Who's who - A portrait of a person who is a part of your community

Name: Christine AmbrechtAge: 41Occupation: Owner of Massage Envy, located in the Lincoln Gateway Center off Highway 65 downtownFamily: Husband, Steve; and sons, Ryan, 4, and Kyle, 7City of residence: LincolnHow would you describe yourself?"I'm honest. I just want everybody to be happy. I think that sums it up."What drew you to Lincoln and how long have you lived here?"My husband and I have lived here for about nine years. We came here when he transferred to Beale Air Force Base."What made you decide to get involved with Massage Envy?"I'm not a therapist. My husband and I always wanted a business of our own and we have a friend whose sister worked at the original Massage Envy in Rocklin. We talked with her and I realized it's just perfect. It helped that they are wildly successful. Even in this economy, we're doing well."Was the Lincoln location your first choice?"We wanted to open this one first in 2005. The franchise developers, though, said Lincoln wasn't ready at that time so we opened one in Natomas in November of 2007 and we opened this one in November of 2008. The plan was always to work in Lincoln."What made you choose to locate in the Lincoln Gateway Center?"The developer of Gateway actually contacted me. At first, I wasn't sure about being so far into town but this is going to be the central focal point of the new downtown. They did a really great job with it and they're being real particular about who they let in. There's restaurant space on either side of us and we're looking forward to when those come in."Did you have any surprises with the business?"Everything is really what I expected. It is more successful than I expected, I guess. Massage Envy is a valid health therapy and my husband and I were leaning toward the alternative therapy. I think the hardest part was the acceptance factor in the community. They had a lot of misconceptions of what it was all about."What are some of your hobbies?"My family, baseball, soccer – most of my hobbies revolve around my boys. I can't even say massage is one of my hobbies. That's sad. People think I must get massages all the time but there really is no time. I also can't do just one thing at a time. Even when I'm watching my one hour of TV, I'm usually crocheting. We also like to get involved with the community. We do Tour of Lincoln, we have a Relay for Life team and we're going to participate in the car show. We're trying to be a part of the community."What is something someone would be surprised to know about you?"Billy Ray Cyrus is my eighth cousin. Will he ever know who I am? Probably not but I like to tell my boys that Hannah Montana is their cousin."- If you would like to see a neighbor or friend featured here, please e-mail brandond@goldcountrymedia.com or call Brandon Darnell at 774-7967.