Audreia Fagan still laughs when she remembers the first time someone offered her a full-body massage.
“I thought they were crazy,” she said. “I didn’t even know it was an industry.”
Today, Fagan is the founder of Montreal Massotherapy Masters, a growing therapeutic massage practice helping Montrealers manage pain, relieve stress and reconnect with their bodies.
But the path that led her there was anything but straightforward.
Born and raised in downtown Montreal, Fagan grew up in the neighbourhoods around Westmount, Little Burgundy and Atwater. Her upbringing was shaped by the strength of her mother, who raised the family as a single parent while maintaining ties to Jamaica.
“There were three of us here in Canada,” Fagan said. “And my mother had left four boys in Jamaica before coming here.”
Like many immigrant families, resilience was simply part of daily life.
Before entering massage therapy, Fagan worked in technology sales, a fast-paced world focused on targets and products.
“It’s a big difference,” she said. “You have to really love technology to sell it.”
But over time she realized that passion was missing.
What had always fascinated her instead was health and the human body.
“I’ve always been interested in how the body works,” she said. “I was always reading about it.”
As a mother of five, Fagan became the person family and friends often called when they had questions about health or everyday aches and pains.
“I was always learning about how the body can help itself,” she said. “I believe God made the body to live.”
That curiosity eventually led her to a massage therapy course in 2016, after a friend introduced her to the field. At first, the transition felt unusual.
“There were little things that took getting used to,” she said with a laugh. “Like cutting my nails.”
But once she finished her training and began working with clients, everything clicked. While many people think of massage therapy as a luxury or spa treatment, Fagan approaches her work with a strong therapeutic focus.
“I like relaxation through therapy,” she said. “I like helping people work through what’s going on in their bodies.”
In her experience, many of the aches and pains people deal with daily are related to muscles, posture or tension rather than serious medical issues.
“A lot of pain is muscular,” she explained. “Sometimes people need stretching, strengthening, or manual therapy like massage.”
But she also reminds clients that massage therapy is not a magic fix.
“If someone wants to correct a problem long term, they also have to change certain habits,” she said.
Small adjustments, standing straighter, stretching, walking more can have a big impact.
“Even a few minutes a day makes a difference,” she explained.
While modern wellness tools and devices are becoming more common, Fagan still believes the most important tool a therapist has is their hands.
“I like to feel what’s happening with the client,” she said. “That connection matters.”
Through touch, she says therapists can understand muscle tension and how the body responds to treatment in ways machines cannot always replicate.
“Touch is something the human body needs,” she said.
And sometimes that connection can lead to life-changing moments.
Fagan remembers one elderly client who came to her struggling to climb stairs because of severe pain.
Through careful conversation and treatment, Fagan discovered the problem was linked to repeatedly climbing into a high pickup truck without a step.
By treating the correct muscle group, the woman experienced dramatic improvement.
“She cried on the table,” Fagan said. “She thought she was going to end up in a wheelchair.”
Moments like that, she says, remind her why the work matters.
Fagan first gained experience working in established clinics where she could treat multiple clients each day and refine her craft.
“You have to practice,” she said. “You can’t get better seeing one or two clients a week.”
Eventually she launched Montreal Massotherapy Masters, building her reputation largely through word-of-mouth and returning clients.
The business now operates from two Montreal locations, with a primary clinic in Côte-des-Neiges and a second location in NDG.For those considering a career change, Fagan offers a simple message.
“You’re never too old,” she said. “Life experience actually helps you do this work better.”
Her advice is to study the fundamentals, gain experience in a busy clinic and most importantly care about helping people.
“If you feel drawn to this work,” she said, “then just do it.”
For more information on Montreal Massotherapy Masters you can visit them at their numerous locations
Primary Location — Côte-des-Neiges
5219 Avenue De Courtrai
Montréal, Québec H3W 0A9
NDG Location
406 – 2100 Avenue De Marlowe
Montréal, Québec H4A
514-569-5665
montrealmassotherapiemasters.com
