Would a masseur ever give free massage in lieu of professional critiqu

[Ds35mm]

Has any massage provider here given free sessions to get professional critique of their techniques, etc.? I can provide that critique as I am a licensed health care provider 

[Simon Suraci]

Clients criticize masseurs so much as it is…even the good ones with excellent technical skills. I don’t need to pay someone or give away my time for free on top of that. Some of the more productive ways of giving and receiving criticism is with a massage trade with another massage therapist. Even then, styles and focus differ. It’s an opportunity to learn, grow, and try new things more than anything.

Every client has different needs and preferences, while every masseur has different strengths. It’s not always a matter of right/wrong or good/bad.

Sometimes a client doesn’t even appreciate a really good massage because they only want and expect “extras” or hire for your looks. I can’t take their criticism seriously. The others I take with a grain of salt.

[kingsley88]

My regular wanted to start providing 4-hand massages and he asked me to be the guinea pig and provide them (his new masseur partner was just starting out) with some critiques in exchange for a free 4-hand massage. Of course I said yes! Mind you I've been going to him at least 1-2x a month for 5-6 years so we had a good relationship already. 

I think it'll vary from masseur to masseur.

 

[Jamie21]

Unlikely. I wouldn’t do it. I’ve done training sessions with other masseurs where we share techniques.

[Kevin Slater]

7 hours ago, Ds35mm said:

Has any massage provider here given free sessions to get professional critique of their techniques, etc.? I can provide that critique as I am a licensed health care provider 

You've also posted in another thread that you do the findom thing.  Rather than test both ends of the spectrum, why not just pay for services rendered?

Kevin Slater

[Jamie21]

Actually there is a context where I have done this. I do training in sensual massage for people who want to learn massage and either become a sensual masseur or to learn techniques to use on their partner. For this training I use a volunteer body for me to demonstrate on and for the trainee to practice on (under my guidance). Those practice body’s get a free massage …albeit one which is a bit ‘stop start’ and where the trainee may not be very good. The practice body is asked to provide feedback to the trainee. But as @arnemgreeves says the feedback is about how it feels from a sensual perspective more than a therapeutic perspective. I don’t need someone who is a licensed health care provider. Nor do I want someone who is just looking for a free massage. I expect the volunteer body to approach it properly… it’s not a group sex opportunity (which some think it is unfortunately). 

[DWnyc]

I know someone who got a couple of sessions in return for building a providers website. He said afterward the trade didn’t feel good or fair for either party and he’d have preferred pure billing.

[FrancisCA]

Ive done massage trades with other masseurs from massageexchange.com and ive had pretty good success! You have to make sure you find people who are actaully knowledgele in massage to get a meaningful session but ive meet some people who have expanded my practice 10 fold! 

[Simon Suraci]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:40 AM, AsianGuyCA said:

trades with other masseurs from massageexchange.com

I’ve been on the site here and there for a year or two at a stretch. Not much luck meeting people so I gave up. Frankly, I’ve had more success meeting my peers/competitors on our advertising platforms and arranging trades from there. If more members were engaged I would give it another try. I enjoy a massage trade experience.