Delegate

Hugo Cruz (2022-2023)

My name is Hugo Cruz. I received my certification in October of 2020. It was an interesting time to get certified. There was limited opportunity to learn and grow as a massage therapist in 2020 and 2021 but luckily for me, one of my classmates from the neuromuscular massage program mentioned a group called Freedom Community Clinic. I had no idea what it was, and I searched online and filled out a short volunteer form offering massage services. Shortly after they reached out to me and next thing you know I’m working on people who would have never thought massage was an option for them, they would never even consider it due to its perception as being a luxury instead of a necessity. I worked on many different bodies in a short range of time, ranging from people who live on the streets, students, teachers, principals, people who need extra help with living expenses, the formerly incarcerated, to the leaders of our youth. I was lucky to meet Dr. Tolbert Small, the physician of the black panthers. Meeting him and working alongside FCC has inspired me to be a healer for the people and turned me into the massage therapist I am today. I’ve been in the spa industry for a little over a year and learned a lot about industry, scrubs are really fun. I currently offer mobile massage services in the north bay, specifically Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and the surrounding areas of Napa, Oakland, and San Francisco. I have only been in the massage industry for two and a half years, but I have learned a ton and I’m super confident in my skill set. My Swedish massage is stellar. My scrubs are awesome. I wanted to be a part of the AMTA because I am an advocate for making massage more accessible to the public and I want that to be something that we work together on as a community. I get frustrated with how long it takes to make changes and all the steps one has to take to make it happen. Last year was figuring out what it meant to be a delegate and I have a better understanding of what it means.

Although making money is important, I think it’s equally if not more important to help each other as a community and give when we can. So many people are caught up in consumption and accumulation; they don’t even give a second thought to how they can help someone else. I’m just a person who is tired of seeing such a separation of the people who have everything vs the people who have nothing and seeing the gap widen every day. I’m tired of people asking, “what can I get from this person?” Instead of “How can I help this person?”