Meet the Dynamic Duo Behind Downtown Lock Haven’s New Massage Studio: Silver Bullet Wellness, LLC
By Emily Wright
LOCK HAVEN – In today’s fast-paced and stressful world, taking a moment for self-care and relaxation is crucial for overall wellness. That’s where downtown Lock Haven’s newest massage studio, Silver Bullet Wellness LLC, comes in. Owners Aidan and Sophia Gscheidle offer a range of services that cater to individual needs and their goal is to provide a relaxing and rejuvenating experience for their clients.
Aidan and Sophia couple sat down with The Record for an exclusive interview to share their background in the massage industry, their approach to helping clients find relief from pain, stress, and anxiety, and to discuss what new clients can expect from the services they provide.
Silver Bullet Wellness is at 132 E. Main Street, Suite 7, in downtown Lock Haven, with its entrance located through Penny Lane. Originally a mobile massage therapy business, the owners have secured this permanent location and will be celebrating with a grand opening on Saturday, January 27, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to drop by and explore the new studio, indulge in a complimentary chair massage, and also enjoy refreshments. Any services booked during the event will receive a 10% discount.
The Gscheidles met while studying at the Integrative Bodywork School of Massage Therapy (IBSMT) in State College, PA. “Our first experiences as massage therapists involved working with the sports teams from Penn State University, working in our school’s clinic, and studying advanced treatment techniques from founders Aaron and Leslie Pavlechko—two of the region’s leading clinicians and educators,” Aidan said.
Having gained top-notch experience and a well-rounded education, the couple left IBSMT with a strong desire to bring the same level of treatment to those who need it. From this desire, Silver Bullet Wellness LLC was born. The name “Silver Bullet Wellness” was inspired by the couple’s belief that there really is a silver bullet for pain: “It’s called ‘taking care of yourself,’” they say on their website.
Aidan grew up in Woolrich and is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) and Certified Breath Coach. His primary areas of focus are breathing problems and accompanying anxiety, fascial release, hip and lower back pain, neck pain, muscle scraping, and functional fascial taping (FFT), which are techniques that release tension in muscle tissue and help improve circulation, speed up recovery, and restore optimal tissue length and function.
Sophia grew up fully immersed in the world of massage therapy, as her parents are both massage therapists who operated a spa out of their home in Wellsboro. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) and Licensed Esthetician with a passion for natural skin care. Sophia’s areas of expertise focus on neck and shoulder pain, deep relaxation, maternity massage, facial massage, and facial cupping.
When asked what inspired the couple to get into the massage industry, each had a very different experience that led them to where they are today. As the former receptionist at her parent’s spa, Sophia is no stranger to massage therapy and its benefits. “I always kind of felt like this is what I was going to do,” she said.
Aidan, on the other hand, became inspired to pursue massage therapy after discovering a natural way to get rid of pain. Aidan had been working as a professional chef until the COVID-19 pandemic first began. When restaurants were forced to shut down temporarily, he started to investigate acupuncture and yoga as a way to eliminate the body pain that he’d been experiencing. After finding success with acupuncture and yoga, he was inspired to join the massage industry to help others find the same natural relief.
Combining their backgrounds and expertise, the Gscheidles offer a variety of massage techniques for pain management, all tailored to the client’s needs. They keep things simple by offering 60-minute and 90-minute sessions which are tailored to each client. “We practice integrative massage therapy and therapeutic bodywork for pain management,” Aidan said. The techniques that they use are therapeutic for a range of conditions such as neck pain, shoulder pain, lower back pain, sciatica, frozen shoulder, migraines, tension headaches, and much more. “We want people to get up feeling like they just got up from a really deep nap,” Aidan said. “We customize each massage for the client’s needs, so we basically never do the same massage twice,” Sophia added.
In addition to massage therapy, Sophia specializes in facial cupping. Facial cupping is an ancient practice that uses gentle suction cups on the face to promote circulation and relieve muscle tension. She explained that facial cupping is similar to a facial massage or a lymphatic drainage massage, but it has the added benefit of being highly therapeutic for issues like jaw tension or pain, headaches, sinus congestion, and under-eye bags. For this service, Sophia incorporates her mother’s line of organic facial products.
Aidan specializes in breath coaching in addition to massage therapy, and he claims that when it comes to relieving pain, it all starts with breathing. Breath coaching is beneficial in a variety of ways, some of which include helping to regulate the nervous system, reduce anxiety and stress, lower blood pressure, improve mood, improve sleep quality, and minimize neck and back pain. “The breathing component is how people release tension in the body, and not breathing correctly can really exacerbate underlying issues,” he said. This service is focused on mental and physical wellness, two areas of our health that happen to be connected. “We’re treating the bigger picture,” Aidan said.
While discussing breath coaching, the couple referred to their mantra: “You have to breathe there to be there”. In other words, by breathing more effectively, a person can optimize their overall well-being and health, allowing them to be more present in their daily life.
For those who have never experienced a professional massage or breath coaching, the Gscheidles strive to create the most comfortable experience possible for their clients. “We try to make it the most relaxing experience of your life. You should feel better than you ever have when you leave, and if not, we didn’t do our job,” Aidan asserted.
As far as comfort goes, the couple mentioned that people who’ve never had a massage are sometimes apprehensive about taking off their clothes for the service. “We do massages with clothing on if the client prefers,” Aidan said. “It’s all about the client and their comfort level”. Sophia added that the couple puts forth every effort to help clients relax and “get out of their head” so that they can fully enjoy the experience.
The duo keeps clients who are more experienced and comfortable with professional massages draped throughout their session, only exposing the area of the body that they are working on. “We communicate with the client to make sure that we meet their comfort level and walk them through what we’re doing so that they know what to expect,” Sophia said. As licensed professionals, both Sophia and Aidan are advocates of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) “Respect Massage” initiative, which raises industry standards and works to combat malintent in the massage industry.
One aspect of Silver Bullet Wellness that sets it apart from other massage studios is that the Gscheidles limit the number of clients that they see every week in an effort to provide the best quality service possible. Their focus is “quality over quantity”, and they believe strongly in striking a balance between their work with their own physical health needs given that performing a massage service on a client often requires a lot of physical exertion. “We only see 3 people a day, so a total of 15 clients per week,” Sophia said. “We want to focus completely on the client, and we’re able to do that the best by not overexerting ourselves”.
The couple plans to continue offering mobile services for in-home massages in addition to utilizing their new hub. “We can go anywhere in Pennsylvania. Longer trips require a little bit of a surcharge, but our current prices reflect anywhere in the 50-mile radius,” Aidan said. Their studio is located on the third floor of the Simon Building in downtown Lock Haven, so clients with limited mobility are encouraged to book a house call, as there is no elevator in the building.
As for special packages and promotions, Silver Bullet Wellness is offering a VIP Massage Package for a limited time, which includes four massage services for the price of three. VIP Massage Package holders get preferred access to scheduling with the therapist of their choice and are exempt from the 30% deposit policy.
Membership packages are also in the works at Silver Bullet Wellness. Members will have access to four workshops for the price of three, and they will also receive an additional 15% discount on services. Workshops will be focused on a variety of topics ranging from breathwork to tea tasting.
The couple is currently accepting bookings for their upcoming Valentine’s Day event, “Beer and Back Rubs”. For this event, the Gscheidles teamed up with Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport to host a workshop for couples on February 16th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. above the brewery. To learn more about the interactive workshop and to purchase a ticket, be sure to check out the Silver Bullet Wellness Facebook page.
To learn more about Silver Bullet Wellness and to request an appointment, be sure to visit the website and don’t miss out on the link to Aidan’s blog, “The Rub”.
For updates and the latest promotions, follow the Silver Bullet Wellness Facebook and Instagram pages.
132 E. Main Street, Suite 7, Lock Haven, PA 17745
Email: contact@silverbulletwellness.com
Website: https://www.silverbulletwellness.com/
For appointments or to ask questions, call: (570) 209-8655
Facebook: “Silver Bullet Wellness”
Instagram: silverbulletwellness
Blog: https://silverbulletwellness.substack.com/
