We’re excited to highlight Cat Colonna, founder of Varsity Sports Massage and a member of the 2025 AccelerateHER cohort. Built at the intersection of performance, recovery, and science, Varsity Sports Massage was created to address a gap Cat saw firsthand: people training hard without the recovery support needed to move well and stay injury-free. In this spotlight, Cat shares how her background in fitness, massage therapy, and performance science shaped her approach and continues to guide the work she’s building today.
How did you come up with your business concept? What inspired you to start your own business?
Varsity Sports Massage grew out of a gap I noticed between how hard people train and how little attention most give to recovery. As a massage therapist and former trainer, I saw athletes and active adults alike putting in serious work at the gym, on the field, and in their daily routines without access to structured recovery that could help them move better and stay injury free. The “aha moment” came when I started supporting my daughter, Shiloh, through her national level taekwondo training. Watching how much her body endured made me realize that recovery isn’t just a luxury; it’s a performance tool and a form of injury prevention that’s often overlooked, especially for young athletes. That realization pushed me to specialize in sports focused massage and outreach to student athletes, while still serving the broader community of active individuals. Varsity Sports Massage was built on that vision: to make evidence based recovery accessible to anyone working toward better performance, whether that’s on a mat, a field, or in everyday life.
What’s your background? Could you tell us how each of these disciplines emerged in your work?
My career began in fitness, working one-on-one as a personal trainer. I loved helping people build strength, but I also noticed how often progress stalled because of pain, imbalance, or injury. That curiosity about how the body moves and recovers led me to pursue massage therapy, where I could work more directly with tissue and recovery processes. Over time, I realized that effective performance work doesn’t separate training and recovery, they have to inform each other. That connection became the foundation for my approach. I’ve since become a corrective exercise specialist and have continued studying biology at Harvard Extension, where my coursework in anatomy, physiology, and neuroscience deepens my understanding of how the body adapts under stress. Each discipline I’ve studied—training, massage therapy, and corrective exercise, built on the one before it. Together they shaped Varsity Sports Massage into a performance-based recovery practice designed to keep athletes and active adults moving well and performing at their highest potential.
What led you to take your work from an idea to pursuing it as a business?
I originally started my massage practice with a focus on therapeutic and medical massage. My goal was to help people recover from pain and injury through evidence-based bodywork. Over time, my daughter Shiloh’s journey as a competitive taekwondo athlete changed my perspective. Watching the physical demands of her training and the limited recovery resources available for young athletes made me realize that this level of focused care was missing from most athletic programs. That realization pushed me to evolve my practice into what is now Varsity Sports Massage. I wanted to bridge the gap between healthcare and athletic performance by offering recovery that is functional, accessible, and tailored to people who push their bodies, whether they are youth competitors or active adults. Building a business around that mission has allowed me to serve a broader community and promote recovery as an essential part of performance, not an afterthought.
Do you have a personal and/or professional motto or mantra that you call upon during tough times? What is it and what does it mean to you?
My personal mantra is “I am open to creative solutions.” It reminds me that progress often comes from curiosity and flexibility rather than control. This mindset has allowed me tothink outside the box and create new ways to share and expand my work. One example is my Substack publication, The Recovery Lab, where I break down the science behind sports massage, recovery techniques, and performance strategies for athletes, coaches, and parents. It has become a space to translate evidence-based information into real-world understanding. That same openness also led to my Recovery Pop-Up workshops, which bring my recovery team directly to where athletes train. These events allow us to provide hands-on recovery, education, and performance tools on-site, reaching athletes who might not otherwise have access to these resources. Staying open to creative solutions keeps my work evolving and connected to the people it’s meant to serve.
How do you pick back up on moving your business forward when perhaps feeling uninspired?
For me, creativity and adaptability have always been the answer. When the pandemic hit, everything came to a standstill. Massage therapy was one of the industries most directly affected, and for a while, I didn’t know if I would even be allowed to physically work on people again. It was an unsettling time, but it also forced me to think differently about my career and what growth could look like. That uncertainty became an opportunity to pivot. I decided to pursue my graduate studies at Harvard, focusing on biology and research that deepened my understanding of the human body and recovery science. What started as a way to stay productive during a shutdown has turned into one of the best decisions I’ve made for my business. The knowledge I’ve gained has strengthened my ability to bridge science and practice, which now shapes how I approach every client, workshop, and educational project. Staying adaptable has always brought me back to purpose.
What have you gained so far from being a part of the AccelerateHER cohort?
Being part of the AccelerateHER cohort has been both inspiring and motivating. There is something powerful about being surrounded by other women who are building, problem solving, and finding new ways to grow their businesses. The sense of community and collaboration has reminded me that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be isolating. It can be creative, supportive, and full of shared energy and ideas. Having the opportunity to lock in and focus on my business during this program has also created the mental space for new ideas to take shape. It has helped me step back, see Varsity Sports Massage from a broader perspective, and envision how I can expand the mission through new services and outreach. The experts that the AccelerateHER team has brought in have been amazing and have created a robust program that truly gives us the tools we need to be successful. The support and exchange of ideas within the cohort have encouraged me to think bigger about what is possible for both my business and the athletes and active adults I serve.
Name a woman or gender-expansive individual, past or present, whom you admire or look up to. Why?
Two women who consistently inspire me are Brené Brown and Robin Arzón. Brené has inspired me to be brave, take risks, and expect the best. Her work on vulnerability and courage reminds me that uncertainty is a necessary part of growth and that showing up fully is what leads to progress, both personally and professionally. Robin Arzón motivates me through her grit and energy. Her perspective on movement as empowerment and her ability to constantly reinvent herself resonate deeply with how I approach both sports massage and entrepreneurship. She took her passion and turned it into purpose, encouraging others to keep moving forward. Both women remind me that resilience and authenticity are the foundation of meaningful work, values that continue to guide me as I build Varsity Sports Massage.
Learn more about Cat Colonna and Varsity Sports Massage on their website here.