Community Corner
Longo: A Tough Mudder With Healing Hands
Massage therapist gives his time and talents to others.
- Name: John Longo, 48, is a nationally certified massage therapist with a passion for causes.
- Children: Longo has four children, three of whom are grown. His youngest is 15 and attends .
- Part of Town: In 2002, Longo moved to Montville Township to get married. Today, he lives in Towaco and operates a business in Montville.
- Career: Three years ago, Longo made a career change. He left manufacturing and expanded on his interest in personal training. “I jumped in with both feet and never looked back,” Longo said of massage therapy. “I provide multiple therapeutic massage therapies. There are a lot of modalities that I practice. But what I tend to do is I use a therapeutic approach and I’ll often mix these modalities to address a particular client’s needs.” Longo provides a range of therapeutic massage techniques, including: Deep tissue and hot rocks therapy, as well as sports and Swedish massage.
- Current Activities: On June 10, Longo will once again participate in the Montville Township Relay for Life event. “This is the third annual Relay for Life here in Montville,” Longo said. “I participate for that entire event, providing free chair massage for all the participants.” Longo gives ten minute massages throughout the 12-hour fundraiser.
- Other Activities: Recently, Longo participated in a Tough Mudder event in Bear Creek, PA. The eleven mile fundraiser had over 10,000 participants in two days. Longo trained for four months as part of a team of twelve. “I am also a certified personal trainer, so I tend to be involved with fitness,” explained Longo. Tough Mudder is “like a military style endurance event that raises money for Wounded Warrior Project.” The cause assists injured military personnel coming home from current conflicts. Many of the two dozen challenges take place in ice cold water. Other obstacles include barbed wire, electricity, tunnels, scaling walls, and mountain side trekking. “The event itself was very exhilarating and yet very demanding at the same time,” Longo said. “So it was a great challenge and fantastic to do. I would recommend it to anybody who would like to challenge themselves physically and mentally. It’s a fantastic event.” It took more than five hours for Longo’s team of 12 to complete the course. To date, they have raised more than $4,000.
- Favorite Thing About Montville: “I actually like that it’s quiet within busy northeast New Jersey,” Longo said. “I don’t think there’s anything I would change. Lower taxes are always better, but, as far as the town, and the atmosphere, and everything, it’s great.”
- Hobbies “I like weight lifting. I am starting to learn yoga, which is a direction that I want to go to in my personal training. I’m also interested in Tai Chi. I’ve done martial arts, here, through the town’s Rec. center, with Master Mike Robertson,” Longo said.
- Philosophy: “I have come to realize that there’s no need to get upset about all the little things. I think therapeutic massage has been a big piece to this puzzle in mellowing me, if you would, to what’s important in life and what’s not important.”
