I am proud to report that we have been added to the list of Human Touch preferred health care retailers for the massage chair manufacturing giant. As a matter of fact, we are the largest health care retailer of Human Touch massage chairs in the country. It all started about 5 years ago when a patient asked me if I could find him a massage chair for his golf course club house. I got him an old HTT-110 from Human Touch, which is still in use today…even after all the usage you would expect at a golf course club house!

After that I figured I’d order a massage chair for the clinic so that I could see how they actually feel and how patient’s would respond to it as a form of therapy. Well, of course, the patients loved it and it has been used daily ever since. As a matter of fact, I still have that HT-125 massage chair in my new showroom.

We sold a few at Christmas time each year, which prompted me to petition Human Touch about building a website to sell them to my patients. They said it would be OK , although if I were to do it nowadays, I could only put them on my existing chiropractic site. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. Now, we are the largest health care provider of Human Touch massage chairs in the US. We also sell massage chairs around the world. It is a wonderful business for our family. All the kids have been involved in one way or another in the business and my wife just loves selling these chairs.

Thanks for all your support and patronage. It is a pleasure serving you.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

I was invited back to the Studio 5 noon hour television show again on local channel KSL 5 here in Salt Lake City. This time I brought along the new Sogno Dream Wave PLUS massage chair by Inada and it was quite well received. Folks are typically quite surprised by how much the chair actually does to your body. Virtually every part of your back and side are massaged by some airbag or roller.

This time we had both hosts gathered around the chair and before the taping even began I had them both go through a session with the chair. They absolutely loved it.

I will be going on the show every 6 weeks or so to showcase a new model or a feature from a previous model.

Here is the link to the clip:

Massage Chair Relief on Studio 5 KSL

Notice the way the Dream Wave technology moves the hips from side to side and front and back. The seat works like a shifting plate…very unique.

Enjoy (a bit of my Canadian accent comes out in this one)!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

After months of waiting, the wait is over! We received our Inada Sogno PLUS and i2A massage chairs this morning. It took us most of the morning to assemble the Sogno chair. It was quite a task to put it together. The foot rest and the sides have to be assembled. The chair came in two large boxes, but assembled it weighed 250 pounds, 40 lbs. less than the HT-1650. The assembling instructions are pretty straight forward, but the time it took to assemble was quite a while. Fortunately for all Songo buyers, the chair comes with White Glove Service…in other words, the shippers will assemble the chair in your home and/or business.

We got the creme colored Sogno PLUS massage chair. Now, I have been calling it the Dream Weaver PLUS chair in previous blog posts, but it is actually the Dream WAVE PLUS chair. I was messed up with the name for a time, but now we have straightened ourselves out. I sat in the chair this afternoon for the first time and it was quite a ride! I actually fell asleep while Steffanie was explaining the chair functions to me.

We also set up our Inada i2A massage chair this morning and took it for a test drive too. A very nice massage. I am embarrassed to say but this was the first time I had ever sat in an Inada massage chair. Human Touch used to carry the i2A, but called it the RMS-10, years ago when I first began selling massage chairs, but I had never actually sat in one. It is a very nice massage chair…you can tell that this company’s chairs are built with quality, just with the look and feel of the chairs. I also noticed that the Sogno massage chair is made in Japan, while the i2A is made in China.

Steffanie and I both are taking notes about the chairs and will provide a more in-depth review of the chairs in future blog posts. But, for now, we are really enjoying them. Comments from the showroom visitors today share our feeling that these are very nice massage chairs. Here are a couple of pics of me on the new Sogno massage chair.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

I got off the phone yesterday with Cliff Levin, President of the FIUS, the US Distributor for Family Inada massage chairs, after telling me that the shipment of Inada Sogno Dreamweaver PLUS massage chairs that was to have reached folks by the third week of July is completely SOLD OUT already! Fortunately we had some orders that were filled with this shipment, but I have plenty of other folks that are waiting till the last minute to place their order with us.

This is all I have to say…if you want a Sogno Dreamweaver PLUS massage chair (and I rarely get calls about the standard Sogno model, by the way) you better get ordering today, because these chairs are so “hot” that they are pre-sold before the shipment even comes in and if you don’t have your stake in one, you will have to wait…and wait…and wait…

The next shipment is coming in the first week of August and Cliff tells me that their are only a few chairs unspoken for at this point…but they will be taken very soon. So, if you are considering getting one of these revolutionary new massage chairs, don’t sit on your butt. Get on the phone and call us right now to assure that you get your chair before anyone else does.

Since ordering these chairs online is a “no-no”, you must call us to place your order. You can all us toll-free at 1-888-259-5380 or you can call our showroom’s local Utah number at 1-801-417-8240 and speak to Steffanie about placing your order for you.

We are finally getting our new Sogno Dreamweaver PLUS massage chair next week and, I’ve got to tell you, we are so excited about it. I’ll give you a full report on this blog once I get the chair tested and evaluated.

Did I also mention that the Sogno PLUS is only sold through select health care providers. I am your man (or doctor)!!

Have a super day…and don’t delay.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

I have been invited to become a member of the  Human Touch Wellness Council, upon the recommendation of Human Touch. In case you are wondering what this means, here is a copy of their mission statement:

Mission Statement:

Human Touch’s Wellness Council is committed to educating professionals, sports-enthusiasts, back pain sufferers and consumers alike on the importance and benefits of taking control of their daily lives, maintaining a healthy balance of mind, body and spirit, and maximizing the overall health and wellness lifestyle by incorporating regular massage into their “wellness” routine through the use of personal massage products.  Human Touch has brought together influential persons with a variety of wellness lifestyle experience as members of the Wellness Council to educate and from their own experience and practice of integrating massage into their everyday routine.

Human Touch recognizes its social responsibility and is proud to help individuals achieve wellness in their everyday lives, and by offering massage in affordable, accessible and stylish products, it empowers people to bring themselves one step closer to improving their overall quality of life.

Each Human Touch Wellness Council Member serves as an ambassador for everyday massage, communicating their key wellness messages through online and offline media, community events and public forums.
So, the long and short of it is,  as a chiropractor of 16 years, and as the top retailer for the Health Care Division of the Human Touch company, I have been invited to be an “ambassador” of sorts for the company and for the wellness concept. I actually am quite flattered by this invitation and look forward to being an active participant in the wellness community of which I have been invited to participate. I do know that they ask me to add a monthly blog entry to their website which will launch August 1st, 2008. I will let you know when this is available if you would like to participate in any wellness discussions on that site. Other folks who are also members of this Wellness Council include PGA golfer Tim Clark,  Jeff Galloway, Sarah Harding, Iona MacKenzie, Dr. Michael Nathanson, and  Ted Tryba.

Have a super day!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

I am writing this blog entry from beautiful Pinedale, Wyoming…home to the Green River Mountain Man Rendezvous. We were invited to attend this event and bring our massage chairs along. So, my wife, Mona, our Commercial Sales Manager, Steffanie, and myself left for the Rendezvous on Wednesday of this week. The weather has been great and the folks so down to earth and kind. Pinedale is a quiet little town at the base of the Wind River Mountains and is home to much of the Wyoming gas and oil industry. You can see a picture of me and BK, also known as Black Kettle, a mountain man original. Although he has only had electricity in his home for 3 years now, he sat on the HT-1650 everyday…at least twice. You see…a massage chair even works wonders for Mountain Men!!

As usual, our massage chairs are a novelty, and folks are always attracted to sitting on them. Here is a photo I took with my cell phone showing our chairs at the Rendezvous with Mona and Steffanie in the background.

Other than the Rendezvous, I just wanted to say that we are working on a new home page redesign for Massage-Chair-Relief.com. It is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and it will include, among other things, a method to searching for chair models based on various features, a special of the month section, more testimonials on the home page, and some live video of yours truly to introduce folks to the site. I’ll keep you posted.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Our chairs were featured at the annual Rivalry Cup at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. It is a local event sponsored by Real Golf Radio and their hosts, Bob Casper and Brian Taylor. Real Golf Radio is a nationally syndicated golf radio program that broadcasts from the clubhouse at Thanksgiving Point. The course is beautiful and the the Rivalry Cup is a golf tournament that pits BYU alumni against Utah alumni. For those of you who don’t know, BYU and the U are rivals and love to beat each other up…particularly in college football games. Being from Alberta, Canada I liken it unto the fabulous Calgary/Edmonton rivalries over the years in hockey (hockey <—> golf…very similar, i.e. Happy Gilmore!)

They invited us to bring our massage chairs for the golfers to use before and after competing. It was a wonderful day and we got to meet some fantastic people, like legendary Hall-of-Fame golfer, Billy Casper. Steffanie took a couple of shots of him on the HT-1650 massage chair (everyone seems to enjoy that one!). Chad Lewis former tight end for the Philadephia Eagles, among others, also enjoyed our massage chairs. By the way, BYU won! (Utah won last year…the first inaugural tournament). I should also mention that everyone loved the chairs. Lots of oohs and aahs.

We’d like to thank Bob and Brian for inviting us out to the golf course and treating us like royalty while we were there. These are two awesome fellows. We had a great time and saw some awesome golf.

Fore!!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

Apparently, from here on out, Sanyo is selling their zero-gravity Sanyo 7700 massage chair exclusively through Relax The Back stores. So, they have provided another model, almost identical to the 7700 called the Sanyo 6700 massage chair. What are the differences, you ask? Well, there are only 3 and here they are:

1. The Sanyo 6700 massage chair has one zero-gravity position, whereas the Sanyo 7700 has two.

2. The Sanyo 6700 has a Quick Course (a short pre-programmed auto program in addition to the regular automatic programs), which the Sanyo 7700 does not have, but the Sanyo 7700 has an “Air Only” course of massage which the 6700 does not have.

3. The Sanyo 7700 has 2 seat airbags and 2 upper bag airbags, which the Sanyo 6700 does not have. Of course, both chairs have the regular upper back rollers…the 6700 just doesn’t have the air bags in the upper back. The 7700 has two more airbags in the leg airbags than does the 6700 (20 vs. 18).

4. The Sanyo 7700 massage chair has an adjustable leg length extension. The Sanyo 6700 does not require that feature because it has the same ottoman design as the Sanyo 5000 which extends the foot rest to accommodate the longer leg of some users. The Sanyo 7700 has a ottoman similar in design to the HT-1650 which is one piece without a movable footrest. No big deal.

And that, my friends, is about it as far as differences between the two chairs. Oh yeah, and the price of the Sanyo 6700 is $500 less than the 7700! So, it’s regular retail price is $4499. So, from here on out, we will only be selling the Sanyo 6700 model on our website and in our showrooms.

Here is a link to the product brochure of the Sanyo 6700 massage chair: Sanyo 6700 massage chair brochure.

You can click on this link to take a look at a comparison chart of the 2 models: Sanyo 6700 and Sanyo 7700 comparison chart.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

 I’d like to report to you that our Grand Opening of our Massage Chair Relief showroom was fantastic! We had GaryMichaels from Arrow 103.5 broadcast from the showroom and we had plenty of opportunity to talk about our new store showroom, products, and website on the air with Gary. He was very gracious to give us lots of air time.

Many people came by to visit and “test drive” our chairs. Everyone loves them. The highlight of the day was a visit from Suzette Willcox, the Sales Manager of the Health Care Division of Human Touch! She traveled from Long Beach early in the morning to be here on our special day. We so appreciate the support of Human Touch at our Grand Opening. Suzie brought a beautiful Human    Touch banner/sign as a showroom-warming gift. It is awesome and sits at the front of the showroom in the main window.

I’ve put up some pictures of the event so that you can see what was going on.

I also put up a link to an mp3 file of one of the on-air conversations we had with Gary Michaels, the DJ from Arrow 103.5. Enjoy:

Arrow 103.5 Air Check

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Grand Opening and to everyone who has supported us through the years, bringing us to this point and time in our business! We are so grateful.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com