Rachael

Rachael was born in Abilene, Texas, and grew up in Round Rock, just down the road from where Blackbird sits today. Before she ever became a massage therapist, she ran her own cake decorating business — creative work that still shows up in her today, from the walls of Blackbird to the way she approaches every session.

Rachael specializes in Manual Lymphatic Drainage, trained in the Vodder method through Klose Training. Her path to MLD wasn't academic — it was personal. A dear friend, diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, began teaching Rachael MLD to help her through recovery. That experience planted something that never left: a pull toward the clients who really need the work, not just want it. When Rachael's own sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 31, that calling became even more clear.All of the art in the studio is Rachael's own — hand-made pieces that Michael actually designed the entire studio space around.

But ask Rachael what she loves most about being a massage therapist, and it's not the technique — it's the people. She loves talking with her clients, hearing them, laughing with them, and yes, sometimes crying with them too. Many of her relationships go back a decade, to her very first clients when she started this work. To Rachael, that's the whole point: massage isn't just bodywork, it's connection that lasts.