How Align Massage Therapy Is Changing Portsmouth

Ali Hull of Align Massage Therapy in Portsmouth, OH

Ali Hull wasn’t sure how Portsmouth would react to Align Massage Therapy. She knew how much massage could help people. She also knew not everyone saw it that way. 

"Right away, I had to ask myself — will this actually work here?" 

Massage therapy, especially in small towns, was often treated like a luxury. Something for vacations, not everyday life. But she had seen firsthand how stress and chronic pain built up, how people pushed through discomfort because they thought they had to. She had done it herself. 

"When I started receiving massages myself, I realized how much it helped me find balance and alignment." 

That realization stayed with her. She left behind the security of a corporate job and built something different — something that would help people the way massage had helped her. She just had to convince them to try it. 

"Many of my clients have never had a massage before. That’s something I really hang my hat on," Hull said. Some were skeptical. Some just never thought of massage as something for them. They weren’t the kind of people who booked spa days or spent money on wellness. But Hull didn’t see massage as a luxury — it was care. And for some people, it was more than that. 

The challenge wasn’t just personal — it was cultural. Portsmouth, like much of Southern Ohio, had been through decades of economic decline. "We are a low-income, impoverished area, who has had some decades of internalized stress as a community and as individuals," she said.

"So you have this community that is really struggling to believe in what we could be." Getting people to see self-care as something worth investing in wasn’t always easy. But that made it all the more important.” 

She hadn’t always planned on running a massage therapy business. When Hull first reached out to ECDI, she was looking at opening a bar in downtown Portsmouth. But over time, her vision shifted. She had spent years working in the trades before deciding to change course completely, stepping away from a male-dominated industry and into wellness. 

Some of Hull’s clients couldn’t leave their homes at all. "So I go to clients' homes for folks who can't leave their homes. They deserve care just as much as anyone else." At first, it was just a handful of people. Then she saw how deep the need was. Some were recovering from injuries. Some had chronic pain. Some hadn’t had physical touch in years. "A lot of people don’t realize what a difference human touch can make. It’s not just physical — it’s emotional. It’s about feeling seen and cared for." 

She knew how to help people through massage — but running a business? That was new. That’s where ECDI and the Women’s Business Center of Central Appalachia came in. Hull joined the WBC’s Ignite Appalachia Bootcamp program that helped her turn her skills into a sustainable business.

"The Women’s Business Center helped me make the leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship." 

Through ECDI, Hull figured out how to structure her business, set pricing, and navigate financial decisions. ECDI’s help didn’t just come in the form of advice — it gave her the ability to move forward in a real way. She secured funding through their programs, which allowed her to not only stabilize her business but invest in something bigger. With part of her loan, she organized a major event downtown, bringing together a dozen local businesses in a collaborative wellness gathering. That event set the tone for her business, drawing in new clients and making Align Massage Therapy part of a larger movement toward community health and self-care. 

"I’m actually really glad that it didn’t go another way, because I would have never discovered this part of myself, or been able to be home, you know, and want to be home and exist in Portsmouth at this point in time. My siblings have moved away... and so now here I am, I'm raising kids here, and I want better for them, you know." 

She’s also spending time mentoring new entrepreneurs through WBC, offering guidance to business owners facing the same challenges she did just a few years ago. She’s now a major part of a community of supportive business owners she never expected to find. “I feel sort of embraced by people, and I feel included in maybe a way that I might not have felt before." 

Align Massage Therapy is growing, and so is Hull’s vision. "We're gonna continue to build on community for everybody," she said. 

At first, she wasn’t sure Portsmouth would accept her. Now, she can’t imagine being anywhere else.