Aside from making it possible for the arms of the massage robot to not pull on your skin, the clothes had another great benefit for those who are particularly reticent on getting massages: There’s no nudity involved. Rather than awkwardly draping your naked body with a sheet, you get to spend your massage completely alone and fully clothed. After the machine was explained to me, I was taught how to properly lay down on the contraption and instructed to lie still while the machine scanned me like a TSA bin. “It scans and creates a 3D model of your body that allows us to deliver a massage built just for you,” Litman explains.
Then I was left to my own devices, able to change the pressure, music, location, and pause the whole experience with the click of a button. While the initial dulcet tones of Justin Bieber that began to play upon the start of the process was startling and a bit out of place, I was easily able to adjust it to something more mellow and spa-like. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, my overly-anxious body was gently pummeled into the shape of a well-adjusted, relaxed person courtesy of the two robot arms and their heated paws. With both arms working at once, you’re theoretically able to get twice the massage in half the time, making it easier to fit into a busy schedule.
For those like me who tend to have trouble speaking up in traditional massages, Aescape made it easy for me to adjust the pressure and skip over certain sections of the massage that I didn’t need—and I was able to do so as many times as I wanted throughout the experience without worrying about having to speak up every five minutes. “It’s a great option for anybody looking for really good self care, or someone who is interested in a massage where they are alone and in control rather than a therapist,” says Litman. It’s all about “giving guests options and opening up massages to an audience that might not otherwise get one.”
All that said, I definitely won’t be quitting human massage therapists any time soon—and Aescape isn’t asking you too. According to Litman, the company works closely with and employs a variety of therapists, thinking of themselves as working in conjuncture with their mechanical counterparts, not against them. There is a clear value to a massage that can do twice the work in half the time, and opens the market to those who want to be fully in control and alone, not plagued by body dysmorphia, anxiety about speaking up, or reluctance to be with a stranger in this type of setting. At this time, Aescape is still in its initial phases, offering back and glute massages starting at $60 for a 30-minute session at locations like Equinox and select hotels, but they hope to add additional venues in the future.
