Welcome to kathrynluisa.com!

I am a writer, software tester, model, and cat mom who runs a mobile massage therapy business Zen Is In The Name Mobile Massage.

I currently reside in Arizona. I grew up in a small town called Benson. Having grown up in a small town, I can appreciate a life that moves slowly; however, I have no desire for that kind of life. I enjoy being busy; it gives me purpose and stokes my creativity like nothing else.

My first love is writing

Every instructor I’ve had has stated that I should become a writer because of my vast imagination and expert grasp of written language. I am fascinated by words and how words can be used to persuade the reader to feel or act in any number of ways.

I was and still am an avid reader, with my favorite genre being sci-fi. Some examples of my writing are book reviews on onlinebookclub.com. I enjoy Sci-fi the most out of all genres because it reveals possibilities.

I believe everything has its place and reason. The same goes for words. In my opinion, there are no bad words. Words with a negative connotation can become favorable, uplifting terms.

My first career was in massage therapy

In 2006 after attempting to get a degree in media arts and a yearlong internship with a production company working on a made-for-TV series called The Dillon Lane Show that never finished production, I had to drop out of school due to unforeseen circumstances and issues.

I went on to work several office jobs. These included promoting the Silver Sneakers exercise program to insurance customers across the United States, data entry, and phone-based customer service for those applying for retail credit cards through CitiFinancial.

An office was not the right environment for me. Office politics/drama and my ability to outshine my coworkers by simply enjoying doing large amounts of work brought me the wrong attention. To top it off, the lack of creative thinking made me dread going to work.

In 2007 I was offered the chance to return to school while someone else paid my rent. I jumped at the offer. After a week of research, I settled on massage school. I easily worked through the seven-month program and graduated from the Arizona School of Massage Therapy with honors.

I worked for a few years for a small day spa, and after getting burnt out, I decided to take a break for a couple of years as I worked at a grocery store called Fresh and Easy. Starting out giving out samples, I eventually worked my way up to team lead. I helped to manage one of the top three stores out of the 150+ locations in the company.

After two years of working at Fresh and Easy, I returned to massage therapy, working for an integrated medical office, Backfit Health, and Spine. Here I became certified as a chiropractic assistant and trained under a physical therapist for a year to understand how to use exercise as a form of therapy.

During this time, I also completed medical massage and personal training certifications.

I left there to work at a retail location of Hand and Stone. The site I was at had just opened at the time, and I was able to develop a strong relationship with the owners. I became one of a handful of massage therapists they leaned on to create the foundation of their new business, which quickly became successful enough to profit in less than two years.

After three years, I left Hand and Stone in 2019 and worked part-time at another retail business, Elements, as I started my own business, Zen Is in The Name Massage Therapy, from a studio in my home.

In 2020, less than a year after I started the business, it became profitable at the height of the COVID pandemic, and I left Elements. I converted my massage business to be fully mobile, and now the business grows automatically via word of mouth alone.

Modeling

Modeling has been a hobby of mine since 2010. At that time, I was 23, and I was dabbling in a variety of creative pursuits. An acquaintance who knew I did theater in high school suggested modeling as something to try.

When I stepped in front of a camera for my first shoot, I was enthralled with the idea of using my expressions and body language alone to create a story.

I have since done several shoots with various photographers on a TFP and payment basis. Whether purely artistic, boudoir, or alternative, every theme has had elements I enjoyed working with.

Software testing

I started software testing due to an online course in 2021 with TestPro.IO while trying to distract myself from some personal issues I had no control over.

I didn’t use what I learned from this course until 2022, when my life took a turn that made me realize that massage therapy would not take me in the direction I ultimately wanted.

While I have done software testing, I have worked with freelancing websites such as Upwork, UTest, Test.IO, and several others. I have also tested UX for Usertesting.com, several Upwork clients, Enroll, and others.

Out of all the testing I have done, I admit device testing is my favorite. It’s easy, fun, and I get to be involved with teams of people while still working independently.

As for you

I have had a long journey with a wide variety of experiences. If you’re here because you like my work and want to see more, don’t forget I have a monthly subscription where you can see all the photos and writing I produce. There you will even find content that’s not on my social media platforms or published anywhere else alongside the content you may have seen already.

If you’re here due to professional curiosity, drop me a line at contact@kathrynluisa.com, and we can discuss the next step in our future partnership.