Community Highlights: Meet Tara Kukla of East Valley Therapeutic Massage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Kukla.

Tara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
I grew up in Mesa, Arizona. My amazing mother, Terrell, was a massage therapist and owned a day spa. I graduated cosmetology school and began to work for her in 2015. After a few years of working for them, her husband (also my stepfather) threatened to close down the day spa and was verbally and mentally abusive, so I left to open my own practice in 2020. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was smooth in the beginning, and slowly became more difficult. 

As I mentioned, I worked for my mother and stepfather at a family-owned day spa. 

My mother has been an amazing educator and supporter. She is my best friend. 

However, over time, my stepfather (co-owner of the day spa) slowly became more verbally and mentally abusive. I couldn’t work for him any longer. 

My stepfather would mix family and business by lowering my pay if he couldn’t see my daughter that day. 

The day that I quit was the day when he made my client wait outside in the cold so that he could film me, asking me why I was “abusing him.” The “abuse” he speaks of was putting my daughter in an after-school program. 

My amazing mother understood this and supported me starting my own endeavors. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Once I left the day spa to open my own massage practice, I became very interested in helping people with back and hip pain. 

I went hard on learning as much as I could with reading many books, traveling for many advanced classes, and using these techniques to help people with back and hip pain successfully. 

My practice blew up when I set myself apart as a back and hip pain specialist who doesn’t up-charge for any add-ons. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I recently moved my practice into a new, larger, and more comfortable space for my clients. 

I am offering rooms for rent in my office, and I visualize working next to other health and wellness practitioners who also want to flourish in their own businesses. 

I created a beautiful waiting room and a space for clients to escape their pain and stress. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eastvalleytherapeuticmassage.com
• Instagram: Eastvalleymassage

Image Credits
Donna Thompson
Carmela Joy