Massage wins out over coffee for Max Shane
He's chosen to help people nod off instead of wake up

When he arrived in Princeton six years ago, Mr. Shane was helping friends start up Small World Coffee. While at work, he would give shoulder and neck massages to fellow employees who were busy making lattes and cappuccinos. They would always say, "Max you have such strong hands," he said. "I was encouraged by those receivers to pursue what came natural for me." The owner of Small World Coffee, along with other close friends, supported Mr. Shane's love for massage, even giving him the money to pay for tuition, he said.

"Once I started studying it, I almost felt immediately I was in a tug of war between my love of coffee and massage," he said. But massage won Mr. Shane's heart. He enrolled in the Somerset School of Massage Therapy and became certified in May 1997. In Mr. Shane's Mount Lucas Road home, the odor of raspberries lingers from the oil he uses, a white noise machine drowns out miscellaneous sounds and soothing music plays, ready for the next massage client.