Hidden Gems: Meet Eric Ruano of Integrity Massage Therapy LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Ruano

Eric, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am what some people could refer to as an “anchor baby,” a baby born in the United States from foreign parents in an effort to eventually get citizenship for the parents. I’m still not sure if I’ll ever get to fulfill that goal.

I was 14 when my mom was deported to Mexico. Wanting her children to finish their education in the states, my mom gave up legal guardianship over my sister and myself. No adult that we knew of would be willing to take on two teenagers into their home at once, so we were split up. My sister went with her best friend’s family, and I moved in with my girlfriend’s family. Our two younger siblings went to Mexico with our mom.

Taking on teenagers in the midst of their development years is no small feat. Despite the initial willingness to help from the adults that took us in, inevitably it got very difficult for everyone involved. Within a year my sister and I had been both kicked out of our respective homes.

This meant I was technically a homeless youth, essentially couch hopping from friend’s house to friend’s house until a close friend took me in to live with his mom and sister. Things were stable for a while. My friend and I planned to join the military after high school with the goal of one day becoming cops together in Las Vegas.

Then one rainy day, I broke my wrist playing tag at an open house. The first time my Mom heard from me in a few months was a call from the hospital because they needed her approval before moving forward with my treatment. I was 17. Not yet an adult yet and without legal guardians to sign off for me on important hospital formalities. I was in agonizing pain. By that point, the adrenaline and pain meds had worn off and I could feel intense pain pulsating from my crooked wrist. I was able to get the help I needed, but it put a spotlight on the reality of my situation.

I graduated high school with a cast on. My friend went off to boot camp without me since I couldn’t even do a push-up, so there was no way I would even be allowed into that intense training setting. That fall, I enrolled into Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) and began working toward a degree. I qualified for all the financial aid available but I didn’t use it as intended. My financial aid was all the money I had to my name, I used the excess money to feed myself when I could instead of getting the school books I needed.

I didn’t last long at GRCC, despite how committed I wanted to be. The financial aid eventually ran out, and I needed to work to be able to feed myself. Before I turned 18, I faced a double standard. I couldn’t get a job without being emancipated, but I also didn’t qualify to be emancipated unless I had a job. But now I was 18 and could work.

I looked everywhere for entry level jobs eventually finding work as a sign dancer on the side of the road off 28th St. Despite the humility of it, this job was a lot of fun for me. I enjoyed those hours of uninterrupted jamming out to the music in my headphones without a care in the world, I was having fun and making money. But the job was only seasonal, and as the weather got rougher, I got caught in my fair share of thunderstorms and sideways weather on my commutes.

I needed something more stable. Eventually through the help of some friends, I was able to get a job at Jimmy Johns. I started there in 2012 and worked my way up for years, even going as far as Champaign IL to “Jimmy School” to be a Certified Sandwich Master. That job allowed me to gradually be able to rent an apartment and eventually purchase my own vehicle and helped me pay some of my first mortgage payments later in life.

I knew I didn’t want to be at Jimmy Johns forever, so after some research on the trajectory of Massage Therapy, I enrolled myself into Everest Institute for Massage Therapy. I finalized all the enrollment paperwork on my birthday in 2013. For the entire 9 month program, I did my school work in the morning and closed up shop at Jimmy John’s at night.

Graduation was bittersweet for me. Despite having a plethora of classmates, I felt very alone in my own situation. None of my family could be there to see me walk across teh stage. During the ceremony, I spotted one of my closest friend’s parents in the crowd. Their son was not in the same program as me nor did they know anyone else in my class. They had shown up to support me. They were the only two people I recognized in the crowd that night, and I don’t think I’ll ever truly be able to express how thankful I was for that.

After graduation I continued to work at Jimmy Johns while searching for a massage therapy position. I started off working at a couple different chiropractic offices, a spa, and eventually ended up at the Downtown YMCA in 2017. As the years progressed I really got to hone in on my skills as a massage therapist, having back to back appointments on the hour for most of my available days. By February of 2020, I was as busy as I had ever been up to that point.

When the COVID-19 shutdown began, massage therapy was not considered an essential job to reinstate immediately, nonetheless people are still in need. As the pandemic progressed beyond the predicted 2 weeks, and no one knew exactly how much longer this would last, employees from non-essential jobs were let go, myself as a massage therapist included.

Clients reached out to me seeing how it might be possible to still get their massage needs met. As regulations progressed, I did everything I could to make sure I was thorough about my watching out for my own health and the clients I worked with. I implemented a COVID-19 questionnaire form, did temperature checks, and required both parties to wear masks. When possible, some massages were performed outdoors. That’s when I got the idea for a mobile massage therapy business.

By the time everything opened back up, and I was invited to rejoin my previous position, I had already opened up my own business. I wanted to give myself a genuine chance to do something unique. Today, Integrity Massage Therapy LLC exists to provide professional at-home and special event massage services on-the-go.

Eventually, I was able to leave Jimmy John’s completely and currently work full-time as a massage therapist, serving the Greater Grand Rapids area with a mix of at-home massages, on-site clinical massages in corporate and warehouse settings and occasionally do special event massages such as weddings, employee appreciation weeks, office parties and even some small get togethers amongst friends.

None of my current success would be possible without the love and support of my wife, Kayla. We met swing dancing in downtown Grand Rapids a few months after I graduated from massage school in 2014, when I had an apartment but no car. That night, I went to a Tuesday night swing dance at the Pew Campus. A friend of mine showed me a new flip trick called a “kick-the-moon gainer.” After a demo from him, I managed to land it on my first try.

Feeling proud of myself, I decided to ask the first girl I saw for a dance. Enter Kayla! It was her first time swing dancing, but luckily, I knew a few moves that I could show her. We clicked right away and have been together ever since. We got married in October 2020 at the height of the pandemic. She has always been a huge supporter of me and was a huge advocate for me in starting my business. She is an amazing human, and I am so lucky to be able to take on life with her. We are expecting our first child any day now. She is very pregnant as I write this, and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little girl.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Things are smoother these days than they used to be. The toughest challenge has been the separation from most of my immediate family. I visit my Mom in Mexico every other year and try and keep in touch with my siblings, but the distance is tough.

One thing that still hurts is that my mom couldn’t be there for our Mother/Son dance when I got married. Not because she is no longer with us, but because she can’t even visit.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Integrity Massage Therapy LLC?
Integrity Massage Therapy LLC offers at-home and special event professional massage therapy services in the Greater Grand Rapids Area.

I have a lot of respect for the power of touch. I am best known for being able to genuinely help people out from acute and chronic pains through intentional and diligent touch. To maximize the effectiveness of every massage session, I incorporate blends of Swedish, petrissage, effleurage, pressure/trigger point, deep tissue and Range of Motion (ROM) techniques.

I have been licensed as a Massage Therapist in the State of Michigan since 2014 and have been a member of the American Massage Therapy Association since March 2021. Every 3 years, the State of Michigan requires 18 continued education credits for massage therapists to renew their certification. Despite this, for my last renewal, I completed nearly 50 credits to further refine my skill with the latest massage therapy techniques. I am dedicated to improving my craft and becoming the best massage therapist I can be!

I am most proud of the trust and connections I’ve made within my business. There’s something special about the connections made in this line of work that can’t be easily replicated.

You can check out my massage services and book a session at www.integritymtllc.com.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I love doing flips and tricks. One of my friends and I used to run around doing flips through downtown and other areas in ninja costumes. We once were hired by Celebration Cinema South to do a choreographed routine for the Grand Opening of the Green Hornet. We were compensated with a movie ticket and popcorn.

We were also hired once to entertain at a little boy’s ninja-themed birthday party, and it went perfectly. In the middle of the party, two ninjas showed up out of nowhere, fought each other doing flips and tricks, and then vanished into the neighborhood.

To this day, I wonder if their friends believed them when they went back to school and told this story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://integritymtllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integritymtllc/