We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Banks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In today’s holistic world, many practitioners specialize in one area. That kind of business model framework leads to multiple appointments around town to suit clients’ needs; be it a massage booking, Acupuncture appointment, energy purification, or SoundBath session. What sets my business model apart from others is that I offer all the aforementioned. In essence, clients take advantage of my multi-wellness service menu by combining therapies in just one session.

Initially, I was driven by the passion of helping others with therapeutic deep tissue massage. And then, my breadth of wellness offerings expanded with time as I sought out additional skills to help me become a more well-rounded holistic provider.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In today’s capitalistic society fueled by social media, increased traffic, higher cost of living, chronic stress or depression, complicated relationships suffering from weak communication styles, and a broken spiritual community in the US, Americans are thirsty for compassion-driven care. Society is truly at the precipice of something radically different than 50 years ago.

Americans have a desire to be truly seen, heard, and feel part of a greater community. This is the challenge I am faced with today. People come to me for stress, anxiety, and countless emotional upheavals that people seek relief from. My initial challenge when dealing with stressed clients is to unwind their minds and prepare people to receive self-care. Luckily, I am well-skilled in guiding people through a relaxing experience.

The biggest challenge my business model faces is expanding my client base. Los Angeles has thousands of wellness professionals, all competing for clients. I am tasked on a weekly and daily basis to continually generate awareness of my practice to gain new clients and welcome back repeat clients with a continued reminder to reserve appointments to clock-in self-care time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Humans have a wonderful diversity and a laundry list of personal preferences of how to spend their free time. As a holistic provider, I have some wonderful friends who are in tune with their bodies and spiritual needs. Therefore this kind of person will have a different idea of how to spend free time than, say someone who loves sports or someone who is a culture buff.

If my San Diego-based bestie was in Los Angeles, she and I would have a variety of things to do. We are nature lovers, so we both enjoy going on a popular hike in Sherman Oaks called Tree People. On that ideal day, we would also attend a yoga class at Shiva Yoga, shop at a local flea market called Melrose Trading Post, and grab some yummy foods at Urth Cafe. We have also driven out to Pasadena for Huntington Gardens, attended a spiritual Center called Shumei to receive energy purification called Jyorei, and searched for a friend who hosted a game night in their place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s a funny thing when asked to narrow down a person or organization who influenced my passion to help others. I have always had the support to pursue my entrepreneurial efforts by my parents, who are entrepreneurs themselves. However, my story runs deeper than this.

When I was five years old, I survived a burn accident that set 25% of my skin ablaze with hairspray and matches. Kids will be kids, and I was captivated by the sight of fire at a rather young age. I remember lighting a macrame plant holder on fire at the age of three. Fast forward a couple of years, my fire playfulness caught the better of me. In 1988, just two weeks before Christmas, I was hospitalized for six weeks and underwent three auto-skin graft surgeries.

While in the burn unit, I received amazing care from doctors, and nurses, with of course, the support of my family and kindergarten teacher. My mom quit her full-time Union Job so she could nurse me back to health full-time. I made a full recovery and my burn scars healed better than countless other burn survivors.

Ultimately, my burn incident inspired me to be a doctor. Growing up, I knew I wanted to help others with their ailments, nursing them back to health, as was shown to me at a very young age. Later in life, I read when humans undergo a major trauma at a young age, and the survivor is taken good care of, it can launch that person into a state of constant compassion, driven by the passion to help others. This logical explanation of surviving my burn incident has helped me to understand the compassionate heart-brain connection that fuels my business today.

Website: https://Holisitic-LA.com

Instagram: https://ZenDaniel.LAC

Image Credits
Ylva Erevall

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.