Our Story
OWNER
Dr. Gretchen Rivas
D. Ac, LMBT, C.SMAC, Diplomate, L. Ac.
My journey into the healing arts began in 2001 when I attended massage school and graduated from Coastal Carolina Institute of Massage Therapy.
You may wonder why there's such a gap between finishing school and getting licensed. The reason is that I knew right after graduation that in order to help people, I needed to help myself first. I got sober in May of 2001, and then I had to apply myself and study for the boards. Juggling newfound sobriety, working the 12 Steps, and preparing for the massage board exam was a lot. In 2002, I was finally ready to take the test and passed, then had to jump through all the hoops for licensing. (Of which I had several extra due to needing to get sober originally!)
Doing the right things helped me find my way. I got lucky and won a ¼-page color ad in the Yellow Pages, which helped my business take off. (I know, hard to believe, just 25 years ago that was where people searched).
Three years in, I also began teaching in Miller Motte College's massage therapy program. A couple of years into that, I hired a business coach who helped me grow my business during the height of the 2007-2009 recession. While other businesses were shutting their doors, I was figuring out how to expand.
Throughout this time, I went back to school to get my acupuncture credentials. For four years, 2008-2011, I worked hard 3 weeks a month so I could take the 4th week off and drive to Boone, N.C., to attend Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine.
This was the time I began hiring additional MTs to help me while I was out of town. They would work while I was teaching or out of town and help me grow the business.
In 2011, I graduated with my Master's in Acupuncture and opened my practice in a one-room space in a chiropractor’s office. I kept the massage and acupuncture separate as my massage clinic was attached to my home.
After a year of building both practices, I found an office space and combined the businesses under one roof. One year in, we rented more space next door. Another year in, we rented space for acupuncture across the parking lot, separate from Relax Massage Therapy. Both businesses continued to grow, and together in 2019, we grossed our first million dollars! I was so excited to reach such a milestone.
Then, in 2020, the pandemic, being closed for 2 months, losing massage therapists, it was such craziness! We muddled on through, and 2021 grew the businesses past where we were in 2019.
I had moved to Hampstead (a town 27 miles north of Wilmington) in 2017 and opened an adjunct acupuncture clinic in 2018. By 2023, the drain of driving to Wilmington twice a week and running two Acu clinics, plus Relax, had led me to decide to sell Relax.
At the time, Relax! Massage Therapy and Skin Care had 15 therapists, 4 front-desk staff, and a manager, so it was robust and ready to go.
Relax Massage was sold in 2023. In 2026, I sold my Wilmington acupuncture clinic to my associate. Now, the focus is on teaching others to help them grow and succeed, and on growing the Hampstead clinic.
I'm grateful for my business success and attribute it to good coaching, hard work, and a great team. I couldn't have done it alone.
Professional Growth
1986 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with minors in Marketing and Small Business Development from the University of South Carolina.
2001 Certificate of Massage Therapy from Coastal Carolina Institute of Massage Therapy
2002 LMBT #3153 Started Relax to the Max Massage Therapy, which became Relax! Massage Therapy, then Relax! Massage Therapy and Skin Care
2005-2012 Instructor at MMC in the Massage Department
Somatics
Spa
Energy Work (Included instruction in TCM, polarity therapy, craniosacral therapy, shiatsu, etc.)
Special Populations (*included massage instruction in Geriatric, Pregnancy, Pediatric, and Infant, and High-Risk populations)
Supervisor at the Massage Clinic
2008-2011 LAc #633 Master's in Acupuncture from Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine in Boone, NC.
2011 Infinity Acupuncture, Wilmington, opened
2018 Infinity Acupuncture, Hampstead, opened
2017-2019 Doctor of Acupuncture: Pacific College of Health and Science
2021-2023 Certified Sports Medicine Acupuncturist
2023 Relax! Massage Therapy and Skin Care sold
2025 Nationally Certified Massage Therapy Provider #1002561
2026 Infinity Acupuncture, Wilmington clinic sold
Areas of Expertise
Sports Medicine
Body mechanics
Massage Flow
Business Development
Professional Development
Pregnancy Massage
Somatics
Special Populations
Meridian Therapy
Teaching Philosophy
I believe in engaging, thought-provoking teaching and discussion with hands-on learning where possible. You'll have techniques to put into use the day you finish class. And they'll be valuable, useful tools, not just something you forget about the next week.
My mission for the past 20+years has been “To Touch 1 Million Lives For Good”.
Where does teaching help fulfill that mission?
This is the saying that helps remind me of my purpose…
“I am the ripple…When I teach someone, and it helps them go out and help more human beings, the ripple of goodness becomes ever widening.”
I teach because I know the good we have to offer the world…I know the change we create in people's lives, the difference we make, the happiness we sow…and it means the world is a better place because of me and you.