Newton Ribeiro

King of Relax

Words from the Founder

“…People are complicated and, for that very reason, fascinating. For me, even in the 1970s, it was easy to see the damage that the modern world was causing to the human soul. Chemical and noise pollution, the exhausting work of the big city, the tension and, finally, the veritable climate of war for the conquest of daily life, were leading men to physical and mental exhaustion, now modernly called stress, which makes some waste what I value so much: life.”

According to medicine, stress is one of the main causes of heart attacks. Adrenaline, a hormone that needs oxygen to lower its level, increases excessively when combined with stress. The entire endocrine system shuts down, increasing heart rate and blood pressure.

Exercise, which stimulates blood circulation, causing oxygen to be injected into the cells, is undoubtedly an excellent option for overcoming stress. But does today's executive have time to exercise? With what patience, after being overcome by fatigue and stress? I asked myself this, and I answered it myself. I made a real comparison between the idea and the practical possibility of making it a reality.

For a better quality of life, massage institutes should emerge in Brazil, offering the perfect Relax experience. Like those that existed millennia ago. Like those in Rome and Athens, to name just two ancient civilizations, not to mention the age-old Eastern practices of the Arabs, Chinese, and Japanese.

I have always been an avowed admirer of women, those small and great poems of everyday life. Ever since I founded TUFA – the Women's Uniformed Fan Club of América Mineiro (a club whose anthem I proudly endorse). With them, I was in my element: among practical, determined, fighting, and idealistic women.

From this admiration came the epiphany: Female beauty is anti-stress. The touches of a woman's hands are almost divine touches. The formula to alleviate the stress of modern men was this. Simple. Pure. Innovative. It caused a sensation. In the 1970s, the great success of my institutes earned me various adjectives—some pejorative, others that I liked and adopted with pleasure. Like Newton Ribeiro, King of Relax.

Life has rewarded me greatly, in its broadest sense. With itself. Whole, intense, well-lived. One of the gifts it gave me was an insight for a newspaper advertisement in the Business and Opportunities section of the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, January 6, 1970:

Solange, Rosana and Jane. Relax Massage. Turkish Bath. Immersion. Rua Doutor Vila Nova, 46, from 9 am to 6 pm.

Listen to some pleasant music. Relax. Dim the lights. Think about how you're feeling today. Set aside all the day's problems and store them in a closed file, if you can't delete them… Then, surrender to the gentle touch of our massage therapists… Because the heart of a human being is also within these four walls.”

 -Newton Ribeiro.