Good Neighbor Podcast: Union
Resilience and Radiance: Raising the Bar with Santrina Fletcher
Embarking on an authentic journey of resilience and beauty, my good friend Santrina Fletcher, the visionary behind derma lounge, joins us to narrate the trials and triumphs that sculpted her path from a childhood marred by adversity to the pinnacle of aesthetic care. Her tale isn't just about overcoming personal struggles; it's a testament to ethical practices in the cutthroat realm of med spas. Santrina's narrative radiates integrity as she ensures that every client stepping through derma lounge's doors receives nothing short of excellence, especially as the spa commemorates its fifth year of redefining industry standards.
In the heart of our conversation, we uncover the critical linchpin of success for any med spa - certification and expertise. Santrina and I dissect the perils of uncertified operators and elevate the dialogue on patient safety, showcasing derma lounge's dedication to staff excellence. Each team member's background is a mosaic of professionalism, underscoring the sanctuary that Santrina has created for both her clients and employees. It's an insider view into the meticulous process of crafting a place where safety isn't just a priority; it's a creed.
Finally, we weave a narrative that transcends skin-deep beauty, touching on the essence of health and legacy. We share insights into the delicate balance of self-care, from doctor's appointments to massages, all scheduled before the day's grind starts. We delve into the serenity found within community connection and the support we must extend to one another, especially in light of cancer awareness and the importance of self-care. It's a heartfelt invitation to listeners to nominate local businesses making an impact, as we pledge to nurture our collective well-being through stories, support, and of course, the occasional bourbon-fueled stress management. Join us in this episode for a blend of inspiration and practical wisdom, served with a side of heartfelt storytelling.
Embarking on an authentic journey of resilience and beauty, my good friend Santrina Fletcher, the visionary behind derma lounge, joins us to narrate the trials and triumphs that sculpted her path from a childhood marred by adversity to the pinnacle of aesthetic care. Her tale isn't just about overcoming personal struggles; it's a testament to ethical practices in the cutthroat realm of med spas. Santrina's narrative radiates integrity as she ensures that every client stepping through derma lounge's doors receives nothing short of excellence, especially as the spa commemorates its fifth year of redefining industry standards.
In the heart of our conversation, we uncover the critical linchpin of success for any med spa - certification and expertise. Santrina and I dissect the perils of uncertified operators and elevate the dialogue on patient safety, showcasing derma lounge's dedication to staff excellence. Each team member's background is a mosaic of professionalism, underscoring the sanctuary that Santrina has created for both her clients and employees. It's an insider view into the meticulous process of crafting a place where safety isn't just a priority; it's a creed.
Finally, we weave a narrative that transcends skin-deep beauty, touching on the essence of health and legacy. We share insights into the delicate balance of self-care, from doctor's appointments to massages, all scheduled before the day's grind starts. We delve into the serenity found within community connection and the support we must extend to one another, especially in light of cancer awareness and the importance of self-care. It's a heartfelt invitation to listeners to nominate local businesses making an impact, as we pledge to nurture our collective well-being through stories, support, and of course, the occasional bourbon-fueled stress management. Join us in this episode for a blend of inspiration and practical wisdom, served with a side of heartfelt storytelling.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Speaker 2:Thanks, Charlie. Thanks for the introduction, and I am Mike Murphy, host of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I interview local business owners, many of which are friends of mine that's certainly the case today many of which are friends of mine that's certainly the case today. We want people to know our local business community as human beings. Tell their stories so that you can know them as more than just a logo on a sign or a business card. With me today is somebody who you just you hear her first name and you know immediately who she is. And my friend today on the podcast is Santrina Fletcher. You just say the word Santrina and she's developed a personal brand already. People just know who you're talking about. So Santrina is the owner of Dermalounge. And so, Santrina, tell us about your business and explain what you want everyone to know about you.
Speaker 3:Well, as you have said, my name is Santrina. It is probably the most commonly mispronounced name in the history of the world, but that's okay, I just roll with it. So I am the owner of Derma Lounge. Dermaalounge is what we call a results-driven beauty practice or med spa. So we are under the umbrella of a med spa, but when we were branding it, it was just beyond a med spa, because when you hear spa, you think relaxing and, to be honest, I do nothing that is relaxing.
Speaker 3:We do mainly things, um, things with needles and lasers and, um, we have results driven beauty procedures, uh by uh, very experienced, um, certified, uh, nurse practitioners. So, um, yeah, when we started back in 2019, um, right before the COVID shut down, um, yeah, there were many reasons for me opening that business, which I'll go into. But yeah, virtually. We do Botox filler, laser hair removal. We do the semi-glutide weight loss program and it's inclusive. So we not only do the shot, but we do diet and exercise shot, but we do diet and exercise education as well, so you sustain the weight loss. We do IV therapy. That's really hot right now A lot of IV places are popping up and everything, but we do it as an add on to our treatments to help with your inner health. So, yeah, our favorite thing to do is laser. We just actually won best laser hair removal in Northern Kentucky, so we have very experienced staff there.
Speaker 3:Stephanie, myself and Rachel are ears I mean, we can do this blindfolded and sleeping so we love doing some laser hair removal, but we're also known for our injectables and other things. Removal, but we're also known for our injectables and other things. So there are a ton of med spas in Northern Kentucky lots of places to choose from all that stuff. So people always ask why I opened Dermalounge and historically it goes back from when I was 11 years old, actually when I was 11 years old actually. So I had this blood disorder called idiopathic thrombocytopenia or autoimmune thrombocytopenia. So I was on a very high dose of steroid and that, you know, causes moon space and the big rotund belly and of course, I was 11. And kids are hard.
Speaker 3:So, I was bullying, like you would not believe. People call me a chipmunk and made me do the face and everything. You know there were a few handful of friends that were kind to me, but for the most part people were mean and I just didn't want people to feel like that anymore. So if there's a little thing we can do for folks to make them feel better about themselves, we're going to do it right. So that's one of the first reasons I opened derma lounge. So also, you know, the history of time goes on, and so I have this in the back of my mind that I don't want people to feel um insignificant or bullied or um down on themselves, um.
Speaker 3:So I go to college and become an RN, work in the nursing industry for a while, then I get my NP and I work for I'm not going to name the name, but big box aesthetics group and also a private physician, and I saw how the aesthetics industry operated and you will not believe the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Um, some of the ethics are way off. Um. So you know, of course corporations can be corporations and um, the the lack of employee appreciation and everything happened there. Um, and then with the private physician. It was honestly dangerous. Um, so I actually had to leave that company very quickly to keep my license intact. So anyway, I'm letting go and letting God on that. But my husband and I were talking. He said you have this talent to do this craft and we both have experience in managing healthcare systems. Right, so we know the background of what's needed. So he and I brainstormed and came up with Dermalounge, which is thriving. Now we're coming up to our fifth year anniversary in October.
Speaker 2:Well, I know that you mentioned that you started in 2019, right around the time COVID was hitting.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:COVID wreaked havoc with a lot of businesses, but really kicked your butt.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think, just like the experience you had growing up being bullied, life was kind of bullying you through the whole COVID thing, the whole COVID thing and I mean so you kind of have developed this thick skin and this resiliency. I think that kind of has led you to where you are today. Covid shut down so many businesses. You're still surviving. You're growing. I've seen your staff list. Your list is pretty strong. I've seen your staff list. Your list is pretty strong. So I'm very proud of everything that you've done since you started. You talked before about needles and blood and the medical environment. Some people are afraid of that. It causes anxiety.
Speaker 3:What do you say to those people that say I would love to partake of your services, but I'm afraid. Yeah, fear is actually good when it comes to this industry. We want you to be fearful because when people are too lackadaisical about a medical procedure, that's when dangerous things happen. About a medical procedure, that's when dangerous things happen. So we know that dermal filler, the thing that you put in people's lips and faces to build volume, can actually make you blind, right, if it is inserted in facial artery, it travels up to the blood supply of the eye and it can make you blind. No one knows that. They go to an injector, thinking it's like a hair appointment or something. But dangerous things can happen. So we explain to people this is a medical procedure, these are the risks. Risks, this is what can happen. If it does happen, we kind of know what to do. So it is the full scope of not only knowing what you're doing aesthetically but what you're doing medically. So so we definitely people come in scared, and that's fine. They ask the questions. That's good, because we want to make it very clear that what they're about to ensue is a medical treatment, and so you need to make sure there are actual, legitimate medical providers that do this. So I think that right now in the industry there's not a lot of regulatory agencies that are looking over aesthetics in general it's kind of like the wild wild west that are looking over aesthetics in general. It's kind of like the wild wild west. So what's happening is that people are opening med spas in closets somewhere or doing it in their house, not following the guidelines of any of the medical literature and the overseeing boards. So they're getting away with it because they're kind of bribing a doctor to order the medication for them. Because you have to be a physician or a nurse practitioner, in some cases a PA or CRNA to order such drug and then, in order to give it, there's something called a good faith exam.
Speaker 3:So, mike, let's say you came into dermal lounge and you wanted a treatment. So I, as a nurse practitioner, have to do a full history. Listen, what medications are you on? What allergies do you have? What procedures have you had before? What diagnosis do you have? Have you had your immunizations in the past two weeks? Like there's very specific criteria you need to go toward and you also need to do a little bit of a physical exam. So what is your diagnosis? So your diagnosis might be forehead rites or forehead wrinkles, right? So we diagnose you and then we treat you, and then we come up with a treatment plan with Botox or filler or lasers and then we write the order to have this done. Most of the time we do it ourselves, right? So we go through this whole process.
Speaker 3:So what is happening in the industry is that non-prescribing providers, um, are going outside their scope of practice, which means um and I'm speaking for Kentucky specifically you in order to inject Botox, you need to be at least an RN. If you are an RN, then you need an NP or MD to do the good faith exam and to be present if anything were to go wrong. Right, because if you go to an RN, something happens. They have no prescriptive authority to treat what is going wrong, right? So everybody interprets the rules a little differently. So there's a little chart on the board of nursing website scope of practice. So it says if you are trained to do this, then you can go on to the next portion. If you're trained to do that, you can go on to the next portion.
Speaker 3:Most people interpret that themselves as oh well, I'm capable of doing it, so I guess I'm going to do it, but it's a lot more complex than that, lot more complex than that.
Speaker 3:So what I recommend, if you were to think about opening a med spa, that you actually follow the scope of practice, because what happens is, if you do not follow that, you get caught, you can lose your license and you can actually be arrested because you're committing fraud.
Speaker 3:So, like I said, there's not a lot of government governing agencies to go in and monitor all of this. So it is up to the patient who to seek a professional that is actually certified nurse practitioner, certified in Botox, certified in the laser, certified in Botox, certified in the laser, purchases legitimate products and I'll go into that in a second and making sure that someone actually asks you the questions, takes the photos, gets the consent that has the degree and the certification and you do have to have an active license in the state of Kentucky to prescribe, and you do have to have an active license in the state of Kentucky to prescribe. So I know people who are RNs that do not have an active license who are practicing right now, and so it is up to the patients to report that to the Board of Nursing if they see that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that's a lot right there. Okay, so that's a lot right there. But it it it kind of is scary to think that there are people out there doing that and they're not properly credentialed, and even if they are, they're not kind of taking it as serious as they should. And you, you, you're kind of explaining to me now um, it's tying back to a mission of yours which I think I read in your website raising the bar in the med spa industry. So that kind of speaks to what you mean by that. That was going to be one of my questions and you just answered it. But I think also it's good to know that you're not taking any procedure for granted. It's almost like you have to assume that there could be a problem, and it's good to know that if there is some sort of problem, whatever that may be, there's somebody there on staff that knows how to deal with it, how to address it in the moment. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely we want to. It's a medical procedure, so things can go wrong. That is outside of our control. People have passed out on us, right? What do you do? I know what to do. So they were back and fine and ready to go in a few minutes because I knew exactly what to do.
Speaker 3:And to add to that, even if you are appropriately licensed so let's say you were going to go to a dentist right, they go to get their doctorate in dentistry, they get their certificate to practice, they have a license in Kentucky, all this stuff. So their specialty is dentistry, right, so they're completely legitimate providers. So then they decide let's do aesthetics. So you also have to look at the scope of practice as far as what they've been trained to do. So what's happened? Also, even if they're a legitimate provider, they take a 24 hour Botox class and then open a med spa. So so that means to me that you know this person is an experience. They don't know what to do in an emergency situation. They don't have practice in the field. So, with all of my staff 100 percent of my staff they have experience in medical aesthetics prior to working for Dermalounge. So they've stuck needles in people's faces under the supervision of a doctor or nurse practitioner for a long time and then gain the experience necessary for Dermalounge.
Speaker 3:So we want to make sure safety is our number one priority and then, of course, the second is making sure people are happy with their procedures. But safety in the medical field is number one. When doctors graduate they take the Hippocratic Oath which is do no harm. So it has to be universal. We shouldn't do anything that's going to harm people. So I want to be sure we have a staff that is well trained, certified, on top of the newest techniques and what to do in certain emergencies. So that's vitally important. And that brings me to my fabulous staff, which has grown, as you've mentioned.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about them, let's give them their flower.
Speaker 3:Yes. So in 2019, I had two staff members that I had to lay off because of COVID right Then it was by myself when we reopened in 2020. And slowly, people started coming to me with experience. For instance, stephanie Beechamp. She and I worked together at this big box aesthetics place and she said, santrina, I want to work with you. And I said, done, hired Great. Because she had had experience in laser. She is on her 11th year of laser. She's a nurse practitioner and she's amazing. So that's Stephanie.
Speaker 3:And then other people keep coming to my practice, like Amber Mailey. She is a newer NP, but she's been in aesthetics forever. She was a first assistant in aesthetic surgery. She was a cardiac nurse. She knows all about that. So people have experience prior to coming to Dermalounge.
Speaker 3:We also now have an amazing office manager. Her name is Sylvia Cubero and she's one of the hardest workers I know. She loves her spreadsheets. She comes up with these like monthly non-alcoholic mocktails that are healthy for your gut microbiome. She goes above and beyond. She helps me with marketing things. So we have that, and we have a couple of other. Melinda is one of our front desk people too, and people love her.
Speaker 3:Um, so, yeah, we have such a great staff and then we just hired, uh, brittany Majax. She um actually I interviewed her a couple of years ago and she was a little naive for, um, the industry but she got trained, um, she had experience in the field and now she's uh, practicing with us got trained, she had experience in the field and now she's practicing with us. So we have such a great staff. I can't say enough about them. We even have some PRN or, as needed, injectors that have been with me for years to help with things like Botox parties and bigger events and everything.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, I mean honestly you know I say this in my social media and everything but we literally have the most experienced aesthetics team in the tri-state area. So I'm looking at all these places popping up, which is fine because the demand is out there, right, everybody wants some Botox now and some laser hair removal. But, like, we really do stand out as people who are experienced, we're gaining more experience and we are trying to do the best for everybody, without price gouging. That's another thing is that we are real. Although it's very expensive this industry in general, we are very realistically priced. So I think the stereotype of a med spa owner and I think people think I'm like hanging out in a Mercedes and on a yacht in the weekends and stuff which is very far from the truth, you don't have time for that anyways.
Speaker 3:We get a Kroger where I go, so so yeah it's so. I'm sure there's some people who are like rolling in it right now, but I want to do it the right way. I want to do it for the right reasons. Who are like rolling in it right now, but I want to do it the right way. I want to do it for the right reasons. So yeah, amazing staff, amazing place. We've survived 2020 and we want to do it the right way.
Speaker 2:Well, your staff keeps you rocking and rolling there at your office. By the way, when you go into Derma Lounge, it's a clean, bright, beautiful environment. When people walk in, they know that you're taking it seriously. It's a it's a wonderful place to be. I know you've held events there and they're just gorgeous and you've got you've got great people around you, some of the people that I want to make sure you shout out. You know you mentioned your husband earlier you, you, you can't do things without a strong spouse. You know someone who's in your corner, so you want to give Jeff a little shout out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Jeff is my husband now of about 12 years and we've worked together two other places. Actually, we met at Bethesda North in surgery and then we worked together at River Hills Neuroscience. We were both managers there and so we have this relationship where we can be husband and wife and then we can be CEO, cfo, so I jokingly call him my CFO. He's so smart with money and moving things around and um saying santrina, no, you don't need to order that. So he, he's my brake pumper when it comes to stuff I'm like I've got this equipment.
Speaker 3:He's like, um no, we can't afford a 300 000 piece of equipment. Um so, so he is the end to my young. He is complete opposite of me, but we work together so well and he has held everything together. He has encouraged me to open the business.
Speaker 3:He actually came up with the name derma lounge okay yeah, we were actually at barley corns, at their bar, and I'd like was tossing around all these names and like everything was taken, um, and then I was like, oh, I want something with like derm, derma, because it kind of has to do with the skin and everything, and I want it to be relaxing for people who's like, ok, dermalome. I'm like, bam, that's it. Yeah, that was easy. It only took three or four beers but yeah, and then we had a trademark and everything.
Speaker 1:So we are the only legal dermalome out there.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, he's. He's definitely the backbone to our family, to the business, and so I really really appreciate everything he has done for me and for Dermalounge and for our employees and everything. So he's very strong. And then he has a full-time job. He still works for River Hills as a manager there. So he's working full-time there and part-time as the CFO of Dermalounge. So, yeah, he's a good guy. You're a great role model for your daughter as well, working full-time there and part-time as the CFO.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're a great role model for your daughter as well. She's watching mom be a boss. You know, handle, handle everything life throws at you. So if you're comfortable saying, do you want to shout your daughter out?
Speaker 3:Yes, of course. So Shailen is my daughter. She is eight and goes to Mann Elementary, and so she has been my, one of my reasons for keeping going right, Because I could have given up 62 times honestly.
Speaker 3:Owning a business is hard. You know this, mike, I could, you know it's. Every day is a grind and a new problem and you know, financially it's hard and all the things. But it's like I look at my daughter and I go I have to be strong for her and I have to keep going and I have to show up and I have to make sure she shows up to school or whatever. And I have to make sure she shows up to school or whatever. Um, so she's, she's been a blessing um to me, because she that's. That's one of my reasons for right keeping going.
Speaker 3:So I was. She was, I think, two when I opened derma lounge, so two or three she's pretty young and so you know that's how she knows mommy and um, and so she's, she's little helper. She'll help me around the house while I'm doing some tickets and courses, so she'll help me and um, but yeah, she's been a sweetheart.
Speaker 2:Well, I know that, um, you have many people in your corner. You have many friends. You've got wonderful neighbors I know um many of them. Um, you've got people surrounding you that not only know you and support you, but they love you as well. To know you is to love you, and you've been surrounded by a lot of love in the community lately. You're going through a personal struggle right now and you're handling it with grace and you're an inspiration to a lot of people. But, if you're comfortable, I'd like you to share a little bit about that. What do you have going on personally?
Speaker 3:Well, in November of 23, I was diagnosed with what I thought at first was stage two breast cancer. What I thought at first was stage two breast cancer, but then, upon further CAT scans and bone scans, found that it had metastasized to my bones. So I also have cancer in my spine, scapula, sternum, clavicle, like all kinds of places right. And it was shocking because the year prior I had my annual mammogram and that was negative no sign of cancer. So it went from negative to metastatic within months and I need to share my story, and I feel like Dermalound is a platform to share my story.
Speaker 3:Um, because since I have released, um, what I'm going through, at least three other acquaintances have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Right, they've caught it early enough, but they're like a stand-to-end. I was not gonna go get my mammogram until you had like you have cancer. So like I drink all the time and I do all these bad things, so so I might have cancer too, and I said get it checked out. So luckily they have caught it early enough. Um, so the other thing is that I really need to use Dermalone to educate about self-care, and I'm not talking about Botox, I'm talking about true self-care and doing the right things for yourself. Um, so I am currently taking an oncology nutrition course and I plan to educate those with metastatic breast cancer on what to eat, because the doctors didn't know how to tell me to eat, they said, yeah, I just don't lose weight. I'm like that's not a good nutritional plan.
Speaker 3:You want to get a large pizza and a sticker smart is not a good plan for me. So I've been reading books, I've been doing research, I've been trying to think outside the box as far as healing and all that stuff. So people are really shocked to see me. They're like you have hair, you look fine, you look great, you look better than you did before. Um, and it's because I changed my diet drastically, like I almost cut out alcohol completely, I do red wine every once in a while. I do mostly green leafy vegetables and fruits and clean meat if I do meat and fish and all that stuff. And so I'm learning how all of this works in your body and how it actually does fight cancer.
Speaker 3:We're not allowed to say that food can cure cancer, but it certainly does help it cancer, but it certainly does help it. So once I'm done with the courses, I plan on educating people on diet and exercise and what to do if you have metastatic cancer, because that is like the scariest diagnosis that one can get. And of course, I have to live. For a lot of reasons. I have to live for my daughter, my business, my fellow, you know, people in my community, all that stuff it's like I have. I'm not done here. So I have a mission to help people thrive with metastatic cancer. The drugs have developed and are newer and fabulous and actually target what it needs to target as opposed to full body chemo. Thank goodness I'm not taking chemotherapy, because I think chemo actually kills people, to be honest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a poison. It's a poison yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, chemo in and of itself is a class one carcinogen. So they know what causes cancer but they give it to cancer people. So that that angers me that the medical community is that far behind that. You know we're still giving chemotherapy to people. So, yeah, my mission now is to educate myself so I know what I'm doing, then teach it to other people at a reasonable price or free, depending on what we can do with that, so that people can start thriving. And yeah, you know people think I'm a hypocrite because I give Botox. But I want you to eat clean. But the thing is you can't eliminate all the things that are causing cancer. You just cannot eliminate all of it.
Speaker 3:But if you're doing it every once in a while. You're drinking every once in a while, get Botox every once in a while, get anything else every once in a while. That's fine, because your body is designed to heal, right. But if we're doing it day by day, by day, then that's where the problem lies.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I know that earlier we were talking about. You know what I thought caused my cancer and this is going to be a shock for a lot of people. But I want to be very forthright and honest, so I need to share with you today. So in my late 20s and early 30s I donated eggs because, to be honest, I had had it with men and I figured I wasn't going to get married. So I'm like I'm wasting these eggs every month. So I decided I knew a fertility doc, met with him and donated eggs four times. So that means I injected myself with hormones, with fertility hormones, four times. Right, and that's a lot. You can do it up to five times. But after the fourth I had what was called an ovarian torsion, so my ovary twisted, very painful, had to go to the emergency room, emergency surgery, all that stuff. They untwisted it so I couldn't donate anymore. So we had that. And then I had also been on birth control for years, and that is estrogen and progesterone based birth control, which is listed as a class one carcinogen.
Speaker 3:Okay, so, yep, so two things that I was on, um, you know was a very hormonally based right. And then the irony I do get married, which I didn't think I was, and then want to have a kid, and I was in turn infertile right, a kid, and I was in turn infertile right, um, so I had to take more fertility medication, okay, so I was overloaded again. Things in moderation, fine, if I did it once or twice.
Speaker 1:Not a big deal, but I did it over and over again right to my body.
Speaker 3:And had I known that the birth control that I was taking was a class one carcinogen, I would not have actually done it. I would have gotten creative. So hormones and the second biggest cause of my cancer it's never one thing was stress. I, with the shutdown of 2020, with postpartum depression, with what life throws at you, the stress was I didn't sleep at night. I either ate too much or ate too little. So I didn't take time to take care of myself, I didn't get massages, I didn't exercise Right In 2023, I did not work out once, not once Right. So I really think my two main causes of cancer were the hormone uses over the years and also stress. So those are two things that people can actually control. That is a decision you can make, and guess what's in our meat Hormones, guess what's in our dairy Hormones. So it's vitally important to do the non-GMO organic. I know it's more expensive, but it's your life, people people.
Speaker 3:Be sure to encourage your local grocers, your restaurant owners, to supply organic only food, clean food, because it's vitally important. This stuff is known to cause cancer and our government allows it in our foods. Things like pesticide and all that stuff is still allowed. It's like I don't understand how they can say this causes cancer, but you can use it in your garden Like it doesn't make sense to me. So these are all things that I plan to fight and to educate about and really make a movement and try to prevent other people from getting cancer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's big, big business out there that's you know pushing, you know their own profits and people get caught up in the middle of it and until something like this comes to your doorstep, you know you're not. You're not fighting it because, number one, you don't know about it. You don't realize it until you're forced to learn about it. But I love that you're taking. You know all of your life's experience. You know from the time you were bullied. You know as a child. You know the issues you had with the blood disorder and just everything. You know your whole story. You pull it forward so that you can learn from it. You can make yourself better, but then you can also help others from potentially going through something similar. So I like that part of your story.
Speaker 2:I think storytelling is very, very powerful. So storytelling teamed up with education is even more so. So I think part of why I wanted you to come on here today to share was I knew that you had a compelling story. I didn't know all the components of it, to be quite honest, but I have so much respect for you for what you've been able to do with it. Like I said before, you're a very resilient person. You have to be as a business owner anyways, you know and to survive past, you know, a couple of years, especially with everything you've gone through, uh, covid, um, just all sorts of things. But, um, you're, you're an inspiration to a lot of your friends. We're all going to love on you. We all want you around a long time.
Speaker 2:I want to make sure that I'm there for you personally to to storytell and educate. So I think you and I will, we'll kind of team up on some of that, and there's a lot of others in your world that will help you do the same thing. I know that as you're talking about the non GMO, the organic you're talking about the non-GMO, the organic you're speaking my wife's language. And when you're talking about how insidious stress can be in our lives, I raise my hand because it's something that I know I need to work on. But I kick that can down the road every day. Tomorrow I'll take better care of myself, so I need to. I need someone like you to kick me in the butt. Yeah, I'll be the butt kicker, no problem.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know I have a choice.
Speaker 3:I could take chemo and sit in bed and feel sorry for myself and sell a derma lounge, and I could do that or I can do what I'm doing now and I plan on surviving, and I plan on not necessarily finding a cure, but extending people's lives and really making sure that everyone puts themselves first. Schedule your self-care before your other appointments, before your work. Make sure that you look into May, june. All right, let me call up my favorite massage place. Let me get my nails done. Let me get that doctor's appointment done that I was supposed to do. Fill that up and then do the work after, because if your work, if you are going to a job clocking in or whatever, they can't judge you for going to the doctor and it's none of their business. They can't ask anyway. So you do that first and then schedule everything else next. So your vacations make sure you have something fun on the books.
Speaker 3:Um, don't worry about the small stuff. It's all about perspective too. I used to worry about the dumbest things and I lose sleep about it, but I'm like no, he's not out of control, out of my control. Um, I you know I can't um take to heart what other people say about derma lounge. And just because they're jealous, right, people say horrible things. Um, just because they're jealous, right, people say horrible things.
Speaker 3:Just because they feel like it's a big competition or whatever, but it's like, no, it's not. So, yeah, I have to keep pushing and yeah, you and I will talk, because I know that you have your struggles too, and yeah, I want to fix it.
Speaker 2:Well, everyone has a legacy that they're going to leave and we don't always know what that's going to be until our life story unfolds before us. So there's more of your story to come and I want to make sure that I'm helping you tell it. So we'll have another podcast or two and we'll do these podcasts till you're in your 80s or 90s. We'll get to look back on what an incredible story, what an incredible life you lived. I want people to come visit you at Derma Lounge and get to meet you, see you, meet your staff and see what you've got going on, so that you can kind of help them in whatever way they need. You know, individualize their level of service. So where are you located? How do they reach you?
Speaker 3:So our main Derma Lounge location is at 723 Buttermilk Pike. That's in Crescent Springs. So if you get off the exit on Buttermilk Pike, go past Bonefish Everybody knows where Bonefish is and then before you get to Kramer's on the left there's a little strip plaza. There's a salon there, there's a dentist there. It's right in front of St Joe's. So we're in that little strip plaza.
Speaker 3:The second place I've actually started working at Bombshell Salon and Studio, which is on Route 42, right across from Ryle. I'm there twice a month just doing injectables, so I'm doing filler and Botox there. So you would schedule through the Bomhell studio and saloncom website to get to me there. Um, you can call. Uh, the salon itself or the Dermalounge main number is 8, 5, 9, 3, 6, 0, 5, 8, 4, 2. Um, you can go to our website at mydermaloungecom and schedule online. I am not available for online scheduling just because my patient schedule is limited. But if you call and request me you can find a slot. Out might be a couple months out, but but yeah, if people want to specifically see me. Now. The other thing like if people don't want an appointment, necessarily we have events all the time, we have fundraisers all the time and this is where I don't schedule anybody and I speak with people, right so um, for instance, I know may 10th we're doing a maddie's house fundraiser, we're auctioning off bronson arroyo gave us a lot of signed memorabilia at an auction off.
Speaker 3:It's amazing. So we're going to raise some money for maddie's house. Um, and you know it, that's an opportunity to come without. Like, if people don't want botox, people may not want that stuff, but we'll do fundraisers and stuff for all the rest, right, okay, and um, you know I'm at marketing events all the time and and smoothing around. So if you follow us on social media, you'll kind of find me and I'm very willing and very open to talk about my story and about my cancer journey and everything. So I want to prevent, obviously, people from getting sick. So that's how they can get in touch with us, that's how they can get an appointment, that's how they can get to know me. But, yeah, I'm going to be doing some massive education when it comes to cancer and october is our fifth year anniversary. We are going to give away some huge prizes, we are going to raise money, most likely for a breast cancer foundation that I plan to start.
Speaker 3:So very good so yeah, I mean october's gonna be the big one.
Speaker 2:So I encourage people to come and donate money and, you know, talk with us about stuff. You don't have to buy anything, we'll just talk to you about it. I've gone through similar struggles on different levels. My wife's had a history of leukemia. I'm battling a cancer right now.
Speaker 2:But one thing that I've learned through all of this is, with every seeming tragedy for lack of a better word there are way more blessings that you receive. It sounds kind of crazy to say that, but if you choose to recognize the blessings, you'll realize that from something like this, blessings do abound. So I'm glad that you're focused on that, and recognizing your blessings is the biggest blessing of all. So sounds like that's not going to be a problem with you. You're making the best of the situation, whatever the situation is. So thank you for spending time with us and sharing your story. This is going to be something that I want to make sure as many people hear your story as possible, and I want to help you get this message out to the community. So it begins with a 40 minute this morning podcast and I'll just kind of sign off for now. And is there anything before we go that you know that you anything else you want to say that you haven't been able to say yet.
Speaker 3:Not really. I think we covered most of it the important stuff but I just want people to know that don't don't make an excuse for things, because if anything, I have excuses out the wazoo and I can still push through it. So I just want people to know that there's always going to be those excuses, but ignore them and keep pushing.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, I promise to work on my stress, but I can't promise I'll fully stay away from my bourbon. That's always going to be one of my things. I thank you for delivering an important message to all of us today and we'll see you on the next podcast. But until then, I'll say to all the neighbors be good to your neighbors and we'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Union. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpunioncom. That's gnpunioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.