Wellbiz Elements

a career change focused on wellness

When Matt Messina’s commanding officer told him he was taking their group for a night out, the 82nd Airborne paratrooper imagined kicking back with a few beers at a local bar and hanging out with his fellow soldiers on a Friday night.

Instead, they found themselves at a nice spa, he says. “We all sat there, because we were in boots all day, and we got our first pedicures and our first massages. We all came out and were like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ But it really put the focus on if you take care of your body, it takes care of you.”

That first experience led the Army veteran and Minnesota transplant to eventually own his own Elements Massage® location in Anthem, Arizona. Messina is also one of many veterans who joined the Elements Massage brand following military service and took advantage of the company’s veteran incentive program, which provides them a 20 percent discount.

Messina joined the Army in 2008 and left in 2013 as a sergeant. When he wasn’t jumping into a South American jungle, he attended Army schools that taught him the skills he needed to run a business and lead.

“Having that kind of training and discipline and perspective certainly helps,” he says.

Moving from a role as a soldier to business owner was quite the transition, especially when it came to dealing with personnel. Messina says his training in the military “Now, instead of starting the day with discipline reports and a general sense of dread, he has a more soothing morning routine as an Elements Massage franchise owner.”

taught him to problem-solve, and he’s found he can assist in various situations, which can be sensitive.

“I have a wonderful group of ladies,” he says. “They know they can come to me with anything, and I’ll take care of it.”

Messina didn’t find franchising immediately. He first took a quite common route for veterans; he went into law enforcement as a corrections officer. He also served as his mother’s primary caregiver when she became sick. In 2017, his mother, Lisa, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease that primarily affects the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. After those experiences, he wanted to find a different path that helped people and opened his studio in 2019.

Now, instead of starting the day with discipline reports and a general sense of dread, he has a more soothing morning routine as an Elements Massage franchise owner. He goes to the office, turns on the lights and then immediately heads to a locally owned café for breakfast, a quick workout and then opens the studio.

“I love having a little family with my staff here and a little culture,” he says. “I just turn on the spa music, the lights and diffuser … we (he and his father) wanted a place where we could come into that we knew was our home and that had a peaceful ambience where people could come in and have the feeling they were being taken care of.”