How to make your partner Melt

A real-life married couple believes that massage should be something everyone in a relationship can enjoy. They’ve created a very accessible online course, Melt: Massage for Couples

May 1 sees the launch of Melt: Massage for Couples, a world-first message e-course created by real-life married couple Emma and Denis Merkas.

The Merkases believe that every relationship deserves a little bit of massage, and it’s best to be armed with some know-how.

They have been teaching couples how to massage for more than eight years in sold-out Melbourne seminars. With Denis’s 13 years’ experience in remedial massage therapy, and Emma’s expertise in relationships—she regularly writes columns on the topic—they know full well how to create greater intimacy and stronger bonds between a couple.

In January, they flew to Los Angeles to make a high-quality production with cinematographer Gabriel Biencyzcki. The course has not only easy-to-follow instructions, but beautifully filmed, streamed visuals that couples can follow for a massage at home.

The course will be available for access for as little as $1 under Melt’s Pay What You Want launch campaign, and 20 per cent of every contribution will be donated to White Ribbon, the world’s largest male-led movement to end men’s violence against women.

There are three themes: the Date Night Experience, the Romance Experience, and the pièce de résistance, the Perfect Massage, with 17 techniques to learn.

‘Most couples already give each other a back rub every now and then,’ says Denis. ‘Melt has been developed to show couples a few simple techniques that they can replicate in their living room. By the end of our course, couples are able to treat each other to a sensational 30-minute massage without a sore hand in sight.’

And why the low price, instead of the typical $199 that is common online? ‘A five-minute shoulder rub can change your partner’s whole day. Massage between couples builds trust, intimacy and is a great way to show love and spend time together. We didn’t want money to be a barrier for couples being able to access our content.’

The videos have been shot in 5k resolution, with the techniques shown in detail and with Denis providing the voiceover. With the educational theme, the videos are PG—though Denis notes that once a viewer has mastered the techniques in their own private space, then where a couple wishes to take them is up to them.

Denis’s massage expertise certainly worked on Emma when they first met. She explains, ‘Massage has been a part of our relationship from the very beginning when Den called me and told me he had an idea for a massage course for couples, but no one to try it out on. We were good friends at the time, and I can’t deny there wasn’t a hefty dose of flirting already going on. Den explained to me that the massage was supposed to be a little sexy and close, but he also promised to be a complete gentleman. He was, but as soon as he started the massage it was just electric! We both sat back afterwards in a bit of a daze and thought, “If we could just bottle that feeling …” Later that night, I practically threw myself at him and that was the beginning of it all.’

They have created five-, fifteen- and thirty-minute routines that couples can replicate.

Their website can be accessed at couplesmassagecourses.com. •

Above Beautifully shot stills from one of the instructional videos created by Denis Merkas, as he works on his wife Emma.