Monday, December 21, 2009

Longest Consecutive Massage Treatments-Costa John sets world record

  MONTCLAIR Village, CA, USA -- Massage therapist Costa John , 53, gave 50 hours of continuous chair massages at his healing arts studio 'Kilalo' -setting the new world record for the Longest Consecutive Massage Treatments by an Individual Massage Therapist .
   Costa John performed continuous massage on a rotating list of 229 clients in order to set the new the world record for the Longest Consecutive Massage Treatments .

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   Families came in their pajamas in the middle of the night. Cancer survivors showed up to support John and praise his efforts.

   Two and a half is the number of hours he slept during the three-day marathon in order to achieve his goal.  

   But the number he is most excited about is the estimated $15,000 the event raised for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in honor of his sister, Alana, who died from the disease five years ago.
   "Our goal was really outreach and funding," said the South African-born John. "The record for the Longest Consecutive Massage Treatments was almost of second interest to me."

    "She fought a great battle, and days before she passed away, we talked about how to honor her memory," said John, 53. The longtime Montclair resident partnered with the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in 2005 with a goal of raising $100,000 in his sister's honor. He's about a fifth of the way there.

   Participants in the world record attempt for the Longest Consecutive Massage Treatments were asked to make a donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund directly or to sponsor a time slot for someone else to get a massage during the marathon. John asked any participant who tipped him to send the money directly to the research fund.

   " The Touch Project is a testament to Costa's deep commitment to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and the memory of his sister," said Dr. Eliza Chin, an Oakland physician who is president-elect of the American Medical Women's Association. "I feel privileged to be part of this monumental endeavor."

  The South African-born John, who has been living in Oakland since 1991, only does massage part time. The chief financial officer for a software company and father of two sons, ages 15 and 18, took up massage after being laid off during the dot-com bust.   
   Last year when he and his wife transformed a former cell phone store on Mountain Boulevard into a studio.

   Called Kilalo , which in Swahili means "resting place," the studio features an African theme and is entirely made of green materials, including natural corkboard tile floors, nontoxic paint, bamboo cabinetry, natural slate tiling and sensors for lights and water.

    All the body care products in the store are also 100 percent natural.

 The previous Guinness world record for the Longest Consecutive Massage was set by Barry Green, in San Diego, with 46.5 hours and 186 treatments.