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It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

Well, it’s official. We launched this new little brand of ours called Melt in style last Wednesday night, holding a cocktail party as a thank you to our Pozible contributors and a way to introduce Melt to some of the media and bloggers from our local city. It was an awesome party. We had the […]

September 29, 2014

Massage Tips

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

If you were to ask me “Steve, what is the secret to the perfect back rub?” My answer would be: 1. “Actually, my name is Denis.” and 2. “Contour your hands to your partner’s body.” I’m an Australian massage therapist, and I specialise in teaching couples how to give amazing back rubs. Over the last […]

September 17, 2014

Entrepreneurial Married Life

It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

September 29, 2014

Massage Tips

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

September 17, 2014

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Entrepreneurial Married Life

It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

It was an awesome party. We had the support of some amazing sponsors to make it happen, and the theme was decadence… as Style Melbourne so aptly put it in their write-up, we had “all the ingredients that make for a really good night in” – anyone that knows me knows I love exceptional food, wine and cocktails and a penchant for design and fashion. We made sure all these elements were included at the Melt launch party as a way to really spoil our guests.

There was the artisan cheese grazing table from Milk the Cow Licensed Fromagerie stocked with gooey, sumptuous European cheeses. Head Cheesemonger Laura Lown specifically chose cheeses to match the theme of our event, all pale whites to match our colour theme, and all deliciously indulgent, such as the triple cream Brillat Savarin, a gooey choice that fit our Melt namesake perfectly.

Milk the Cow Cheese Grazing Table at Melt Massage for Couples Launch

Branded wooden cheeseboards from Milk the Cow added to the gorgeous styling of the cheese grazing table.

Beautiful, sophisticated styling from Milk the Cow.

Beautiful, sophisticated styling with mini soft-ripened cheeses, golden pears and fresh herbs from Milk the Cow.

Cheese grazing table by Milk the Cow Licensed Fromagerie

Gooey, melty Brillat Savarin triple cream brie from Milk the Cow Licensed Fromagerie

We had exceptionally decadent martinis made with Fire Drum Vodka, a local brand produced at Tasmania Distillery in Hobart. The Franklin Barley used in Fire Drum is sourced by an expert malter who travels Tasmania selecting only the finest barley. The secret to Fire Drum is the barley is brewed with Tasmanian water into a ‘wash’ which is then double distilled in a Copper Pot still – an age-old, minimalistic approach to distillation.

Fire Drum Vodka at Melt Massage for Couples Launch

Fire Drum Vodka was used for our decadent cocktails at Melt Massage for Couples Launch

The best bits of the spirit run which is the most pure, malty and sweet, are then selected and used. The spirit is then gently filtered once through charcoal and blended with pure pristine Tasmanian water.

The result is a truly unique, expressive and smooth vodka. It is full-flavoured with a malty sweetness and it makes an excellent addition to cocktails.

Ben Luzz from Bar Ampere mixing the Melt Massage for Couples Launch cocktails

Ben Luzz from the renowned Bar Ampere came up with two amazing cocktails made with this vodka. The first was the Liquid Gold Melt Martini; a classic wet vodka martini garnished with a golden olive, hand-wrapped in edible gold leaf. It looked divine and tasted amazing too.

Our bespoke Liquid Gold Melt Martini created by Ben Luzz from Bar Ampere, using Fire Drum Vodka. That’s an olive hand-wrapped in edible gold leaf! Photo credit: Style Melbourne.

The other was The Last Bastian, a honeycomb and absinthe martini garnished with orange peel, incredible flavour especially with the notes of vanilla from the Fire Drum Vodka. It’s a beautiful product that, as Ben said, doesn’t require too much messing with, which is why he kept the cocktails simple to show it off.

The Last Bastian Fire Drum Vodka Martini by Ben Luzz from Bar Ampere with Housemade honeycomb syrup and absinthe. Photo credit: Style Melbourne

Of course, there were also some amazing wines flowing, you can’t celebrate without a few glasses of French bubbly after all! Even our mineral water was decadent, a locally sourced, fantastic water supplied by sponsor Capi. This is water that was voted the #1 Australian Mineral Water by Epicure in The Age (aka, our food and drink bible). I love their sleek glass bottles and the water tastes amazing – clean and crisp.

French bubbly at the ready for toasting at the Melt: Massage for Couples launch

I was set on a dessert grazing table so I made one myself – a candy buffet laden with childhood favourite treats like milk bottles, loads of white chocolate, fluffy marshmallows and delicious cupcakes from Joy Cupcakes – the lemon meringue was incredible, as was the Choc Marshmallow flavour. A big hit toward the end of the night after a couple of martinis!

Candy Buffet at Melt: Massage for Couples launch

Our Candy Buffet was the perfect dessert option.

Cupcakes by Joy Cupcakes at Melt: Massage for Couples launch

Lemon Meringue and Choc Marshmallow Cupcakes thanks to Joy Cupcakes – delicious!

The space we held the party in was just beautiful – friend and sponsor JASONGRECH let us have his style studio for the night, a converted stable where he makes his couture bridal and red carpet gowns by hand. Jason made my wedding dress six years ago, we’ve been firm friends ever since. We were very lucky to have such a great venue made available to us, as he doesn’t do that very often at all. (He also helped style the candy buffet last minute along with our talented friend Mel, an interior designer… thanks to them both for making it look so amazing!)

The first few guests arrive to the Melt: Massage for Couples launch at the JASONGRECH Style Studio

Just warming up - the gorgeous JASONGRECH Style Studio as the Melt: Massage for Couples Launch party begins.

Just warming up – a panorama of the gorgeous JASONGRECH Style Studio as the party begins.

We loved our pink carnival heart from Letter Lights as a fun photo booth area!

Denis & Emma Merkas, co-founders of Melt: Massage for Couples share a kiss in the Pink Carnival Heart from Letter Lights

Co-founders who kiss! Bit of fun in the Pink Carnival Heart from Letter Lights.

Denis Merkas, Dom McKenna, Karina McKenna in the Pink Carnival Heart at Melt Massage for Couples Launch

Is three a crowd? Doesn’t look like it!

Cory & Paul Andrews in the Pink Carnival Heart at Melt Massage for Couples Launch

The look of love! Awesome Pozible supporters Cory & Paul.

Pink Carnival Heart from Letter Lights

But the very best thing about the Melt launch was being able to celebrate with all the people who have supported us and thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Melt: Massage for Couples launch party and supported our crowdfunding campaign! We really couldn’t have done it without you. All images by Timson.

As Den said in his speech, 2013 was a really hard year for us. Our other business wasn’t going well, there was no money, we were living and working from a house that desperately needed renovating and we were having a really awful time of it. It was the toughest year we’ve had so far financially, as well as career-wise and then of course – ipso facto – for our marriage.

In November 2013, it all changed. We ran a crowdfunding campaign to get this business – Melt: Massage for Couples – off the ground. Getting successfully funded was our first win in a long time. Less than two months later, we were on a plane to LA to film the couples massage videos we’d been planning for so long. By March 2014, we were selling them online and as of a few months ago we have couples on every single continent (bar Antarctica) that are learning to massage using our product.

A little thank you speech.

What a turnaround, and what a difference a year makes. We’re so very grateful to everyone that helped get us out of that dark time and through to today. We quite literally couldn’t have done it without the support of a solid network. Which brings us full circle – last Wednesday night, we officially launched this new little brand of ours called Melt. And we couldn’t be happier. Now, we’re back to the task of reaching as many couples as possible right around the world!

Melt: Massage for Couples Co-founders Denis & Emma Merkas.

Just try keeping the smiles off our face right now! Can’t happen.

Images graciously supplied by Timson Photography & Design.

September 29, 2014

Massage Tips

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

If you were to ask me “Steve, what is the secret to the perfect back rub?” My answer would be:

1. “Actually, my name is Denis.” and

2. “Contour your hands to your partner’s body.”

I’m an Australian massage therapist, and I specialise in teaching couples how to give amazing back rubs.

Over the last decade, I’ve taught over 20,000 couples in more than 50 countries using my methods how to give a great massage at home, so they can last longer than five minutes and not end up with sore hands at the end.

If I could give you only one tip to a better back rub, it would be contouring. This is the #1 technique couples should start with to make their hands feel more professional.

Check the GIF below out…

The MOST important massage tip I’ll ever teach you

Take a closer look at my hands in this clip – watch how they contour to my wife’s body… notice how relaxed she is… notice how each finger moulds to her curves, palms are down too.

Looks good, huh?

Best of all, this doesn’t hurt my hands, nor do my thumbs want to pop off and run away.

I could literally do this for hours without putting any stress on my hands and it feels simply amazing!

Most couples go in too deep, too early – making their back rubs feel amateurish. Worst of all, as soon as your hands begin to hurt, you give up and your partner has a very unsatisfying massage experience that lasts just a few minutes.

I want you to do it the way professional massage therapists do.

Always warm the muscles up first. I call this “romancing the body.”

The easiest way for you to do this, is… you guessed it! To contour your hands.

Start by moulding your hands to your partner’s body – follow along to how I do it in the GIF above.

Your goal is to see if we can relax our partner, make their shoulders drop and sink back into us. We need to start here before we can move on to teaching you knots and deep tissue work.

The single most important massage tip I’ll ever teach you. Mould your hands to your partner’s body: “Keep your palms down & fingertips down.”

Want to learn how to do this properly?

Join our FREE online mini massage course. I’ll show you:

Where to sit for the most intimate back rubs at home
The 4 most common mistakes couples make
We talk more about contouring
AND I take you through two amazing massage techniques (that you don’t even need any massage oil for)

Click the link below to sign up:

SIGN ME UP FOR FREE

Sign up free. No spam. We will never share your address. Just good massage tips and exclusive content.

September 17, 2014

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It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

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It’s Official: Melt Massage for Couples Launches with Decadent Party

The Most Important Massage Tip I’ll Ever Teach You

Want to learn how to do this properly?

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