were also able to try out a few new things in the pipeline for Massage Envy (but we won’t spill the beans just yet!). We highly recommend getting a membership to take advantage of an assisted stretch and deep tissue massage at least once a month to keep your body functioning at its best. Total Body Stretch should be available at all ME locations across the country by mid-May.
After Total Body Stretch we had another amazing meal where we both had sea bass. We don’t eat that much fish at home (other than the occasional tuna and mahi mahi) so I think that’s why we leaned towards fish so much on this trip. During lunch, we talked to the Massage Envy Innovation Team and provided our feedback on the Total Body Stretch sessions. Everyone agreed that they were much better than we thought they would be going in and they were a great addition to the Massage Envy services.
That’s not all for the Massage Envy services though, after lunch we were able to learn more about the skin care division and have a chemical peel (me) and microderm infusion (Scott). Neither one of us had ever had anything like this before so this was all completely foreign to us. And, once again, we were blown away! I was given some products for after care and I have been following the instructions “to the tee” and my skin feels and looks so awesome.
Sadly, we had to leave a little early to catch our flight back to Atlanta. We didn’t want to leave Arizona or the Massage Envy Summit but we are excited to partner with Massage Envy to bring you more information and education over the next few months on how a membership means doing more of whatever you love to do whether it be seriously competing in triathlons or simply playing with the kids in the yard.
P.S. You know we are all about experiences over things and with Mother’s Day coming up Massage Envy would be the perfect “experience” gift. ;-)
We are trying to get our life put back together now that we’re officially homeowners again, so I will update you on our move, what we’ve been eating, and our workouts soon!