By Gary Lee Stuber
Clay County has a relatively new business in town: Clay Tropix Tanning Salon & Massage Therapy. Owners Elsa Coleston and Tom Koenig are also relatively new Clay Countians. They moved into the county during the Covid pandemic in 2020 to get out into the country and away from urban settings. Not that you can consider Elkview, or even Beckley, urban.
Elsa worked for many years with a chiropractor. Then, after going through a divorce, she opted for a career change, and trained to become a massage therapist. She had a studio in Beckley and even a part time salon in Chelyan. Even after moving to Clay County she would drive these distances to work.
Her partner Tom describes himself as a “jack-of-all-trades” before beginning a career change himself by becoming a technician taking x-rays of oil pipelines once they were installed underground. Of course, almost all of this changed when Covid hit.
They were looking around for something to do in the midst of Covid, and they registered to vote and were asked to work polls during both voting seasons. This they did in 2020 and again in 2024. Not any money in this, but they were introduced to some of the most influential people in Clay County. They ingratiated themselves. The contacts were invaluable.
As Covid began to wane, they began to look for opportunities to open their own business. Tom had operated tanning beds before. Elsa was a massage therapist. And so Tropix Tanning Salon and Massage Therapy began.
“I was tired of driving to Beckley,” Elsa confesses, “So we starting looking around Clay for buildings.” They settled on the building that a few years ago was the first location of the Small Market in Clay, a place that sold produce following the closing of Clay Foodland.
“I went on the Clay County WV Facebook page,” Elsa said, “and asked would a massage therapist working in Clay be welcomed. Within an hour, thirty people responded positively.” Tom breaks in and offers: “I told her this would never work.” He comments, and then admits, “I was totally wrong.”
They had to do a lot of work on the building that had set empty for a long time so they fixed the massage room and the bathroom first.
“I started working here just before Thanksgiving last year, and the proceeds from my work was what we used to build the two tanning bed rooms. And to make this place more presentable as you see it now.” Elsa said.
Tom adds, “It looked a total mess. I had all these construction materials piled up on one side, and was building the rooms on the other side, so all there was, was this little narrow path back to the massage room and the bathroom.”
They will be changing one of the current tanning beds into a red ultraviolet bed within the next few weeks. This is a new trend to improve your health. It doesn’t tan you, it provides ultraviolet light to improve your skin, and even your joints. The closest one presently is in Elkview and sessions are $35. Tom says they will be charging $10. “People who will benefit mostly from this,” Elsa says, “besides those using it for anti-aging, are the elderly in the county because it helps improve muscles, joints and even muscle pain.“
Elsa says she is 63 and will need an exercise class herself so she intends to open exercise classes for the elderly, just to teach balance and keep range of motion. “$2 classes, come and get fit. I can provide opportunities for the elderly to have something to do. To give them stability while walking around, keep them from losing muscle tone, avoiding breaking bones or injuries from falls.”
Elsa has a son and daughter that live in Montgomery, another son who lives in Glen Farris, another daughter and son who live in Mullins. She has a sister and brother who live in Mullins too. It where she moved to at age 15 from Detroit with her West Virginian mother.
“People here in Clay are different here than what I have experienced in other small West Virginia towns. They are more welcoming. It’s a more positive thing. I could not have imagined a more welcoming reaction as a new business than what we have received.” Elsa says, “I have a very good clientele, more so than other little towns I have been in. Very local customers.”
If there is one thing she is actively looking for it is a good nail technician. “It is the thing we get most requests for. The thing we don’t have here.”
Tom always backs her up. Well, it might take a little convincing sometimes. “We were looking around for places, one place was almost ready, but wasn’t’. Then we came down to look at this place and I peeked in and I said, ‘No.’ And she said, ‘I have a vision.’ And I argued, ‘Do you know how much work this would take?’ Well. As you can see she has her vision. “
“Then she pulled me into her vision.” Tom continues, “She says ‘We could put in tanning beds.’ And thirty years ago I had tanning beds in Kanawha City. So I told her we needed to build private rooms, with locks. So I ended up designing just what you see.” Tom’s vision is a reality now too.
The space is now comfortable looking like an inviting living room with a couch and a lot of rocking chairs. “I brought these rocking chairs in here for the Apple Festival and we set them out on the sidewalk and let tired people, especially elderly people, to sit and rock in them.” Elsa said. “I brought canned sodas and sold them for a dollar during the festival, because many were going without drinks because they were too expensive.”
She is full of ideas. Maybe over the next few years we will get to see many of them come to fruition.
