Business Profile: Massages by Avo

Frandjian’s mission in life is to “De-stress the world one massage at a time.” – Courtesy photo

By Gus Herrera

Avo Frandjian is one of Pasadena’s best known and most experienced massage therapists, winning a “Best of Pasadena” business award in 2015. But Frandjian considers himself much more than a massage therapist – he is a healer, a mechanic of the human body, and a proponent of natural, active, and healthy lifestyles. In a matter of minutes, he is able to transform his clients, literally turning frowns upside down.

Born in Lebanon to an Armenian family, growing up he never imagined that he would make a living healing people with his hands. When he was 12 years old, his father moved the family to Cairo, Egypt, for work, where Frandjian discovered one of his first loves, basketball.

He played on an Egyptian team throughout his youth, until 1980 when he decided to pursue his education and moved back to his homeland of Armenia, which was at the time a part of the Soviet Union.

Frandjian’s massage repertoire includes a mastery of the following modalities: Swedish, deep-tissue, lymphatic drainage, hot-stone, pregnancy, and chair massage. – Courtesy photo

He revealed how he stumbled upon massage therapy, “After early my early 20s I didn’t know anything about massage … I was a basketball player, I said maybe I’ll get a bachelor’s in physical education and be a basketball trainer. So in the third year of my bachelor’s we were taking a class in sports massage, and I just fell in love with the profession … It was accidental, me choosing to be a massage therapist … first thing I said was, ‘wow, I can heal people with my own hands, I don’t need any tools, nothing, just my hands.’”

Frandjian stuck with it and in the early ‘90s, after three years of interning and deepening his knowledge, he decided to follow his family to Pasadena where his parents and sister already resided.

Once in the states, he attended three more schools and learned several different modalities to add to his arsenal. After a few years of working “odd jobs,” Frandjian transitioned to full-time massage work and upon receiving the necessary state and city accreditations, the business was born. Since then, he has been a happy Pasadena resident, living and running his business in the same zip code for over 20 years.

But Frandjian revealed that his education is never quite complete. With new research and techniques constantly coming out, he frequently takes refresher courses to hone his skills, “I still take classes once in a while, different modalities – Swedish, deep-tissue, hot-stone, pregnancy, flex-ology, lymphatic … ” he said.

As a matter of fact, this is how Frandjian discovered one of his favorite modalities, hot-stone, which now happens to be one of his specialties. He reveals what he felt 15 years ago after receiving a hot-stone massage for the first time during a training session, “Physically, I was unable to get off the table … I was so relaxed; I was paralyzed from deep relaxation … So imagine, don’t you want to relax like that? It’s very hard in this day and age to relax, that’s why after every session I tell my clients, please, at least two minutes close your eyes, take deep breaths, and just focus on relaxing. When you leave my office you will not have two minutes. Take advantage of it. It’s very important because we are very stressed, we are very busy, we don’t have time for ourselves.”

Massages by Avo is the perfect gift for friends, family, or, more importantly, yourself. – Courtesy photo

Massage therapy has countless benefits for everyone and Frandjian’s clients range from high-level athletes in peak physical condition, to elderly individuals, to young “nine-to-fivers” who sit at computers all day.

He also comes highly recommended by doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists – massage therapy can benefit several conditions including sciatica, arthritis, bowed legs, and much more.

Frandjian equates massage therapy to “the best tune-up for the body … massages have no side effects whatsoever, it’s not a pill, the more the better, but you have to listen to your body and your checkbook. There’s no such thing as, ‘that’s enough, no more massages.’”

Massages by Avo comes to you. Frandjian does house/office calls and can bring relaxation to a variety of events including – corporate events, birthday parties, weddings, and employee appreciation days, to name a few. He frequents local institutions such as Caltech and JPL and is also available on-site at 1254 E. Colorado Blvd., on certain days.

One tip Frandjian has for all those who spend their workdays seated: “You have to make an excuse every 30 to 40 minutes and remind yourself to stretch. Sitting is the worst thing for us. We’re not designed to sit. We are animals, we have to walk, jump, not sit.”

For more information, visit Massages by Avo at www.LaMassagetoYou.com and on Facebook. To book an appointment, call (626) 375-6020 or email info@lamassagetoyou.com.

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