Had my first appointment at Rogue Bodyworks yesterday and it was even better than I thought it would be! I am what you might call a «Ben Sponsler groupie.» I used to see Ben for massages at Massage Heights. I lost track of him for a few years, then I found him again after a casual conversation in class one day when I realized all my gym friends were seeing him(for reference, see my joyful 5* review of Reset when I finally located him). Now that Ben has set up his own massage practice, you can bet I’ll be a regular at Rogue. Rogue currently has two options when you book an appointment — massage, and manual therapy. Now I am sure Ben gives great«regular» massages… but I’m there for the manual therapy. It’s a little more like physical therapy and a little less of a traditional massage. For instance. You might be in your workout clothes the whole time rather than lying peacefully under a sheet. You are expected to participate(alternately engaging and relaxing your muscles, for one). You might work on range of motion, flexibility, overcontracted muscles, you name it. He’s helping me to rehabilitate an injured shoulder. He managed to get my left lat working again after I couldn’t contract it properly. The other week I saw him and asked, half joking, «can you fix a twisted ankle??» Well, what do you know? I walked out of there without my ankle joint clicking. This is serious sports massage — Ben is an MMP and knows what he’s doing. He’s helped me with hip trouble, hamstring flexibility, neck pain, and much more. He is always working new techniques into the rotation — yesterday I enjoyed(?) some myofascial scraping, a little suction cup action, and the«taser.»(OK, I’m sure it’s not really a taser, but it’s fun to call it that, and whatever it is, it makes the tension in my neck vibrate away.) I am not kidding when I say nearly all my friends from my gym see Ben. Even if you just pretend to be an athlete(me), what he does is a crucial part of training. My shoulder would be in terrible shape if I hadn’t had Ben working on it and teaching me how to build up the supporting muscles over the last few months. When Ben was at Reset, his schedule would book up weeks and weeks in advance. Do yourself a favor and get into the rotation while Rogue is still new — you won’t regret it!