LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One Louisville man made a career change three months before the start of the pandemic. 

When social distancing changed how things worked, he started changing how his new business would, too.

Jan. 2020 marked a new year and a new Lance Minnis. The financial adviser of 21 years went back to school, got new wheels and a new job. 

“I decided beginning last year that I wanted to do something that directly impacted people's health more and was a little bit more literally hands-on health,” said Minnis. “Massage therapy has always been something important to me and my health routine.”

On March 16, his world stopped. His massage therapy school shut down, along with salons and spas. 

“It was a real blow. It was earth-shattering. There was a lot of uncertainty and for someone leaving a career that they'd been in for 20 years and trying to go into something new and have this happen, it really called into question a lot of my future plans,” says Minnis. 

He persisted, earned his massage therapy license, and opened Ashtree Therapeutics, a massage therapy studio. 

“Humans require touch. Our nervous system is built into it so it made it even more imperative more important for me to make sure that I finished and was able to bring my best intentions to the work,” said Minnis. 

This bus was a senior citizen passenger bus. Lance Minnis bought and is transforming it into a mobile massage therapy bus. He named it Stella Marie after his mother and grandmother. (Spectrum News 1/Ashley N. Brown)

When he thought social distance guidelines and fears meant things might never return to normal, an idea hit him like a bus. 

“I love this bus. She has a name, Stella Marie” he said.

Stella Marie a mobile massage therapy bus. Minnis named the bus after his grandmother Stella and his mother whose middle name is Marie. 

“People didn't want strangers in their house, but I thought what if I had a van and I could drive up to somebody's driveway, sanitize the inside of the van between every client and certainly make people feel safe and secure that they weren't going to be exposed to a bunch of people. And that's why I came up with the idea in the first place,” says Minnis. 

He has some work left to transform this former senior citizen bus into a mobile studio including a green paint job to match the company’s logo. He created a GoFundMe to get Stella Marie road ready. 

“I want to lay down some flooring, repair the ceiling, and I have some heating and cooling built by solar that I'm going to put in as well,” says Minnis. “It will be the avocado driving down the street.”

There’s one feature on Stella Marie he won’t change.

“I've got a wheelchair lift so I can continue to serve people who are differently-Abled because everybody deserves to feel good,” says Minnis. 

Once she’s ready to hit the road, Minnis will be able to travel between states to clients’ homes and sporting events. 

“I love it. She drives really well, but it's big. I have to be careful,” says Minnis. 

Keep an eye out for the avocado rolling around town starting March 1.