An Inspired Chat with Marut Manorat of California

We recently had the chance to connect with Marut Manorat and have shared our conversation below.

Marut, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I was constantly putting out in-house fires—dealing with maintenance, managing staff scheduling conflicts, checking supply levels in four different physical locations, and handling unexpected customer issues. It was exhausting, but it was essential to build that foundation of quality.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Marut Manorat, and I am the founder of ‘EaseUp – relaxation brought to you.’

For over a decade, my life has been dedicated to making quality massage accessible. My first major venture, ‘Massage Hubs,’ grew from one location to four, built entirely on the principle of providing a professional, hygienic, and affordable service—all while fostering a great environment for our independent therapists. It was a journey of resilience, starting from a total career change, managing 60 people, and even creatively surviving a pandemic.

Now, I’ve taken everything I learned to launch ‘EaseUp.’

‘EaseUp’ is not just another massage business; it is the evolution of convenience and quality in the wellness industry. We are a premium, on-demand, mobile therapeutic service. We leverage the established network and high standards of our brick-and-mortar operations, but we eliminate the hassle of traffic, parking, and tight schedules.

The ‘EaseUp’ brand promises three things:

Uncompromising Quality: We only use the most vetted, experienced therapists from our established network.

Impeccable Hygiene: We bring the high level of cleanliness we perfected during the pandemic directly into the client’s space.

Ultimate Convenience: Relaxation comes to you, allowing our busy clients to reclaim their time.

In short, I’m the lifelong learner who accidentally found his destiny in wellness, and ‘EaseUp’ is the fulfillment of that destiny—bringing true relaxation directly to the people who need it most.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world of spas and business ownership, I was, and in many ways still am, a musician.

My entire life in Thailand was dedicated to music. I was a flute player in the orchestra and a music teacher for decades. My world was built on the discipline of practice, the collaboration of performance, and the deep, immersive pleasure of creating harmony.

Nobody—least of all me—expected that person to move across the world and run a massage business. It was a career that found me, almost by fate, not one I chose.

However, the core qualities that made me a musician are exactly what I bring to ‘Massage Hubs’ and now, to ‘EaseUp’:

Discipline and Precision: Running an orchestra requires incredible attention to detail and timing, which translates perfectly into the operational precision we use for our mobile scheduling and our commitment to hygiene.

The Pursuit of Harmony: In music, you are always searching for balance and resonance. In wellness, you are searching for balance and resonance within the body. My goal has always been to bring that sense of harmony and peace to others, whether through a melody or through therapeutic bodywork.

A Focus on the Individual Experience: Just as a music teacher must recognize the unique style and needs of every student, a successful wellness business—especially ‘EaseUp’ with its highly personalized service—must recognize and cater to the unique needs of every client and every independent therapist.

So, I was an artist focused on harmony and discipline. The world changed the instrument I use, but the underlying mission—to create a positive, restorative experience for others—has stayed exactly the same.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
That moment was undeniably during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

When the government forced the indoor closure of our business, the pain was immense. It wasn’t just the fear of losing the four ‘Massage Hubs’ locations I had worked so hard to build; it was the pain of knowing that the 60 people who depended on me for their livelihood were suddenly facing unemployment. I almost gave up. That was my lowest point, where I felt trapped by circumstances I couldn’t control.

I realized I had to stop hiding that overwhelming fear and disappointment, and instead, funnel that energy into finding a solution.

The Pivot to Power

The shift came when I recognized the pain points of the world—the immense stress on healthcare workers and the general public—and merged them with our unique ability to provide relief.

From Fear to Decisiveness: I stopped dwelling on the closure and focused on the solution: we were going to be the first to launch outdoor massage.

From Vulnerability to Vision: I took the risk, put the tents up, and invested heavily in impeccable hygiene standards. This transparency—showing customers exactly what we were doing to ensure safety—reassured them and turned the vulnerability of close-contact service into a competitive advantage.

The Birth of ‘EaseUp’s’ Core: That painful necessity to pivot to a clean, safe, and flexible outdoor model ultimately became the blueprint for ‘EaseUp’. The current mobile model is built on the power we gained during that time: the resilience to serve clients anywhere, the trust established through transparent sanitation, and the operational agility to bring relaxation directly to where it’s needed most.

The pain of near-failure forced me to innovate, and that innovation is the power behind the launch of ‘EaseUp’ today.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
The commitment that has driven me since I entered this industry, and which is the foundational purpose of ‘EaseUp,’ is the unwavering belief that therapeutic, high-quality relaxation should not be a luxury restricted by time or location.

My original commitment with ‘Massage Hubs’ was to offer quality massage at an affordable price, avoiding the high costs of a traditional spa environment. That was Phase One: making it affordable.

Phase Two, which is the mission of ‘EaseUp,’ is about making it accessible everywhere, effortlessly.

The project I am committed to, no matter how long it takes, is to build ‘EaseUp’ into the definitive national platform for on-demand wellness.

This involves:

Perfecting the Therapist Experience: Ensuring our independent therapists are the happiest and best-supported in the industry. As I learned, if our staff is happy, the customers (90% of them) will be happy. This means continually refining our technology to make their scheduling, routing, and payment seamless.

Expanding the Reach: Systematically expanding our service into every major metropolitan area, proving that the standards of quality, hygiene, and professionalism we established can be replicated flawlessly, whether it’s in a client’s home in Los Angeles or a hotel room in a new city.

Making Wellness Integrated: Integrating ‘EaseUp’ into people’s daily lives so easily—through our app, corporate partnerships, and intuitive booking system—that scheduling a massage becomes as simple and routine as ordering lunch or a ride share.

It’s a long journey, but just like building ‘Massage Hubs’ one location at a time, I am committed to this goal because I believe that true relaxation is essential, and ‘EaseUp’ is the best way to deliver it.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I had a clear 10-year countdown, I would stop doing anything that ties me down to operational minutiae that can be handled by a system, which is exactly the pain point ‘EaseUp’ was designed to solve.

Specifically, I would immediately stop:

Fighting Low-Value, In-House Problems: Running multiple physical locations meant constantly dealing with minor, unpredictable issues—the leaking sink, the AC breaking, managing the tedious 24/7 security and maintenance of four separate buildings. As I learned, those issues are normal, but they consume disproportionate mental energy. I would stop wasting precious time on the infrastructure instead of the service itself.

Chasing the Unhappy Minority: I realized early on that you can’t make everyone happy. If a customer is fundamentally incompatible with the therapist or the concept, you have to let them go. I would stop trying to ‘fix’ every single negative interaction and instead devote all my energy to deepening the relationship with the 90% of customers and staff who are happy and believe in the ‘EaseUp’ vision.

Doing Work That Doesn’t Directly Create Value for Therapists or Clients: My focus would be solely on refining the ‘EaseUp’ platform. I would dedicate every moment to optimizing our tech, expanding our network of incredible therapists, and ensuring the customer experience is flawlessly convenient. The legacy I want to build in those 10 years is not more square footage, but a completely revolutionized, highly efficient, and deeply trusted wellness delivery system.”

In short, I would stop the distracting work of the past and only focus on the purposeful, high-impact growth that defines ‘EaseUp’s’ future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.easeup.me
• Instagram: @easeup.me