Today we’d like to introduce you to Katrina Augostini.
Hi Katrina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Initially, I completed my undergrad degree in Exercise Science at the University of Pittsburgh with plans to continue on to a graduate program in Physical Therapy. Ultimately I decided not to go straight into another four years program and instead moved to Austin in early 2010. I worked a couple of jobs in different health-related settings for a few years before hitting a wall. Unsure of what path I wanted to pursue and unhappy with where I was (marketing for a small chiropractic office at the time), I took a friend’s advice and looked into massage programs. It seemed like a viable career for me, so I enrolled in New Beginning School of Massage and took a part-time job as a receptionist at Myo Massage. I really wanted to immerse myself in the realm of massage to make sure it was a good fit. Turns out it was a perfect fit!
I graduated from the massage program and became licensed in 2014, immediately landing an apprenticeship with a phenomenal therapist (Julia Traylor of Rise) I had met during my time at Myo. After about six months of career defining work with Julia, I returned to Myo Massage as a therapist this time. I stayed at Myo for a few years, gaining a lot of momentum with my technique and meeting a ton of brilliant therapists along the way (including the owners, Catherine and Levi, whom I learned much from). In early 2018 I was introduced to Jessica Tranchina of Generator Athlete Lab and became part of the original team that opened Generator later that year. There I took on the role of massage therapist and assistant manager, once again learning invaluable lessons in bodywork techniques, staff management, customer service, and hot/cold therapies.
It was in December of 2019 that I was offered the opportunity to launch into my own massage practice full-time. Dena Kinate, a long-time client and colleague, was leaving Austin and looking for someone to hand her practice off to. I went for it! We had a very thoughtful plan to integrate me into her practice for a couple of months and then transition into full ownership at the end of April 2020. But as we all know, March of 2020 threw everyone’s plans out the window. Undeterred, I followed through with buying Dena’s practice, remaining dormant until late May when the massage industry was cleared to return to work.
Since then, my studio has steadily grown. I have two other highly skilled therapists working for me (Briana and Sara), and we have a beautiful two rooms, sunlit studio on West 5th.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and no, to be honest. It was the pandemic that really threw me. Everything was unknown, and no one knew when the massage industry would come alive again. It was quite a difficult time during the first couple of months. I draw a lot of purpose and joy from my work as a massage therapist and with no way to work and no idea when that would change, it was really tough mentally. But in reality, it was not a difficult as it very well could have been. I didn’t have significant financial stress and was able to get back to work after a couple of months, and none of the hurdles since then have been as daunting.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Feel Damn Good?
The name says it all; you should walk out of every session feeling damn good. I believe every person has the right to feel damn good, and massage has been one of the best ways I can facilitate that. Now that FDG is bigger than just myself, I hire the best skilled therapists I can find to offer predominantly deep tissue style massage. Our styles all vary in technique as we each have our specialties, but all share the goal of being highly attentive, intuitive, and skilled in our approach. We’re shaking up the common gratuity based massage model as well. All pricing is flat rate so there’s no need to add a tip. I’m big on simplicity, so flat rate pricing and simple scheduling options are a staple. That’s also why we’re focused on deep tissue rather than a wide array of massage types. There’s no aroma therapy, Lomi Lomi, or salt scrubs. We offer highly skilled, goal-oriented massage aimed to get you feeling damn good.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up in New York, in the country miles from any town. I cherish the time I had to play in the small creek that ran through the woods we lived by, roaming those woods and the nearby apple trees and chasing loose chickens and the occasional escaped cow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.feeldamngoodatx.com
- Instagram: @feeldamngoodatx
Image Credits
Beautiful photography from Erin ‘Jonesie’ of pranabyjonesie.com, @pranabyjonesie
