Cinthia and Michelle: Hi, we're Cinthia Varkevisser And Michelle Walters, co-hosts of Mind Power Meets Mystic. Our weekly show is here to expand your mind to what's possible, uplift your spirits to move forward with competence and joy, and to create a space for your collaboration with the invisible. Welcome to Mind Power Meets Mystic! Hey, hey, hey everyone, you're listening to Mind Power Meets Mystic with my friend Michelle Walters, the Mind Power, and me, Cinthia Varkevisser, Mystic. Today we have Angela and Marty from Inside Out Spa in Martinez, California. They launched in 2022 as an LLC, and Inside Out Spa is now entering a strategic growth phase. Their current offerings of infrared saunas and Himalayan salt therapy rooms have already established a loyal customer base. They're actively seeking investment to expand their service range and solidify their position as a leading innovator in the wellness industry. Inside Out Spa thrives under the guidance of a visionary couple, Angela Dorsey and her partner Martin Baxter, who likes to be called Marty. Their combined expertise in operational efficiency, financial acumen, customer-centricity, sales and marketing prowess, and the keen eye for detail creates a powerful force for wellbeing. They share a deep passion for wellness and are committed to propelling Inside Out Wellness Spa to new heights, delivering unparalleled relaxation and wellbeing to their valued guests. Welcome Angela and Marty!

Angela and Marty: Thank you for having us, anytime!

Cinthia: Thank you, Cynthia. Michelle, thank you.

Michelle: It's really lovely to have you. Martinez is a lovely town in the Bay Area. And if you haven't been there, check it out. Super cute, great history, quite colorful, and it's got great residents such as Angela and Marty. So Angela and Marty, we know about Inside Out Spa a little bit, the infrared, and the Himalayan salt, and that you're doing these amazing events now. But before all that happened, there was a love story. Tell us about the "and" story, the "how did you get here" story.

Angela: We dated when we were 14 years old, both grew up in San Francisco, we met in summer school, and we dated off and on. He was my first love at 14. So we dated off and on through high school, lost contact, he got married, kind of went my own separate way as well. And then in 2013, he sent me an email or a message on Messenger, which I didn't get. Because at the time I was living with my son's father. So come June of 2017, I moved out from my son's father and then I kind of opened up my messenger and there his message popped up. And it I was like literally in shock. My mouth was open and I was my heart was palpitating because I had been looking for him for a long time. And then I sent him a message. And then I saw that he was already dating someone too. And they had just gotten tattoos, right? Which everyone knows is a huge no-no, right? I mean, you don't put your person your partner's name on your body if you want it to last. But I guess it worked out for the better. Because within like, what, three to four months after I did that we reconnected and that relationship was finishing up. And so the timing was perfect. You know, as we all know, and realize as we get older, that's the way it goes. And we reconnected in August and was married in November. And so here we are seven years into it. And we are now business partners as well as best friends and spouses. And, you know, being with somebody you have grown up with is, you know, in our case, teenagers, before the world kind of gets their grip on you and changes your perspective and changes who you are going back and being in relationship with somebody who knew you before all that is extremely strong and powerful and very rewarding and very, I feel very blessed every time I talk about it. It just gets me emotional because for those people who have never experienced that, I can tell you that it is extremely powerful. Yes, definitely. And last night I sang a song from our wedding song last night at karaoke and I almost made it through the whole song before I cried. But you know, it was definitely three months later, all I knew is that I didn't want to date him anymore and our kids and family has grown and just being business partners. I couldn't imagine it. I mean, with anybody else, and we really, really work really well together. You know, and I compare that to other relationships I've had that this is the real deal, Holyfield.

Michelle: Got an amazing story. I absolutely love it. It's so beautiful and inspiring.

Cinthia: Michelle, you gotta go back to your high school yearbook.

Michelle: Yeah, I guess I need to see who I dated when I was 14. I'm not sure there's a lot of hope there. But you know, who knows? Who knows?

Angela: You never know. You know, when you give up? You know, that's what happened. I was like, hey, you know, whatever.

Michelle: And then the perfect person walked through the door. What a beautiful story. So give us a little bit more info about how this love relationship turned into a business relationship? How was it that you guys came to decide to go in that direction? Because you know, not everybody does, right?

Angela: Well, I mean, initially we were, for me, one of the things we were doing a couple years into our marriage, we decided we might try to buy a home. So where our budget was, and in the Bay Area, our budget didn't give us a whole lot options that we were comfortable with. So Angela, she had gone to LA, she took her son to meet a friend who she had met online. They had similar interests, they both modeled, they both were acting. And so she took him to LA to meet her. And they had some time with her mom. And so in that time, and she was smart enough to go get a little bit of me time in. And then I found a place that had influence on us, and they were offering free salt, try the free salt, there's free salt room. And so I was just like, okay, and I heard that Steph Curry at the time does infrared for his muscle recovery, went in. I was like, blown away by the experience. And then when I walked into her infrared unit area, I was like, This is amazing, time for myself. It was beautifully well put together. I pretty much came back and recreated her whole thing. Like I was like, I want the same, I want what she has. So that's how we got into this, I came back and I told my husband, I have a business that we're gonna do.

Marty: Ixnay on the house neck.

Angela: So he was a good husband and said, Okay, dear.

Michelle: She got him home with those eyes. Like, we cannot lose. Yeah.

Angela: So we signed our lease in March. And we opened in May 1. So we literally got everything up and running in two months and are just celebrating our second year.

Michelle: And I didn't want to lose this spot. Because I was like this, where we were, you know, I was like, this is right in our budget. And everything worked out perfect. We had good support system to get us all the build-out and everything. But yeah, it's like May 1, and it's like, Wow, we had our first customer who is still with us. Loyalty walked in off the street, and boom, here we are with a lot of clientele. We've had over 1000, more than 1000 people come through. Yeah, close to 1200. Yeah, in the tears. So that is the success story. I mean, that is a crazy, beautiful success story, don't you think?

Cinthia: You choose that without having owned a business before?

Angela: Yes, this is our first venture. Yes. Congratulations, you guys are rocking it. It sounds like it was kind of destined to be and you followed the steps and and you have hence been rewarded.

Marty: Yes. And still coming, still building, evolving, for sure.

Michelle: Well, before we go to break, my question has to do with your business. How much of it was like, Oh, my corporate work scales beautifully into this, you know, into the business and how much of it was intuitive, or you had to take leaps and just go ooh, that worked.

Angela: For me, at the time, I was working for three biotech startups. And so my background was in finance and being an office manager. And so that really kind of was a no-brainer. I was making really good money. So it was really easy to get everything set up. You know, we didn't take any business loans out or anything. Everything was like, out of pocket, a little savings that I had, basically spending the money from the job that I had. And then that kind of helped us kind of get started. And then I got laid off. And then at that point, because I've set up companies so quickly when they're startups, it made this a lot easier. It was like a no-brainer, like I came in, boom, boom, boom, done, done, everything's set up, we're good, let's go. And then with my husband having his background, and in the jack of everything up Jack, Jack, the jack of all trades, but yeah, that's me, you know, it, just, you know, he designed the floor plan, we had friends, and, you know, one guy came in and put all our walls up in like, two days, literally, by himself. And, you know, we bought the machines was like, the perfect pricing right out, you know, we were scared, because it was still like, pandemic, you know, and so, but I just kind of knew that this is something that needed to happen. You know, I mean, I just felt like, we can't miss this opportunity. You know, was it scary to do it during the pandemic? Yes. And are coming out of it, per se, but, you know, the corporate world, definitely, when they laid me off, you know, it was devastating. But I also knew that this was the time for me to be my own boss. So I don't have to rely on anybody else telling me I'm not good enough or smart enough to do anything. And I'm like, Look, I business up and running in two months, you know, come on, do not tell me I'm not capable anymore, right? I will never believe that again.

Marty: And my strong points were customer service, been in the mental health arena for, oh, 11 years, with a big hospital out here, you know, taught me a lot about empathy, and learning how to make people feel at home, make sure that they want to return, making sure that you hear them, listen to them, give them what they need, give good advice. And you know, offer people something different than Western medicine has to offer. Western medicine, you know, is good to a certain extent. But as we all know, most of the things that they give you are not solutions, it's just band-aids. And so we wanted to be able to offer our community something endemic, especially coming out of the pandemic, right? Everyone started being health-conscious, right, for a good reason. And so we decided to be one of the businesses that would give them an alternative to adding more medicine to their palate, and their morning, and their evening, you know, rituals and, and give them some long-term solutions and relief, and relaxation.

Michelle: I'm totally there with you on the relaxation side. So I want to step in and remind all of our listeners and viewers that they are here with me, Michelle Walters, and my podcast co-host Cinthia Varkevisser. Today, we are speaking to Angela and Marty from Inside Out Spa in Martinez.

Cinthia: So I started my business right about the same time as you guys started your business. And it was kind of a scary and exciting time to do that. I love hearing the how you really leaned into your intuition with some confidence, Angela that this was just kind of the right thing to do. And I think that that's so important for people to hear, like, other people might have thought you were crazy, right? Like buying this equipment, opening a spa when nobody been able to go out for two years, like you know, but but a lot of times I think you know, the the best of it is really just around the corner, you just have to sort of put in the time to get there. So tell us about some of the new things that you've added at Inside Out Spa. We've heard about the salt room and the infrared, but I know you guys have been experimenting and piloting some additional types of services.

Angela: Right? So we recently just got our massage. I have been manifesting this for two years because I really wanted to go to that next level. And so we have a medical massage therapist, Jimmy Huang, who really is amazing and intuitive with his hands and he comes to us on Sundays. And so he's amazing. He does it through the clothes and I tell you like he just really gets in there and loosens you up and gets those knots out and he makes you use your voice you know if it hurts better start yelling. And then we just signed on with Nancy Lawan who is a massage therapist as well with Spiritual healing, I guess that's how you would say it Energy Energy practitioner. So she just came on. And so she's with us on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. But both of them are equally amazing and bring something different to the table. So we're surely blessed that they have just fallen into our services. And then the other one is, I am about to embark on an online business but in person as well called Kangen Water, which is ionized antioxidant water that puts it will take your tap water and turn it into mineral water, putting all that, you know, less taste using a lot of health benefits, a lot of scientific studies done on it. So I'm excited about bringing this to the community as well, because we Martinez water, whatever has a lot of nine chemicals in it. So we definitely want to people to start thinking long term in that sense with the water that you're drinking and getting hydrated. Really getting hydrated. Oh, and Santana, oh my god, we have sound bowl therapy. Oh my god, Santana, and I lose. I don't know if I'm saying it right. But that has just taken off for us. Two days. We'll be doing the First Saturdays of the month and the first Thursday's of the month. And here in Martinez. And that's at 728 Main Street from 630 doors open and then the sound bowl, Crystal sound healing will start at seven so an hour. So we've added a lot of new stuff. And we've got to a couple of other things that we're going to be Greg Wilson will be doing some meditation in the salt room on the second Thursday's of the month. So it's really becoming this inside out Wellness Spa that we just rebranded our name. And so it's really excited about what our Yin and Yang and our tree of life is representing right now for us going forward. Now, we're just did detox foot detox today. So I have a feeling we're going to be offering that as well.

Michelle: Definitely. Yes. I love this evolution is so we got some things working out with you, Cynthia, hopefully.

Cinthia: Excited, so excited. It's I've been looking for a home for a while. And and so I'm hoping I mean, check it out. Is is beautiful for the things that we are going to do. Yeah, sure. Yeah. Very special.

Angela: Yeah, we want you want you to feel at home when you come here, you know, and that's what it's for everyone that comes they say oh my god, this is my home away from home. So you know, the it is beautiful. That is one thing that you have created, you created a welcoming space before you even get through the front door. Which is that's and that's pretty special and that a lot of healers do that. They make sure that as soon as you walk in, but there are few that go beyond the front door so that you actually feel like you've already taken a cleansing breath. And then when you get to the front door, you're like, Yeah, first cleansing breath, you're just you're here, you know, everything's already. So well.

Marty: We want to feel complete opposite from clinical, right? We want to feel like, you know, this is where you're meant to end up and shed some of the everyday stress, pain, discomfort, things of that nature. This is the spot for you, right?

Angela: I also want to let everyone know that the healers that Angie and Marty are bringing in are local. And so they are really doing Martinez service, really big in the community. And I love hearing that. I love hearing that if I talk to someone, they know who you are, and you have no problem saying, Oh yeah, I know them too. So it's it's definitely a community. So I love your community building, for sure. And we want this space to be used for the metaphysical community who want to get off of zoom and come to a place where they can actually, you know, say evil, you know, and we're, you know, we're so open to all of that and, and sharing our space and you know, and if we can figure out how to make it work, then we're open to it for sure.

Michelle: That's exciting. All right. Couple question again. How do you two work together? Who does what? Who does what will give back to the past?

Angela: No, you know, where you know, very much the business is evolving. So as our relationship and the things that we do for the business.

Marty: It makes me laugh that keeps us so is that only? Yeah, sorry? No, no, I mean, you know what we have so many things that we complement each other on. Like, I'm gonna say I'm not the biggest cleaner person. But Martin comes in here and he is that guy like, he's I tried to use his OCD as often as possible.

Angela: But I didn't lend it out for long. So yeah, that's kind of my, that's kind of my forte and then building. So I'm kind of like facilities customer service as well, we both are, you know, right on with that is 5050 MG is really kind of spearheading most of the new services that we're going to be offering, the ones that we're bringing on now. And the ones that we're bringing on the future, we do talk a lot about what the wellness industry is leaning into, you know, what are some of the trends, but we also find that we like together to bring things to the community that you don't find everywhere. Yeah, and that you wouldn't normally have to travel hours to go find, these are the things that is going to help us propel into the next phase. And there are a few things that we have in mind that we are definitely moving towards, but we need a bigger space to do it. So until we get that space, you know, we were doing services slowly. And I think that community will, you know, be very happy with what we have in store.

Marty: And we're open and she's open, and we talk about it. And if I have an idea, and she has an idea, we're very open about what that future looks like for this space. So it just works, you know, it's kind of interesting, you know, it just really works for us because we definitely communicate and talk a lot. And you know, and I think that's the key to being successful as a couple is that you got to trust in the communication that you're having between you, you know, but we also encourage our members and our clients to come in, and we bounce things off of them and we value their response and their insights. And a lot of times that helps us with you know, either putting stuff down on the backburner or moving forward sooner with things, you know.

Cinthia: Well, I totally believe in the two of you working as a couple. I'm waiting for hours waiting for Angela to admit that she's a manifester. Because that happens all at once and the story of Santana the sound healer is absolutely incredible as well. And then and then everything pretty much snowballed.

Michelle: Right, yeah. You know, it's like, two years I've been, you know, okay, yes, I want to sound bowl here, like, Oh my God, I need a Mazouz Oh my God, I need all these things, you know, and each day and I've been learning how I've been learning about manifestation, which is something I probably hadn't realized or even my husband says, you know, you're the most luckiest person I know in my life, but I have never really believed that I was lucky right? And so, I now I see things falling into place and I tell you when Stan Tana walked in Santana, Rana, Danna Tana, when she walked in, I literally like, floored when she said, Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm a sound new. I was like,

the way it works, isn't it great? Literally,

my, my, I'm like, I was looking for you. i The Universe answered it, you know, and I'm, and every day, you know, it's, I'm manifesting and just this morning, I'm like, I need more clients. I need this and I need that and all of a sudden, people are paying their bills and I signed two contracts yesterday. You know, so I definitely know it. I like being a manifester. You're good at

it. And for our audience, just so you know, we do have a podcast episode with Santana Deleuze where Santana and I shoot the shit and actually start and talk about using our voice. And and so this ties in perfectly with your manifestation and the two of you meeting

so we have another podcast episode that's all about my book, which is called an alignment of spirit and it's all about manifesting so now that I know you're in the into the topic. I'm going to swing by your spa and drop off a copy for you guys.

Do Yes, yes.

Thank you so much for your appearance today on mine power meets mystic I have heard so many great things about you and I'm just delighted that you were able to come I am also really inspired by your love story. I am looking for my love story and I know that hanging out with people who have a good love story is going to help bring about mine so that it's true. Thank you for that. Wonderful day and thanks audience for being with us again this week on mine powered meets mystic.

Thank you. Bye guys from the Inside Out Spa. You've been listening to Mind

Power Meets Mystic.