Massage therapist, K.J. Anderson checked in with Scoop B Radio & shared with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, what it is like to work with her top client, D.J. Khaled. Press Play Below To Listen!
In the NBA this season, mental health and massage therapy have both been topical.
The Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love have been forthright about their struggles with depression.
During pregame warmups, it isn’t uncommon to catch ESPN or TNT panning the camera on Philadelphia 76ers big man, Joel Embiid. Embiid who has had lower back issue throughout the season is often sprawled on a massage table getting his back worked on by a team massage therapist.
The NBA gets it and so do athletes and entertainers. Massage therapy and sorting out your problems are both musts!
“It’s just gaining recognition in America honestly,” Miami, Florida-based massage therapist, K.J. Anderson tells me.
Anderson’s client list includes top NFL’ers like Olivier Vernon, Geno Smith, Mohamed Sanu, Vontaze Burfict and Jay Ajayi. Her NBA clientele includes Demarre Carroll, Luol Deng and Jermain Taylor.
“The sports players are kind of bringing this necessity to keeping the body healthy. And people are like, ‘oh, it’s about keeping the body healthy, this is actually good.’”
From the Omaha, NeBraska area, Anderson moved to Miami in 2011. All of her clients are referral based. One of her biggest clients starting out in the 305 was rapper, Rick Ross. “Rick Ross actually called me, and I worked on him and that went on for a couple of years,” she said.
Rick Ross, is a good friend of mega-producer, DJ Khaled. According to Anderson, Khaled was not into getting massages at first. “Kind of funny, because at first, Khaled didn’t like people to touch him,” Anderson told Scoop B Radio.
“He did not want a massage, it was hilarious. But they eventually convinced him to get massaged and then he was like, ‘okay, this is something that works.’”
Added Anderson:
“If you watched his snapchats throughout the last five years, every time he talked about massage, he talked about the stress of life and trying to gain ground and the key to success of getting a massage. So, it’s kind of cool; he brought recognition of massage to a whole group of people that probably never looked at massage any other way than you see it in the movies, honestly.”
From snapchat on, Anderson has been unstoppable. “It definitely has brought recognition to a lot of people who have asked me questions,” she said.
“They’re like, ‘does massage help this? Does a massage really make you feel better? Does massage really help my ankle move better?’ So, it’s kind of cool; people ask questions on Instagram and I will answer people if they’re asking legitimate questions. It just opened up a lot of minds.”
Million dollar question: Where’s the craziest place that Anderson has gotten recognized from being DJ Khaled’s massage therapist while on Snapchat? “Probably at Club Liv,” she said.
“I got a shout out from a DJ.”
Anderson also says that DJ Khaled is quite cooperative throughout the whole massage therapy process. “At first, he did have a hard time putting down the Snapchat phone,” she said.
“Over time, I think he just realized that ‘hey, I just need to sleep for about 20 minutes,’ and he will. It’s kind of good, I think he’s learned, too, that it went from ‘someone’s trying to fix my back a little bit’ to ‘I can actually relax and take it easy for a while.’”
While being Khaled’s go-to person for massage therapy, Anderson admits to have learned some major keys from the producer and media mogul along the way. “You can’t worry about what people think about you, you can’t worry what people say about you massaging us,” she said.
“Because people are going to say what they’re going to say. They’re going to think what they’re going to think. They are going to find out that you are 100 percent legit. They’re going to find out that you’re working. You know you worry; that first shout out that he gave me on Snapchat– if you read all the comments, I just wanted to kick myself in the face. I was like ‘wow this is horrible.’ People say all kinds of horrible stuff, but I had to realize it ain’t my job to worry, it ain’t my job to worry about what people say. I have to just continue to work as hard as I do, continue to be honest and straightforward, and continue to love sports massage and pretty much preach my brand.”
In addition to working with DJ Khaled, K.J. Anderson has also worked with Flo-Rida.
“So, there’s been times I’ve been called to actually work at the studio,” she said. “It’s kind of funny. And the people look at me, like, ‘I’m supposed to sing with her massaging you in here?’ But, they know their job, they know they have to do it, so they’ll just be trying to sing and I’m just trying to work. It’s very interesting. I’ve had a very interesting time.”
For more info on Anderson’s Temporary Pain, LLC., follow her on Instagram at @Temporarypainllc and Twitter at @Temporarypainllc.
