Temperatures are hovering in the 30s and massage therapist Pippa Brooks is waiting on a client to show for a session on a cold-front-blown morning.
Her legs hang over an armrest of a chair, a picture of relaxation and cool vibes. Brooks is coming off her busiest January ever and sounds as content as she looks.
"My clientele is brilliant," said the South Padre Island-based massage therapist. "I’m so happy with what I’ve got."
Brooks is a Brit by way of Houston who first came to South Padre in 2008 shortly after Hurricane Dolly. Her mother and stepfather had an Island bed-and-breakfast. Brooks was fresh off a divorce and looking for a new start.
"I had nothing after the divorce," she recalled. "I had to get back to work and knuckle down."
Brooks had previously worked in Houston as a state-licensed massage therapist. It’s a skill and profession that can be taken anywhere.
"I never let my license lapse, thank God," she said.
Starting anew, Brooks began working at area spas and established massage therapist offices. A realization would eventually set in that she could offer her therapist services as an independent practitioner.
"I had put in the work," she said of her decision to establish a solo practice.
Brooks made the right call.
"Deciding to work for yourself will always work out," she said from her workspace on the 3400 block of Padre Boulevard. "I could never work for anyone else again."
