After the end of our Massage Practitioner Training 2021 we decided to ask the participants to answer some questions about their experiences, challenges, their growth during the program and to give us some feedback. We will publish these interviews in the next weeks and hope they can give you some insight on what it’s like to participate in the training in case you’re curious about it. Registrations for the 2022 training are open, and we start in May!

Here is part two of the interview between Rodrigo and Michael. Click here for part one.

R: How would you evaluate your own abilities after the 4 modules? What was the feedback from the individual massages?

M: Well, many of the feedbacks were very good, but I have also been told by several men that maybe I don’t go into the tissue hard enough or deep enough sometimes, because I am not yet very confident in deep tissue massage. I certainly still have a bit of room for improvement, but I think that will come with time, when I’m more confident. 

I still have a lot to learn, but the feedback from the clients has been very, very interesting and very positive so far. Especially the people who had never experienced something like this, they were always very enthusiastic and also those who had already had one, found my approach quite good. I still want to practise and grow.

R: If true, what was it like to miss a module? Did you get back into training well and what supported you?

M: It’s a shame that I couldn’t do the 2nd module. But I had the feeling when I joined the third module that I was actually accepted back into the group right away. 

I also kept in touch with several members of the group. Have also exchanged, sent pictures of Summer Evolution and that was really sweet. We also gave a bit of feedback, so I stayed in touch with 3 – 4 people over time and actually quickly got back into the group. Because I also had the opportunity to massage and practise during this time, I actually didn’t feel so disconnected, so I was right back into the action. 

You can maybe take a break once, but you should take all the modules so that you stay in the process. The same group of men is always there to support you. I think it wouldn’t be so easy if there were different people in each module. And the same trainers in all the modules, I think that’s important.

R: How did you feel about the teaching in the modules?

M: Intensive 🙂 

These 4 days you don’t really get to do anything else. We are together all day and it is a lot, but in the end it is also nice. We also take breaks now and then and eat together. But we are together all the time. 

But it’s also nice that you spend this time together and then also stay in the rhythm!

I’ve always thought it’s good to be together and have meals together and so on.  And I also think it’s good when you don’t eat together. In Cologne, we all slept in the same room and stayed together for the whole four days. In Berlin, everyone is on their own later in the evening. 

I also spent the night at your place the first time. I thought that was quite good. It’s okay if you sleep somewhere else, but we only really went home to sleep and came together again as soon as we got up. 

So we were still in the rhythm, even if we didn’t all spend the night in the same location. So that fits, but it’s very intense because we’re together 24 hours a day.  If the group fits well, then that’s great. And that’s how it is with us…

R: How is the atmosphere among your fellow students?

M: It has become more and more intense, more and more familiar. So there was always someone with us who was a bit… You can’t call it a problem case, but just a special character. But that was also quite good, because the group also learned to deal with different characters and to integrate people into the group despite their sometimes idiosyncratic nature or character, which was not always easy, but that’s life. 

I also can’t only be with people who are the same as me. So I also find it more interesting when you’re with different men of character, and just this regular reunion has been good for everyone.  

Of course, you have more affinity with some people than with others. Either you get to talk more with some or we somehow feel on the same wavelength. 

In the meantime, I have already gradually built up a connection with all the participants and that is very nice.

R: How was your own inner development (in terms of personal growth) in the process of the training?

M: That is of course not such an easy question. 

I found the aspect of personal growth very interesting, I still do, so I’m still working internally on my growth in this training… Many questions that you raised are still working in me… For example, what is the intention of each person in the training when they give a tantra massage? What do I myself want with this Tantra? And of course this is already occupying me. So I ask myself, why am I doing this? And what do I want to achieve for myself with it? How can I get further with it myself? 

Yesterday I spoke with a client who said, “I have always given given given in my life, never received, and now I simply need something myself” and it is also important that you go through this process yourself. Giving is beautiful, receiving can also be wonderful – but how does it work?

I myself was very lucky in my childhood and youth. I grew up very sheltered with a lot of love. I have the feeling that I can also give something back. 

I find this giving and taking very interesting. That you reflect and ask yourself, why do you do this? It’s an important path that you have to take yourself. Of course, this is always connected to one’s own growth process, but I find it very interesting, as I said, that we not only learn the massage techniques themselves, but also question why we actually do it. But I’m still in the middle of that.

R: Welcome to your process.

How would you describe your learning? Are you now able to communicate with clients all the issues and tune into their concerns?

M: This comes with experience, let’s say the more tantra sessions I give, the better I get at playing with this protocol (note from us: we refer to our standard tantra massage including the pre and post interview and filling out feedback forms as the “protocol” in training). So in the beginning it is very, very important to work in this ritual framework. It makes you feel more secure and you can always fall back on it when you are a bit distracted and then, when you have the standard down to a certain extent, you can also deviate from it a bit. 

I just saw that yesterday. I actually only did half of my normal program. But it was still within the consensual framework and within the Gay Love Spirit standard, well adapted to what the client needed at that moment. And the feedback strengthened my conviction that I had done the right thing.

And that’s just this process of growth, that you can also deviate from your standard protocol and adapt it to what the client wants, but of course that doesn’t happen overnight.

R: Is there anything else you would like to share about the training?

M: Um, yes. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if you were present a little bit while we were massaging people to see how we were doing and to give us some kind of personal feedback. 

You were always quite discreet. You walked through a little bit now and then, but you didn’t want to disturb, I think. So I wouldn’t mind if you stopped and watched us for a while and maybe gave us some direct feedback. Not watching us all the time, of course… then it would be a bit stressful, but I wouldn’t mind getting feedback from you directly afterwards about what you’ve seen, that would be good for my own process. 

Of course, it’s not that easy, because you feel like you’re being watched and maybe you’re not so relaxed, especially in front of the clients… But every now and then you can do it.

R: Dear Michael, thank you very much for the interview!