Hi! I'm Nichol Schumacher, one of the owners of Kneaded Relief. My partner, Duke Harvey, and I have owned Kneaded Relief since December of 1997. To give you a little background on how we got where we are today, I'll fill you in on our story. 

In 1996, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in Philosophy. My life-long goal was to go to law school and become a defense attorney. I always enjoyed the investigative and argumentative part of law and thought that becoming a lawyer would fulfill those desires. I took the LSAT like any prospective law student and like many, changed my mind regarding law school when I received my score. I realized then that becoming a lawyer was not the aspect of law that I was interested in. What I really wanted to do was to become a private investigator. In the meantime, I continued to work at the UW-Madison Center for Biology Education where I had worked as an Undergraduate. They created a position for me but I knew that this was not where I wanted to stay. I love interacting with the public and meeting new people and I was not able to do that sitting in my office all day working on the computer. So I looked into becoming a private detective. I contacted a local firm in town but my only option was to start at the bottom as a security guard. Because of the loans I had incured during my undergraduate stay at the UW, I was unable to take such a pay cut. Thus, my dreams of becoming a private detective were put on hold. 

I still longed to work with the public so I picked up a weekend job at Bally's Health Club with the fringe benefits of a free membership. This is where I met Duke. We fast became friends and he confided in me his long time dream of opening a fitness studio where he could do one on one personal training. Duke was an Account Executive Medical Underwriter at Humana Health Insurance Company and had been there since 1984. He has seen what can happen to individuals when they choose to live unhealthy lives and he wanted to help individuals get back to a healthier lifestyle. 

Shortly after meeting Duke, I left my job at Bally's because I didn't feel it was the right place for me. I soon accepted a part time position at a spa on the West side of town with the fringe benefits, of course, being free massages. I continued to work full time at the UW and part time at the spa. After a few months, the owner asked me to be her assistant manager and help her with payroll and ordering. Because of my take charge attitude, I gladly accepted. About 5 months passed by and a coworker mentioned to me that Kneaded Relief was for sale. I immediately thought of Duke and his fitness studio dreams. We had talked about adding massage to the fitness studio because it goes hand in hand and I thought this would be a great opportunity. 

When we finally met with the owners and saw the spa, we decided that we would not be able to change the spa into a fitness studio. However, the owners were eager to sell because they had a baby on the way and were moving out of the area. They had interviewed several potential buyers but didn't feel they were the right fit for their "baby". We had a wonderful conversation and we seemed to have the same goals and aspirations. They made us an offer we couldn't refuse and we thought, "hey, why not!?". We were young enough and thought it was better to take a chance, then to look back and think, "why didn't we try?". 

Without any business background, we had a challenge in store - we had to write a business plan! Finding a template on the internet, we molded it to our business and within a month, we owned the spa! It was a crazy thing when we look back on it, but it was the best thing we could have done for ourselves and for the community. 

Duke and I have both gone back to school to further our education and knowledge of the industry. I first went back to school for esthetics (skin care) and then Duke went back for massage. We believe this gave us a better understanding of the industry and the needs and wants of not only our guests but our staff. 

Over the years, we have changed a few things, added a few services but kept the main focus of Kneaded Relief the same - providing a safe and comfortable place for our guests to relax and unwind. With our new location in Fitchburg, our original dream of owning a spa and fitness studio came true. We searched for years before finding our current space. Patience was key as we spent four years with the developers going through the entire planning process of the complex. From three seperate buildings with a shared parking lot to three connected buildings and 250+ underground parking garage. In the end, our patience paid off. Not only have we gotten the spa and fitness studio we dreamed of but a whole wellness spa complete with it's prairie view and waterfall ponds. 

We have been blessed over the years to have met so many wonderful people and to have worked with so many amazing therapists. It has been our sincere pleasure to know how many people we have helped and how many more we continue to serve. So, please join us at Kneaded Relief in helping you erase the stress of your daily life, you won't regret it! Step in, relax, take your shoes off and stay awhile.....