Did you ever imagine that “Bring your child to work day” would lead you to working with your child years later? Below is the story of Keven Martinez, who first heard of Burke Williams when he was 7 years old. His mom is a nail technician at Burke Williams in Santa Monica. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would end up working at the same place as his mom. Now, as a Massage Manager, after working at 5 locations and having worked 12 different positions in the last 14 years, he’s so grateful his mom introduced him to Burke Williams.
Name: Keven Martinez Joined: 2010
Burke Williams Location: Torrance
Position: Massage Manager
When did you first hear of Burke Williams?
I was about 7 years old when I began to get curious about where my parents worked. My mom started telling me that she did nails at a spa. I remember when we would go pick her up at the Pasadena location, my dad would let us play at the nearby park while we waited for her.
Did she ever take you to any work events?
When she started working at Burke Williams in Santa Monica, the company had a potluck at the beach. Her co-workers would come up to me and say, “Oh, you must be Doris’s son.”.
Burke Williams once sent all of their employees and families to Disneyland. Each location wore a different color shirt so we could identify each of the different Burke Williams families. That was SO much fun!
Why did you decide to work at Burke Williams?
Actually, I didn’t want to work where my mom worked. I wanted to do my own thing. When I was 16 I started working at Von’s but I didn’t like it very much so I quit.
When I was about to turn 18, my mom said that I either had to go to school or work. She kept asking me if I wanted to work at Burke Williams and I decided I wanted to start making money. I interviewed when I was 17 and the day after I turned 18 Burke Williams in Santa Monica offered me a position in distribution.
If you started off in Distribution, how did you end up in massage?
In the first 2 years I worked in the Distribution department, as a spa attendant, concierge and I even worked in laundry. Rohit, one of the massage therapists, kept telling me that my personality would make me a great massage therapist. I wasn’t too interested until one day he showed me his pay out for the day. I realized I would make a lot more money as a massage therapist so I started going to massage school.
To accommodate my massage school schedule, I started working in the call center. It was before the time where people could book online, so it was really busy. After 9 months, the call center was moved to Henderson, NV and I returned to Burke Williams in Torrance as a Spa Attendant. The General Manager knew I was in massage school. As soon as I was done with school, they sent me to the training center to get trained as a massage therapist.
I remember the day the training was done. I got home that evening and my wife went into labor and my son was born the next day!
Oh wow! Have you introduced your son to Burke Williams yet?
Haha! He’s not really that interested in what I do yet. He knows I massage. He plays sports so he asks me to help him when he’s hurting but other than that, he doesn’t care.
I did bring him to the Adopt-A-Family event Burke Williams did in December. It was very eye opening for him. He really enjoyed meeting my team and seeing how other people live. I’ll definitely be bringing him again.
You’ve been a Massage Therapist for Burke Williams for over 10 years now. Explain your journey to becoming a Massage Manager.
After a year of massaging, I wanted to learn more so I became a Front Desk Agent and Manager on Duty.
In 2015, Burke Williams was set to open a spa in Woodland Hills, and I was invited to take on the role of Distribution Manager. Two years later, feeling a strong desire to return to massage therapy, I rejoined Burke Williams in Torrance as a Massage Therapist.
My Massage Manager, Ever, needed assistance, so I stepped up to help him train our unique spa enhancements to new hires.
By 2018, I was working in Santa Monica and Torrance as a Massage Therapist, Massage Trainer, Front Desk Agent and Manager on Duty.
Wow! Sounds like you were doing a lot!
Yes, and then COVID hit and I didn’t massage at all during 2020. When I came back to work in 2021, I decided I wanted to focus on massage. I started working more with the Massage Director, Cruz. He had a vision for an extended training program to help new hires who needed finessing with their massage skills after not massaging for so long. I helped him out with his idea and I became the Senior Trainer and head of the Extended Training Program. I had the opportunity to work with numerous new hires, helping them build confidence. It was great to see people grow, later hear about their success in the spas and know I had something to do with their growth and development!
In February of 2023, the Massage Manager position opened up at Burke Williams in Torrance. I felt that I had learned a lot at the training center and felt ready to go back to the spa. It’s coming up on a year and I feel I’m still learning so much. I’m grateful to now have my General Manager, Rose, mentor me as I grow in this part of my journey.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to grow at Burke Williams?
Find a mentor. If it hadn’t been for Rohit who encouraged me in massage in the beginning, I may still be folding laundry. Ever, Cruz and Rose were all key people who helped me get to where I am now.
Be patient. When I decided I wanted to grow at Burke Williams initially, I had a hard time accepting that it would take time. But opportunities come, just be patient.
Say “yes.” If I hadn’t said “yes” when Ever asked for help or when Cruz was working on an extended training program, those steps would not have happened for me.
You’ve done a lot in 14 years! What’s next?
I’m not sure. I imagine I’ll go all the way and be a General Manager at some point. I’m not ready for it yet. I’m still learning this role and I want to be an Operations Manager first.
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