Denchai Phalee, Thailand

The IMA has asked the latest participant of the World Championship in Massage to write something about himself: 

My name is Denchai Phalee. I am 44 years old and I am originally from Thailand, but live and work in Sweden since 2010. Since I have a dual citizenship, I will represent Thailand in this competition, in the category of Wellness Massage.

Beeing born and raised in Thailand, I literally grew up surrounded by massage. Many of my family members worked as massage therapists. Therefore, my interest in massage started at a very early age.

At the age of 22, I graduated from the Institute of Physical Education in Udon Thani, Thailand, after having studied four years of Sport Science.

My next career step was to move to Hua Hin, Thailand, working with sport- and guest activities at the Dusit Thani, a 5 star hotel. During this time, I also had the opportunity to learn and practice the basic massage skills.

A few years later, I went to Bangkok for learning more about the traditional thai massage, and studied at the Wat Po, one of the best and well known massage schools in Thailand.

After that I was actually head hunted to the Soniva Fushi Resort and Spa in the Maldives, a 5 star hotel in a private island of the Maldives. I was working at their Six Senses Spa as a massage therapist for more than four years.

Then I wanted to explore the world further and applied for and got a position as massage therapist at the Deep Ocean Spa at the Intercontinental Hotel in the island of Bora Bora. A lovely time of my life.

After that, once again back to Thailand, working one year at the Six Senses at the Destination Resort and Spa in Phuket. Actually, the same employer as when I used to work in the Maldives. 

I then got a very interesting offer to move to Sweden and work for the Select Collection Spa in Stockholm, where I now have been working more than eight years. The Select Collection Spa is one of the most prestigious spa facilities in Stockholm, www.selectcollectionspa.com

My niche is mainly a combination of traditional relaxing massage and oriental massage.

Now I have decided to challenge my skills in this competition and really look forward to meeting all of you in Copenhagen.

The International Massage Association look forward watching Denchai Phalee skills in Copenhagen in June 22-23.