From driving diggers to healing hands – a mid-life change

The Level 6 Remedial Massage student spent most of his career working in the construction industry, operating 20-ton diggers and track rollers across various construction sites. “I loved being outdoors and the change of scenery every day, “he said. “I moved around to all sorts of sites, right across the South Island.”

_{Shane was "blown away about how little I knew about my own body" when he enrolled in a massage course.}

But an old knee injury was gradually become worse, and as the physical discomfort grew, so did Hutcheson’s desire to make a change in his life.

“A friend who’d experienced a spinal injury rang to say she felt like her life was slipping through the cracks, “he explained. “She was becoming less mobile and couldn’t really care for herself much anymore. Her quality of life was so low.”

他朋友问him to be his full-time carer, enabling a step away from the construction sector for the first time in eighteen years.

Soon, he learned that the massages he gave his friend were providing more than just relief from her pain.

“She started experiencing more freedom of movement all over her body. She moved better, was less sore from exercise, and started feeling better in herself. But I kept asking myself: am I doing the right thing? Am I causing her injury? I didn’t really know what I was doing so I needed to do more research.”

In 2022, Hutcheson enrolled in a Level 5 Relaxation Massage course, leading to the Remedial Massage Diploma he hopes to complete this year.

“It was like learning a whole new language, “he said. “I was blown away about how little I knew about my own body. There’s so much Latin and I’d been out of school for a long time. I was 15 when I started my apprenticeship as a fitter and turner.

“The academic research side of things, and especially how to reference material, was a big challenge for me. They teach you how to reference stuff but some of it I actually know from practical experience and from raising my kids. So, I had to find the right references so that I wasn’t plagiarising. That was tough sometimes.”

_{Overcoming the stigma of being an older male therapist when working with women clients is about respect and privacy, says Shane.}

Hutcheson received a lot of support from learning services. “Once I self-reflected honestly about my learning, I realised that I needed to ask for help early, and to not procrastinate. I found out what I was struggling with in my learning and then addressed it. Learning services helped me with how to structure paragraphs and stuff like that.”

Mandy Gould, Head of Department – Hospitality, Business & Service Industries, said that it’s reasonably common for students to enrol who have decided on a career change, with about a third of the department’s learners over 25 years old, and 80-100 of them over 45 years.

“我们的许多更成熟的学习者有一些rt of bad experience of education. They are amazed and delighted at their ability to learn once the correct support is in place for them,” she said.

“Having a challenging experience of education can often warn people off learning for life. But with our vast learning support systems in place, it can really be life-changing for them.”

Another challenge for Hutcheson was overcoming the stigma of being an older male therapist, especially when working with female clients.

“Touching female clients was something I had to get used to. At first, I was really nervous. My biggest fear was someone saying I’d touched them inappropriately. So, I learned to set boundaries early in the session. Covering them properly, respecting their privacy, asking before coming back into the room. I learned to treat every part of the body as just another muscle in the body. And bring in trust and use empathy.

“It’s been interesting to me to try to break that stigma about older men. We need to talk about it more and educate people about it more. Not all males are predators.”

Shane works as a student massage therapist at the University of Canterbury Rec and Sport Centre, working part-time for two days a week while he finishes his studies at Ara. He envisions two career paths after completing his diploma –joining a clinic or working for himself. He would also like to offer massage services at camping grounds and music festivals.

Moving from a working life in construction into massage therapy has meant that Shane had to “mind my p’s and q’s a bit more, not swear so much, and watch out for bad jokes!

“But I’ve really enjoyed showing respect for others and just being myself, and enjoying the learning. Your knowledge just gains and gains when you’re in education. Name all the bones and muscles in the body? I never thought I’d be able to do that. But now it’s pretty easy!”