Sol Massage – Jacksonville

April 14, 2021

Life is so stressful for everyone in these crazy times we’re living in! Who doesn’t need an hour of just calm, quiet, and relaxation? Whether you’re a parent struggling with kids and the ever changing routines and schedules, or working 40+ hours a week trying  your best to keep up with customer demands, we could all use a little “ME” time. And anyone who has had back pain, knows that regular maintenance is the only thing that gives relief to muscle strain or back injuries.

It’s a good thing we’ve got a local business who can take care of all your stress and back pain issues under the same roof! Sol Massage is owned and operated by the husband and wife team, Denton and Dr. Carol Kimberly, who are a Massage Therapist and Chiropractor, respectively. Denton was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk to me about their business and what they offer to the Calhoun County community.

• Tammy (T): How and when did Sol Massage begin?
• Denton (D): I had my first massage the summer of 1996. I was in Destin, Florida and I was working on my Open Water 2 scuba diving license and my dive master at the time said “we’ve been diving twice a day, you might want to de-stress, go get a massage.” I did an hour and that’s when it all began for me. Just the whole idea, to get a massage was wow, that was wonderful, how can I reproduce that? 
• I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Fort Collins, Colorado for school and I was out there about 3 months and I trained with probably the best massage therapist on the face of the planet and learned a lot in that time. It took about a year and a half to get my license in the state of Alabama. It’s been quite the journey since I started in February 2018 and my numbers have been fantastic. Month after month, they just keep growing. Working with my wife, Dr. Carol Kimberly has been a blessing. She’s a Chiropractor and it’s a really good working relationship that we have and I’m just very lucky to be supported in the city of Jacksonville. It’s a great community, with Jacksonville State University here, it’s just a good small college town feel. Jacksonville has just been a blessing for myself and my wife and my business.
• T: It’s great that your and your wife’s business are able to line up and they work together so well, you’re able to share a building and work together every day.
• D: We got really lucky, we were on 21 for 3 years, and issues surfaced there with parking and the building. So God opened the door here and we spent a lot of money redoing the bathroom, carpet, paint, a lot of amenities. 
• T: What type of services do you offer?
• D: There are 75 different massage modalities that can be used on the body, and I do about 10-12 of those. Deep tissue, Swedish massage, that is a type of bodywork and there are 4 different variations of that. For the most part, people get stressed, the muscles get tight, and they contract. Usually in the neck, upper back area, and it’s palpating the body and working those areas for 30 minute, 60 minute or 90 minute sessions. I also use hot stones, all my clients really love the hot stones, and most places charge more for that type of service. I have about 10 different types of oils that I use too. I use aromatherapy in the office as well.
• T: What type of issues do you normally help your clients with?
• D: Really just de-stressing, that’s the biggest thing. In our society, it’s always go go go. Everyone is busy and we overuse our body. I saw a gentleman this morning for the first time in a year, and he does postal work. He was deemed essential and has worked 60+ hours for a year. That’s just too much. The body can only take so much, and then it’ll cause muscle spasms and health issues that will hit your body if you don’t do something about it. 
• T: Obviously Covid had a big impact on your business. What type of safety measures have you implemented to keep everyone healthy?
• D: Wearing the mask of course, I wipe everything down with a Clorox wipe. I’m almost OCD about wiping door handles and anything you may touch. We come through and scrub after every session. We allow one person in at a time and we do temperature checks at the door. Of course we provide masks if you don’t have one. We do a lot of CDC guidelines here to make sure we’re abiding by the law.
• T: How many clients do you see regularly?
• D: Per week about 15-20. Lately it’s been up to about 25. With people being on Spring Break, and trying to get back to normal again. I feel like it’s the biggest thing, people want to get back to normal again.
• T: What are your hopes and expectations for the future?
• D: I want to build on my business and open another location in Oxford, anything around the Oxford Exchange does well. I’m originally from Anniston, I was born in Birmingham, I did 9 years in the US Navy. I traveled around the world and got to see so many beautiful places and I think we are really very fortunate to be where we are in Alabama.
• T: Where can people find you in person and online?
• D: Sol Massage on Facebook, I have a website also, sol-massage.massagetherapy.com
• We’re at 385 Greenleaf Street SW in Jacksonville, we’re here Monday through Friday 9am – 6pm. Our phone number is 256-770-9171. I’d love to have you in, you’ll feel a whole lot better. We have different packages, 4 30 minute sessions $100, 2 60 minute sessions for $100, and 4 45 minute sessions for $160. We have a beach theme going here, and we try to recreate that happiness in my office. 

Sol Massage also carries Gift Certificates and this is just a friendly reminder that Mother’s Day is right around the corner! That busy mom in your life would love to get some peace and quiet and a nice relaxing massage! 

I hope you enjoyed this Small Business Spotlight. Every week I will be featuring another local small business to find out more about them and how they are making an impact on our community!