He may have built a successful massage business but Russ Ritchie-Haydn is still coming to terms with being his own boss.

It was exactly two years ago that the 33-year-old former soldier made the jump and left his full-time job at REIDSteel in Christchurch to launch RH Sports Massage.

Despite everything thrown at him, notably the pandemic and its three lockdowns, he’s not just survived but thrived.

Still operating from a unit at BizSpace in Christchurch but also now with a treatment room at Snap Fitness Christchurch.

And a second massage therapist, Vic Walls, who joined earlier this year.

But Russ said: “I still doubt myself and will always be my own worst critic.

“I feel I have to justify taking time off but that’s plain daft because it’s my business.

“What I do know is that I’ll never return to working for someone else.

“Once you’ve tasted self-employment it’s very hard to go back.”

Russ, who’s married to Morgan, 31, and has a one-year-old son, Gunnar, qualified as a sports massage therapist in May 2019.

He spent several years figuring out his career path after six years in the army with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment – merged in 2007 into The Rifles – including serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite the name RH Sports Massage, the former infantry man, who also has a daughter, Isabelle, nine, from a previous relationship, said sports-related injuries tended to be in the minority.

Instead, it was the niggles, pains and aches many people suffer in everyday life, made worse by changes to lifestyle resulting from lockdown.

Russ said: “Without doubt working from home has had a big impact.

“People’s posture while sitting at make-shift desks or tables for long periods of time have caused all types of problems.

“Working from home has also resulted in some feeling there’s less need to get up and move around.

“Like anything, you need a balance and to do things in moderation but sometimes people over-exercise.

“That also brings its own problems.”

Lockdown – and time spent with the family – made Russ reassess his own life.

It was one of the key reasons why he decided to take on Vic, who has a daughter, Isla, two, and is qualified in both sports massage and personal training.

Russ said: “There was a real danger that I’d become like a sausage factory, seeing a constant stream of clients but not spending enough time really talking to them.

“In many respects what I do is life coaching as well as massage.

“People like to offload to me.”

The arrival of Vic has not only resulted in more clients overall but also eased some of the pressure on Russ.

He said: “She is absolutely brilliant and her arrival has been like a dream.

“Vic is building up her own client base and is now doing three days a week.

“It’s made a big difference to the business and we bounce off each other really well.”

Since starting from scratch as a sports massage therapist Russ now has 200-plus clients with up to 30 appointments a week.

They come from a wide area and as far afield as Salisbury and Portsmouth with ages ranging from late teens to clients in their 70’s.

Most new clients are through word of mouth.

Treatments offered by Russ and Vic include joint pain, migraine/tension headache/lower back pain and tennis/golf elbow.

Russ sees clients four and a half days a week but says it doesn’t feel like work.

He said: “I genuinely love what I do and consider myself very fortunate.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than being able to help someone who comes to you in pain.

“It’s not been an easy two years for all the reasons we know about but I reckon we’re in a pretty good place now.”

• rhsportsmassage.co.uk