My Story
My interest in bodywork began 20 years ago shortly before the birth of my daughter.
I earned my degree from the U of A in the mid 90's and worked in the technology field for a few years. During that time, a friend recommended I get a massage to help deal with stress and tension. I took them up on the advice, and scheduled my first massage with a local therapist in Gilbert.
I was amazed how much better I felt! Mental stresses melted away with 60 minutes of letting the therapist work out tension I did not even know I had been holding for years. I was hooked!
I wanted to leave technology and start massage school as soon as possible. I was attracted to a field where the entire focus is on making people feel better, improving the quality of their lives and sense of well being.
My wife was pregnant at the time and we felt, as a family, retooling and starting a new career and new family at the same time was not the most responsible choice. It would be best pursue a new career at a time in the future when we did not have a small child.
The choice proved prophetic! My daughter was born with a life threatening heart condition that required open heart surgery when she was nine days old and a month in the hospital. Had I left my full time job with benefits, we would have been left without the insurance needed to treat my daughter's condition.
With my daughter recently graduated from high school and beginning her career as an EMT, my wife and I felt NOW is the time to pursue my vocation in bodywork! I enrolled in Cortiva and started a journey in a new career unlike anything I had done before!
I graduated from Cortiva Tucson and have completed training in Tempe for a Medical Massage Practitioner certificate.
I completed my certification in SMRT (Spontaneous Muscle Relaxation Technique) in late 2018.
In 2019, I added SMRT Mat Massage to my practice. The Mat Massage is done on a mat and involves compressions, joint mobilization and SMRT work when needed.
Brody McCarter
Meet Brody, the newest therapist at Northwest Medical Massage! The clinic is excited have another SMRT therapist added to our roster. As many of you know, Michael’s availability has been limited. Both Michael and Jennifer have heard the call for more SMRT hours and brought Brody on board to help meet the need. He will be further trained by Michael to sharpen his skills so he can offer each client the superior body work that is expected from Northwest Medical Massage.
Brody is a 2020 graduate from Arizona School of Integrative Studies (ASIS) in Tucson, Arizona.
Brody enjoys practicing Poi as a form of moving meditation. For those who might not know, Poi is a style of performing art, moving tethered weights through a series of movements. He also bike rides and hikes, preferring both to gym trips.
Brody’s original career direction was psychology. As he studied, he began to realize his career choice might necessitate large chunks of time being at a desk or cubicle. “That just did not excite me at all,” explains Brody.
The career realization brought him to a moment of truth – he decided to take a college break and explore other options. He felt drawn to helping others feel better both emotionally and physically. During his break, he looked at massage therapy as a means to help people and provide both a space and adequate time for that healing to begin.
After a physically draining day of healing others, Brody enjoys cooking while listening to music. After a great meal, he’ll either read a good book, go over anatomy to better his work on clients or coloring in his anatomy coloring book. In some instances he’ll do some Poi, yoga and meditate to de-stress.