Inspiring Conversations with Brett Kane of Brett Kane Bodyworks/ 21st Century Vitalism

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brett Kane. 

Brett, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My life began in a small town across the state called Bay City, which can be found in the crook of the thumb, a little north of Saginaw and Flint. My childhood was fairly uneventful aside from having parents that divorced and living in two separate but equally loving households. Despite the average midwestern upbringing, I was plagued with bouts of depression which began in middle school and carried through my young adult years. Upon graduating high school in 2011, I decided to take some time away from furthering my education to explore the music and art scene of the midwest by way of hopping from music festival to music festival. This was an incredibly eye-opening time for me as it offered me a glimpse behind the curtain of my small-town understanding of the world. During this time, I was fortunate enough to experience some amazing settings and interact with whimsical characters who left a deep mark on my idea of what it meant to be an adult. As this was happening, I had noticed some levity being injected into my generally negative outlook on life. The depressive bouts started to appear less and less as they were replaced with a genuine sense of wonder and optimism. 

Still without much direction on how to ground this budding inspiration to engage with the world, I looked around myself at the culture I was participating in and came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a musician. They were the ones who curated the spaces that were drawing me and others who were similar to me. Simultaneously, it was around this time that my naivete began to show cracks. As I was working through my own personal hang-ups and committing to understanding myself more fully through interacting with these spaces, I recognized that not that many people were drawing the same conclusions from these experiences. On one hand, there was an incredible warmth and kindness that many of these spaces exuded; while on the other, there was a rebellious and self-harming quality of excessive overconsumption (alcohol, drugs, the party atmosphere) happening. 

With this awakened understanding of the space I was gestating in, I came to the conclusion that I would use my music as a beacon of goodness; in hopes that I could create an atmosphere that could inspire in the same way that I’ve been inspired. I felt as if I owed something to this community of weirdos as they had provided me with space to confront the darkness that had overtaken large portions of my life. I felt gratitude for the liminal space that showed me who I was and introduced me to the deep desire to be of benefit for those around me. With that, I decided to go to college to study music. After a couple of years, I graduated from Delta college with my Associates, majoring in music with a minor in communications and philosophy. 

After graduating, I wasn’t anywhere closer to the goals I had set for myself in terms of having a consistent income from making music. That’s when I had an offer to move out to Grand Rapids with a friend who was attending GVSU. Since I had bookended my education for the time being, I made the call and set my sights on changing cities. When I first landed in 2016, I was still fairly aimless and not sure how to ground the vision I had for my music project. Every step of the way felt like I was trudging through waist-high mud; I struggled to get the focus and motivation, there was difficulty in finding a balance to pay the bills and make art, and I was losing steam fast. I got a job working at Founders Brewing Company, starting off as a bar back until making my way to serving and working on the entertainment team. It was there when I got to experience first-hand what it was like to make a living in the concert setting…and I didn’t like it. That’s not a slight toward Founders; we had an exceptional team. It was the nature of working in the music industry and recognizing the mental, emotional, and physical demands it places on travelling artists. 

It was in 2019 when I felt the crushing pressure of needing to change direction. Witnessing the difficult reality of what it takes to be a traveling musician paired with a decreasing interest in participating in the party scene, I allowed myself to fully let go of that dream my younger self had. At this time, I realized that what really interested me about the music scene wasn’t the scene itself but the transformation that I went through on a personal level. A key insight from this time was that this scene was not radical enough in that it only appealed to a certain minority of people, and even a majority of them didn’t have the same experience of deep change that I had. With that, I leaned more heavily into my spiritual pursuits in search of something that would be my next pursuit. At this time, I had been reading Peter Levine’s ‘Waking the Tiger’ which is a seminal work on the nature of trauma and how it settles in the body. One of the postulations this book puts forward is that the healing of our trauma expands our awareness and allows more spontaneous and creative expression. There is a potential for change from rigid, stuck thinking into a wider and more compassionate view that accommodates both self and other. 

‘Great, how do I get started?’ I asked myself. After exploring possible entry points, I realized that most of them required extensive schooling. The one that did not was manual therapy, i.e., massage therapy. The idea sounded a little funny to me at first as it was not a role I ever imagined for myself. After some research and conversation with friends who had walked down that road, the funny idea began to cement into a viable and mysterious invitation. With some deliberation, I made the call and registered for a nine-month course. During this period of schooling, I began to grow a deep appreciation for the body and how it’s fundamentally the garden from which our mind springs from. The trauma focus gently slid into the back of my mind as it was replaced with a much wider interest of how our perceptions shape our minds, and vice versa. Luckily, as good as the course was, it was only a beginning and did not satiate my curiosity for how we can cultivate a more wholesome sense of embodiment. Since I had more questions, I decided to start a podcast. 

I graduated in the summer of 2020 (weird time to start a manual therapy practice, I know) and almost immediately started 21st Century Vitalism; which feels like the second wing on the bird of my offering. My intention with the show was to create a directory of practices and world views which would help listeners orient themselves toward goodness while grappling with the unique stressors of this very uncertain time. It was my answer to the disenfranchisement and overconsumption that I was perceiving in the music culture; which is really the culture of our youth. With 65 episodes and counting, I’ve had on world-renowned bodyworkers, fitness specialists, spiritual teachers, activists, environmentalists, and New York Times bestselling authors. It’s been a labor of love and provided me with many of the answers to the questions that have been lingering for quite some time. It’s also been a wonderful practice to cultivate my communication skills which are directly applied into my client interactions. 

So, at the end of 2020, I was stepping into my life’s work. A road was made visible where one previously had not been. Unlike my time with music, I have started to feel like I’ve come fully online, with a strong sense of vision and purpose. On top of the immense confidence that comes from this, it also provided me with a deeper yearning to dive deeper into my spiritual life. This is when I signed up for a 100-hour Mindfulness Meditation course through Tibet House (the Dalai Lama’s organization). I immediately felt a strong resonance with the practice and worldviews of Buddhism and have since dedicated the past two years to exploring this strange and profound world. With a team of teachers backing me, I’ve gone on to share this amazing practice with groups of up to thirty people. Not only has it been deeply rewarding to offer this to my community, it’s greatly changed the way that I approach my bodywork practice (and just about everything else in life). 

So here we are entering 2023, I’ve since launched my solo massage practice and am staring down a full roster for the podcast. My goals for this upcoming year is to establish a consistent teaching schedule and continue learning about the mysteries of the body. I’ve really just started down this path and already feel lightyears away from the young, depressed man that I was when I was moving through college. Understanding some of the mechanisms of transformation, I’m committed to continuing on this path of self-exploration and sharing the fruits of that labor with my clients and community. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If you can find me one person who says they’ve had it smooth, then I’ll find you one person who isn’t being honest. Life’s richness often comes from the texture of the roads that we’re walking. My life has been no different, with the shadows of depression haunting my adolescence and young adulthood. At this point, I consider it the fertile soil which allowed me to plant the seeds of my current life. There was a lot of uncertainty in leaving my hometown, away from the comforts of everything I’ve known into a broad and unknowable future. This is still an energy that I’m facing as an entrepreneur, with the certainty of financial stability never being established. Still, with the plate full of concerns, I consider myself to be incredibly lucky to have found my way to this current position. I have an amazing community supporting me, practices to sustain myself, and the energy to offer my presence to other people who are struggling. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Brett Kane Bodyworks/21st-Century Vitalism?
My massage therapy practice and meditation instruction is the main thrust of my life at this current juncture. It’s the synergy between my creative expression, internal work, and external offering to the community. In looking out at the world in all of its messiness, I can’t help but feel that there’s a deep need for people to slow down. There’s so much momentum driving us and unless we have an opportunity to reflect on how our past is shaping not only our minds but also the way we feel in our bodies, then we’ll continue on the track of increasing tension and anxiety. With the tools that I’ve cultivated, I feel that I’m doing my part in helping people navigate these turbulent waters by providing a space to remember that they can steward their bodies and minds with intention. 

In my massage practice, I combine myofascial release with Swedish massage which creates a deeply relaxing and effective approach to navigating painful conditions. Each experience is unique to the client and is typically bookended with some form of education on pain science and the importance of relaxation. I’m constantly learning new things and imparting the fruit of that effort onto my clients. Some of the key pillars of my practice are as follows; 

1. Depth is defined by neurological richness rather than sheer force.

2. Massage is as mental and emotional of a therapy as it is physical.

3. You get from this space what you bring to it. Eagerness to learn and open to new experiences has been shown to enrich the therapeutic relationship and ultimately, its outcomes.

4. Massage is a practice similar to yoga or meditation.

5. Relaxation is a learned skill that comes from creating safety within our nervous system.

6. Localized tension is a body-wide phenomenon, meaning that the pain in your shoulder is treated by addressing the entire body.

7. Massage provides us an opportunity to expand our awareness of the subtle sensations within our body, increasing our capacity to be present with ourselves and others.

8. The massage space is a collaborative one in which the therapist creates a space for the client to forge a more wholesome relationship between their mind and body.

As a dedicated practitioner and teacher of mindfulness meditation, I’m a huge advocate for taking on a contemplative practice. Having the ability to see ourselves more clearly allows us to find more space between the things that happen in our lives and our responses to them. In this space, we can choose more skillful and compassionate responses to both the troubles of our personal lives and the struggles of other people. This quality of spaciousness bleeds over into every aspect of our lives, including the way we relate to our physical tensions and pains. The practice of massage, in my eyes, is a primer for this deeper self-led investigation into what it means to be a human – which is done by learning how to be fully present with ourselves. 

With these two cylinders running, I’m confident that my offerings are a rich opportunity for people to create a sense of ease within their experience. From this ease comes an unconditional friendliness and a decrease in the speedy nature of living in the 21st century. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Creating the conditions for receptivity. I feel that this the most imperative response to a lot of the woes taking place in our society and world at large. We’re not listening to our bodies, our communities, or the planet itself. I feel that if we can create space within our experience to slow down and reflect, we’ll be equipped with deeper wisdom to act more skillfully in the world. Unless we cultivate the ability to be receptive; our relationships will suffer, our bodies will go unheard, our culture will continue to fray at the edges, and ultimately the natural systems we rely on will be compromised. 

Pricing:

• 60 Minute Massage: $100
• 90 Minute Massage: $145
• 120 Minute Massage: $195
• 1-on-1 Meditation Instruction: $70
• How to Give a Better Massage Course: $300

Contact Info:

• Website: bkbodyworks.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/21stcenturyvitalism/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrettkaneBodyworks/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@21stcenturyvitalism10
• Other: www.21stcenturyvitalism.com