Meet Emily Diane | Massage Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Diane and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a massage therapist, the paths to a career are typically work for a chain, a small company, or begin your own practice as a solo practitioner. I’ve been fortunate to work with some wonderful small companies before finally opening my own practice, Cult Bodywork, located within Liminal Space Collective in Little Five Points, Atlanta.

As a solo practitioner I can diversify therapeutic treatments to fit individual care needs while keeping my prices accessible. As part of a collective I receive support from my immediate network and contribute to a larger community. It is the best of both worlds!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Cult Bodywork massage therapy came about officially in 2023, three years after I graduated massage therapy school. My family had always been very encouraging, stating I had “the touch”. However, I didn’t develop the confidence to pursue this career until I was 29 years old. I’m so glad I did! Every step of this journey has been incredibly rewarding; connecting to other bodyworkers, meeting amazing clients and really sinking in to a deep understanding of myself.

Through massage therapy I’ve been able to live a life that more fully reflects my core values; compassion, community, and creativity. Where these values intersect with massage therapy is very gratifying. Rather than “easy”, I’ve considered myself incredibly lucky in the journey with feeling strong alignment and comfortable pacing in career development.

What is unique about my work is my ability to develop a comprehensive understanding of the “why” a client may be experiencing pain or tension, and to build collaborative strategies for care. As a deep tissue therapeutic massage therapist I’m able to lead a client through “the good hurt” to make real, positive changes to their tissue! My goal is to have my bodywork support and uplift my clients for whatever their lifestyle choices are. To me, massage therapy is an avenue for radical community care.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Breakfast: Petit Chou, Muchacho’s, Egg Harbor, Bomb Biscuit
Restuarants/Bars: Victory, El Tesoro, El Myr, Wrecking Bar, Los Ninos, Whoopsie’s, Gene’s, El Malo
Shopping: Liminal Space Collective, Space Queen, Mother Lode, Lost and Found Thrift
Venues: Star Bar, The Earl, 529, Aisle 5, Variety Playhouse
Parks: Piedmont, Sweetwater, Arabia Mountain

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The individual small business owners that support me as part of Liminal Space Collective deserve all the credit and recognition I could give. Queer and femme owned, with amazing ties to grassroot communities and mutual aid efforts. In addition to our bodywork and retail, we are able to host small vendor markets and some really fun events!

Website: https://liminalspaceatl.com

Instagram: @cultbodywork

Image Credits
credit Dr. Coco Rowlette; Google Images