Evolve Spa in Scott Towne Center Isn't Just for Luxury

When two instructors of massage therapy at the Pittsburgh Technical Institute started talking about opening their own facility, they knew they wanted to create a unique customer experience.

They came together with a lot of ideas and the concept kind of “evolved” into a personalized mini-spa experience without the maxi price tag. Co-owner Dr. Bryan Mock was formerly a chiropractor and has seen the health benefits of massage first hand, and co-owner Jennifer Boal is the Massage Clinic Director at PTI.

Evolve, a new spa in Scott Towne Center, is all about massage for wellness. While it has mostly been thought of as a luxury, massage therapy has many proven health benefits including reducing stress and anxiety, boosting the immune system and increasing flexibility.

“I noticed that my patients that got regular massage therapy needed adjusting far less,” Mock said.

The effects are cumulative, as well, and healing increases with a semi-repetitive routine. About once a month is recommended for healthy, active people with minimal muscle tension. More is recommended for those with specific problems or health concerns.

The new center opened in October and has seen quite a bit of foot traffic in its first eight weeks. The owners looked for about six months to find the ideal location and chose Scott Towne Center because it has several other health-related businesses, and chiropractor.

“It’s better than I ever expected,” said Boal, who manages the staff and daily operations of the center.  

Evolve offers several different membership options that can save 25 to 33 percent off of walk-in prices and promotes the benefits of continued massage to clients. They just received state approval and a license to offer facials and skin care treatments with a licensed esthetician.

Right now, Evolve is offering a $37 special one-hour introductory massage for new customers through Dec. 31. With a deal like that, I decided to give it a try. Being a novice to massages and spa treatments, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was admittedly a little nervous.

My therapist was Jessa Steinhoff, who had been a massage therapist for five years and was a former student of Mock’s at PTI. Because of their direct experience with students over the last few years, they were able to hand pick the best of the best that they had taught or worked with in the past and are proud of their 14-person staff, all of whom are licensed.

“I don’t know if I would have moved to join a start-up company if it wasn’t run by Bryan,” Steinhoff said.

Before we began, Jessa asked me about my needs and health history so she could tailor the massage to what would work best for me. The room was perfect and relaxing with a very comfortable heated bed.

She chose the Swedish technique and changed the pressure in certain areas based on my needs and responses during the massage and our initial meeting. Evolve also offers deep tissue, hot stone, couples, aromatherapy, and prenatal massages as well as facials, and skin care treatments.

At the start of the massage, my mind was racing thinking about things I had to do, how I would write the article, and if my toes had been polished recently. By half way through, I started to forget about all of that and just relaxed, listened to the soothing music and allowed my overworked brain and body a little time to recover from daily stress.

My time ended way too soon, and although I wanted to stay in that warm bed for a few more hours, I found that snapping back into reality wasn’t as hard as I had guessed. I didn’t feel tired the rest of the day and was able to conquer my hectic day with a renewed energy.  

My massage at Evolve was definitely the best hour I have spent all holiday season—and, I don’t even have to feel guilty because I learned about all of the health benefits. Now that I have “evolved into wellness”, I may just become a regular.

Evolve is open extended hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on the weekend from 8 am to 6 pm. More information can be found at www.evolveintowellness.com.

Editor's Note: This story first appeared on Chartiers Valley Patch.