RICHMOND, Ind. – For Lily Phenis, becoming a licensed massage therapist was not a career idea that came out of nowhere.

She first decided she wanted to be a massage therapist when she was about seven or eight years old.

“I had my mind set on it. That’s what I wanted to do,” Phenis said.

Now 27, Phenis owns Elevate Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork in Richmond. Here, she has turned that childhood ambition into a growing business focused on therapeutic massage, fascial therapies and helping clients better understand their own health.

The journey to getting to this point, however, took a slight detour after high school.

Phenis was homeschooled throughout her education, and her mother tailored part of her curriculum around anatomy, which Phenis knew would be important to a career in massage. But by the time she graduated, she said she became unsure about the path she had planned for years.

“Like a lot of teenagers I got to graduation, kind of freaked out and was like, I don’t actually know if I want to do this,” she said.

She went on to work different jobs and explore other career paths. Eventually, she said she began feeling restless and wanted something more fulfilling.

Her husband encouraged her to revisit massage therapy.

“My husband said, you have always talked about massage. Maybe just start looking at schools, just see,” Phenis said.

 That search led her to the Indiana Academy of Massage in Zionsville.

She enrolled in the six-month, full-time program and drove to Zionsville every day. She graduated at the top of her class in October 2025.

After passing her boards and completing the licensing process, Phenis opened Elevate in December 2025, just two months after graduating.

Phenis, who lives in Centerville, said Richmond was a convenient location. She started her business in an unused space at Whisenhunt Construction, initially planning to stay there temporarily.

“I originally didn’t plan on being here for very long,” she said.

But as she began adding more to the space and building her business, she realized it was a good fit.

Designing the space also gave Phenis an opportunity to think carefully about the experience she wanted clients to have.

“I like to think of everything in business from a customer standpoint,” she said. “So if I’m the customer as soon as I walk in, how do I want to feel when I come into this space?”

She wanted Elevate to feel professional while also welcoming.

“I kind of want something that’s nice and in between. So it feels professional and a little more upscale, but is also still very comfortable and homey,” she said.

Building a client base happened more quickly than expected.

When she first opened, Phenis worked at Elevate only two or three days a week while also working part time at Woodhouse Spa at Bottleworks in Indianapolis.

Soon, word of mouth helped bring in clients.

“There’s a lot of massage therapists in Wayne County especially that are either getting ready to retire or they’re already booked way in advance,” Phenis said.

She transitioned to working full time at Elevate in April and said she has remained consistently busy.

“This is such a huge blessing because I was really nervous to go full time,” she said.

Her current specialty is fascial therapies, including craniosacral fascial therapy, which she described as a gentle, noninvasive modality.

She also provides therapeutic deep tissue massage and assisted stretching, with an emphasis on combining therapeutic work with relaxation.

“Anything that integrates deep relaxation with very therapeutic work, because nervous system is really my biggest focus,” she said. “I think everything stems off of that.”

That focus is partly personal.

Phenis began receiving massage in high school as a way to address severe anxiety.

“I had major, major anxiety and it was getting to the point that it was debilitating. It was keeping me from doing a lot of things in my regular life and massage was huge for me for that,” she said.

That experience helped shape her view of massage as more than a way to address physical discomfort.

“I think having massage is a tool to help you find that peace, that calm,” she said.

Phenis said her work can address a range of concerns, including flexibility, circulation and recovery for athletes.

Before an appointment, clients fill out a four-page intake form covering medical history, current conditions, musculoskeletal concerns and their goals for the session. Phenis said she takes a detailed approach with new clients.

Her training in the musculoskeletal system and kinesiology also has led her to work with clients experiencing alignment issues, scoliosis and unexplained sciatic pain.

“Everyone’s body is so unique when it comes to preferences, conditions, just needs in general, everyone's body is so different and what they respond to. There’s no one size fits all with health,” Phenis said.

For Phenis, the experiences from her clients are part of what makes the work rewarding.

“That’s really where my passion is, is being able to help people find results where no one else can find the results,” she said.

Going forward, Phenis said she is focused on continuing to build her business and furthering her education.

Ultimately, Phenis said she wants clients to leave feeling better than when they arrived.

“I feel at the end of the day, as long as they feel better leaving than they did when they arrived, I’ve done my job,” she said.

For Phenis, that also means encouraging people to pay closer attention to their own health.

“Be curious about your own health,” Phenis said. “Pain is not normal.”