Newton Ribeiro

King of Relax

Words from the Founder

“…People are complicated, and that is precisely what makes them fascinating. Even in the 1970s, I could easily see the damage the modern world was doing to the human soul. Chemical and noise pollution, exhausting work in the big city, tension, and ultimately the real battle to get through each day were driving people to physical and mental exhaustion—a condition now commonly called stress—which leads some to squander what I cherish most: life.

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

Exercise stimulates blood circulation, delivering oxygen to the cells, and is undoubtedly an excellent way to beat stress. But does today’s executive have time to exercise? And where would they find the energy after being worn down by fatigue and stress? I asked myself these questions, and answered them myself. I put the idea and the practical possibility of making it real head to head.

For a better quality of life, Brazil needed massage institutes dedicated to total relaxation. They had existed for millennia—in Rome and Athens, to name just two ancient civilizations, not to mention the age-old Eastern traditions of the Arabs, Chinese, and Japanese.

I have always openly admired women, those little and grand poems of everyday life. Ever since I founded TUFA—the América Mineiro Women’s Supporters’ Club (a club whose anthem I proudly wrote). With them, I was in my element: among practical, spirited, determined, and idealistic women.

That admiration gave me the formula. Women’s beauty is an antidote to stress. A woman’s touch is almost divine. That was the formula. Simple. Pure.

It caused a sensation. In the 1970s, the media saddled me with all kinds of adjectives because of the great success of my massage institutes, some of them quite derogatory. There were a few I liked. For example, “Newton Ribeiro, King of Relax.” It spurred me on even more.

Life has rewarded me in so many ways, in the broadest sense. With life itself. A whole life, intensely and fully lived. One of the gifts it gave me was an idea for a newspaper ad in the Business and Opportunities section of O Estado de São Paulo, on January 6, 1970:

Solange, Rosana and Jane. Massagem Relax. Turkish bath. Immersion bath. 46 Rua Doutor Vila Nova, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Listen to some pleasant music. Relax. Keep the room dimly lit. Think about how you’re feeling today. Set aside all the day’s problems and file them away somewhere secure, if you can’t delete them… Then surrender to the gentle touch of our massage therapists… Because a human heart also lives behind four walls.”

— Newton Ribeiro