In early Sept., the company Happy Gear Productions, LLC. brought their brand On Campus Massage to West Chester University. There are now two massage chairs in Rams Den in Sykes Student Union.(Rams Den is located in the bottom floor of Sykes and used to be the campus gym). The company is also planning on bringing massage chairs to Brandywine Hall.
To use the chairs, students download the “On Campus Massage” app in the app store. When a student downloads the app and registers, they automatically get two free 2o-minute massages. Students need to watch a quick two minute tutorial video before booking their massages.
These aren’t your typical massage chairs. During my free twenty-minute massages, I was incredibly relaxed.
Though I’ve sat in massage chairs from getting pedicures, these chairs are different. The full-body massage chairs use air-pressure. Though it’s honestly quite a disconcerting sensation at first, after a minute or two, it feels perfectly relaxing. It sounds similar to a raft inflating, and while the chair is massaging your back, it also inflates on various points on your arms, legs, neck, and more.
As someone with regular back discomfort from scoliosis, I found this massage experience to be really relaxing and soothing. Though, in the interest of full disclosure, I was asked to write this article by the company.
Now that I’m aware of the service, I’m seriously considering buying regular massages.
How did this company come into existence? Jordan Gushurst, the founder of On Campus Massage, worked a high-stress job around two years ago. Working many hours and under a lot of stress, he was occasionally able to get massages. For health purposes, Gushurst bought a top-of-the-line massage chair called Dreamwave. He began using the chair two or three times a week and experienced an extreme decrease in stress.
“It became clear that college campuses would be a great fit for this type of service. Most students can’t afford human massages. They are busy, and they have a lot of stress!” Gushurst said.
West Chester University is actually the launch partner for the service and the only campus that currently has On Campus Massage chairs.
After trying their free massages, students can upgrade to a subscription plan. For $6 a month or $42 for the academic year, the Bronze Plan gets you one 20-minute massage every week.
The Silver Service Plan gets you two 20-minute massages a week, and it is $9 a month or $59 for the academic year.
The Gold Plan is three 20-minute massages every week and $12 a month or $79 for the academic year.
Though there is an “Anytime Massage” version of the app in the works – where students could pay for a specific number of massages – Gushurst wants to encourage students not to let stress just build up. He believes regular massages are healthy for everyone.
“I believe stress is cumulative, and I really want to encourage people to get regular massages and not let stress build up and up until mid-term and finals time,” Gushurst said.
Michael Brightcliffe, a fourth-year finance major at WCU and the company’s intern, said, “College students are under a lot of stress now.
Most kids aren’t just going to school and then relaxing.” He recognized the importance of the massages, since they “reduce stress for students,” he said.
I whole-heartedly recommend that students, at the very least, try their free massages and learn more about this company.
Theresa Kelly is a fourth-year student majoring in English literature secondary education. She can be reached at TK780615@wcupa.edu.