In November last year, Mr Napier and his wife, Layall Napier, launched Meraki Massage, a new remedial massage therapy business in Shepparton.
The couple hit the ground running with Mr Napier behind the table as the massage therapist and Mrs Napier organising the behind-the-scenes.
Since the age of 12, Mr Napier has spent most of his life battling severe back problems, and he’s tried almost every therapy out there to fix or alleviate his pain.
Chirotherapy, osteotherapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture – Mr Napier had done it all, but it was from those treatments that he learned something about himself.
“I think getting all those treatments taught me how to relieve pain,” Mr Napier said.
“When I worked at La Porchetta as a kid, my mates would always say, ‘Scotty, give me a massage – you’re really good at this, you should do this’, and I think part of me liked it.
“Because I’ve been in pain, not constantly, but since I was a teenager, I enjoy being able to help others with their pain or make them feel a bit better.”
Since then, Mr Napier has always had an interest in learning about how the body works and how to relieve pain, which Mrs Napier said is what makes him stand out from the crowd.
“When he’s treating someone who has pain or injury, or something medically diagnosed within the musculoskeletal system, he understands the language, he understands the prognosis, and he works closely with other allied health professionals to learn more and to engage with what the treatment outcomes might be,” Mrs Napier said.
Mr Napier said communicating with the client is his number one priority when he starts treatment with someone, knowing the importance of working with other health professionals in his client’s recovery.
“I’m big on communication, and if that area is particularly bad or worse than what I think it should be, then I might not touch it,” Mr Napier said.
“I might say go and talk to your GP or someone a little bit more qualified in the area and then come back and see me or get your chiro or your physio or your osteo to get in contact with me, and they might find something, and I can work on that.”
After work, Mr Napier often continues his studies and looks into different ailments and how he can help his clients.
“The plan is to get trained on all the treatments that helped me the most, which are acupuncture, cupping, needling, dry needling, skin stroking, gua sha, which is skin scraping,” he said.
“I was thinking of going into a myotherapy course because they’ve got a lot of massage techniques that are helpful for pain relief.”
The business name, Meraki Massage, is more than just a name – for the Napier’s, it describes a passion.
“It stands for soul, creativity and love and to put yourself into your work and love what you do and you’ll be good at what you do,” Mr Napier said.
Meraki Massage is located within Nemesis Strength and Conditioning at 13a Callister St, Shepparton.
To book an appointment, email them on merakimassage@outlook.com.au or call them on 0468 527 781.
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