Tauranga sports therapist Elly Hunt lands dream job with All Blacks

Massage therapist Elly Hunt was recruited by the All Blacks.

What started with a massage table and some coconut oil has landed a Tauranga sports therapist her dream job of working with the All Blacks.

Elly Hunt, who owns two clinics in Mount Maunganui, works with sports teams and athletes throughout New Zealand, including teams from the Australian National Rugby League, All Blacks Sevens, Super Rugby, and an Olympic javelin player.

But working with New Zealand’s iconic rugby team was a pinnacle she never thought she would reach.

Hunt was invited to join the team for the season. It was a gesture she felt validated her hard work, grind and hard times in recent years.

Elly Hunt started her business Powered by Prevention in 2020.

She has worked with the team twice so far, most recently being assigned to three players for an hour before and after their game.

The players were polite and “super-appreciative”.

It was “really cool” to celebrate the team’s win after watching their game the night before, she said.

“When you work with a sports team, you have the sense of pride and you feel like a part of the team with them.

“To watch them on the screen and then see them the next day in person, treat all their sore bits and be a part of their journey to make themselves feel better was just so cool,” Hunt said.

The All Blacks celebrate victory over England at Eden Park. Photo / Erinna Rowlands

Hunt opened her massage clinic Powered by Prevention in 2020, and her other business, Resilience Recovery, opened in November.

Previously, she worked and studied in nursing, sports and recreation, health assistance, massage and health promotion fields.

“Once I was in nursing and I was doing placement, I thought, man, we can prevent so many people from coming here in the first place,” she said.

She switched to personal training, eventually becoming the regional manager for a gym.

“But I found myself pretty much teaching people how to sell memberships and I thought, nah, I’ve gone off track here and this is not what I want to be doing.”

Hunt trained under an Olympic physio to receive her Certificate of Massage before progressing to do her own work inside a gym, where all she had was “coconut oil and a table”.

It was not long before Hunt’s work expanded to the Bay of Plenty Steamers and All Blacks Sevens. She then decided to open her own place with a mission

to help people take control of their health through massage, breathwork and mobility.

“We are really trying to change the mindset around massage because you hear that word and you think luxury and relaxation, when it’s absolutely life-changing,” Hunt said.

She said through her work she had helped tetraplegics regain movement in their arms, and patients who had spent years in chronic pain crying at finally becoming pain free.

Powered by Prevention focused on remedial massage “similar to physio” where mobility and strength programmes were offered.

Resilience Recovery was a sports and wellness hub, offering cold plunges, sauna, leg compressions plus community events.

“The more tools that they have, the less they need to be getting a quick pill, although medicine definitely has its part to play.”

Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.