AN INTERVIEW WITH RYAN MCCARTHY, SPENCER’S FOUNDER & CEO
We sat down with Spencer’s Founder and CEO, Ryan McCarthy, in a conversation about the genesis of his spa concept, Spencer’s. When asked what he wanted people to take away from the experience he seeks to create, Ryan replied:
“We want to make people feel like they have been looking for us their entire lives. We want them to feel excited about coming to see us and interacting with our products. We want them to tell their friends about us and, when they do, for it to feel like they are sharing a family recipe or secret. We want people to feel a part of our discerning community and appreciate our thoughtfulness and care. We want people to feel taken care of, safe, inspired and rejuvenated when they come to visit us."
What inspired you to start a wellness day spa, and why did you choose Soho as your location?
If you were to ask anyone that knows me where to find me in a moment of my free time, they would direct you to the local spa. From an early age I took a keen interest in the world of wellness. As a competitive athlete in my teenage years, the recovery time I spent was crucial to the betterment of my performance. As a byproduct to taking my routine seriously, I found myself totally in love with the art of rest and relaxation. I became obsessed with finding treatments, therapists and venues that resonated with my individual needs and taste. My obsession with wellness over the past 15+ years materialized into a concept offering something I believed was missing in the New York City market; a spa venue I felt drawn to visit on a regular basis where I could feel inspired, comfortable, clean and rejuvenated that was also affordable.
Soho has been my home for years and I felt very strongly about doing something I was passionate about in a place I knew well. I really wanted to offer something to my community I held as important and valuable, and I wanted to see the people I knew in my neighborhood share in the joy that was putting this project together.
Can you share the journey of how you developed the concept for your spa? What were some of the key influences in its design and offerings?
The concept, I felt, was very clear from the outset in that I knew how I wanted the guest experience to feel. I knew the treatments needed to have grit in the sense that we developed serious protocols rooted in experience and efficacy. I knew that our branding had to feel familiar, an extension of myself in many ways in order for it to feel genuine. I knew the physical space itself needed to be impeccably curated, with a team of people taking thoughtful consideration to build and furnish with a style and aesthetic that was unique to us. I knew our customer service had to be faultless, and our approach to the wellness industry be anything but cookie-cutter. We are, by design, boutique in every sense of the word. We want you to feel the entirety of our effort when we welcome you each visit only by way of having an experience that is nothing short of sublime.
In this project I worked with many talented people to bring my vision to life: The extremely talented Charlotte Taylor was my interior designer in partnership with EBBA architects in London, who designed the plans and assisted in the curation. Our in-house designer, Jessica Kim, worked tirelessly to create everything that you see in the Spencer’s universe. Our Spa Director Dea Xhafaj and Wellness Director, Michael Alicia and Aesthetics Director, Gillian Milberg were responsible for building a world-class treatment protocol and assembling our team of extraordinary staff. My Operations Manager, Tamara Hansson is responsible for everything happening where and when it needs to.
When I think back to where Spencer’s drew inspiration from, these core tenets come to mind;
‘Your favorite 1950’s Italian spa’, for customer service and aesthetic.
‘Your favorite Japanese zen garden’, for curatedness and attention to detail.
‘Your favorite Swedish Massage’, for wellness efficacy.
‘Your favorite Korean skincare product’, for technology in protocol design.
‘Your favorite relative’, for the way we approach all that we do with care and love.
How do you ensure the quality and consistency of the services provided at your spa?
We have rigorous processes in places to ensure that we are forever testing and retesting our commitment to quality and consistency. Our staff graduate a considered and thorough training curriculum to be welcomed to the Spencer’s family and we hold regular training sessions for our team each month for us to improve our skills and stay sharp. As part of our benefits and incentives program, we also offer subsidies for continued learning so that our team members can further pursue extracurricular learnings in their own time. We strongly believe in and value people who are dedicated to our commitment to quality in every aspect of what we do.
What are some of the biggest challenges you faced while setting up the spa, and how did you overcome them?
There are always challenges, especially when it comes to building physical hospitality and service spaces in a city like New York. Making sure we had the best people, best protocols, best equipment, best branding, best partnerships, and best furnishings right down to the doorknobs is like conducting a symphony with a piece of music you are reading for the first time.
Ensuring I have a team of talented people who are capable and committed to realizing a vision is of the utmost importance. Building something that is honest, worthwhile, and generally ‘good’, I have found works wonders for attracting a certain momentum that is difficult to slow. We worked tirelessly to lift ourselves over each hurdle that was thrown and I am very proud of what we have accomplished together thus far.
Can you describe the process of selecting the right team of therapists and staff for your spa? What qualities do you look for?
The Spencer’s Therapists each went through an exhaustive interview and practical review process extending four rounds over the course of several months. Each team member was handpicked by a panel of wellness professionals and management alike to find a cohort we are very excited to name as ambassadors for Spencer’s.
The individual we hire is talented, hardworking, curious and demonstrates exceptional ability and knowledge in their field. They have a dedication to continuous improvement and a keen awareness of themselves and others. Above all, our hires love people and believe in the value of the services we provide.
What role does sustainability and environmental consciousness play in your business operations?
I am extremely passionate when it comes to issues of sustainability, especially as we continue to grow the number of our venues. Every decision we approached when building Spencer’s was weighed with what made the most sense from a sustainability standpoint. From our towels and linens being organic and eco friendly to our slippers being sanitizable and reusable to our limits on non-recyclable waste and our achievement in sourcing 80%+ of our furnishings from the second hand vintage market. It’s extremely important to me that our footprints are considered and well placed, this philosophy permeates every aspect of the business.
How do you stay updated with the latest trends and innovations in the wellness and spa industry?
Our talented Wellness Director Michael Alicia has over 30 years of experience in the wellness and spa industry. Michael is studious and thorough, to say the least. In addition to developing and leading continuous learning and practical workshops as a part of our mandatory monthly training schedule, Michael and I are in the process of designing a host of new treatments we feel are suited to the modern spa arena. Oncology massage treatments, prenatal massages, lymphatic treatments are just a few of what we have in store for the guests at Spencer’s later this year.
Gillian Milberg, our Director of Aesthetics, has made it her mission to ensure that we stay on the front foot when it comes to the latest techniques and modern sentiments in our skincare programs. We are forever iterating, revising, improving. We will continue to do so.
What is your vision for the future of your spa, and are there any plans for expansion or new services?
The sentiment of Spencer’s is to provide an environment that supports our guests, wherever they are. I want to create a peaceful respite in at least our major US cities and we have an aggressive rollout plan for 50 locations in 5yrs. With each location being stylistically different and most offering varying services, we have our work cut out for us. That said, I love what I do and each day doing it feels less and less like ‘work’.
Services wise, we have much planned even for NYC. Our next venue, which is also in Soho, will offer traditional Japanese Onsen facilities which I am very excited about. I can’t say more, but we have lots to look forward to.
How do you balance running a business with maintaining your own personal wellness and self-care routines?
This is a great question. When we are busy, we tend to forget the simple things in our own wellness and self-care routines that keep us operating at peak performance. When I am passionate about what I am doing, and pushing myself and my time each day, I find I need significantly less of what I otherwise would to relax and unwind. A walk from our office to our venue is sometimes all I need to reset. I do keep up with Pilates, my own massage routine, some tennis. You have to do what feels right for you in the moment and right now my place is in my work - that is bringing me fulfillment, joy, and purpose.
In your opinion, what are the essential elements of a truly relaxing and rejuvenating spa experience?
A good spa experience takes you somewhere you didn’t know you needed to be. It is calm, intuitive, thoughtful, and gently leads you through a wonderfully fluid choreography. You should feel comfortable, clean, able to explore and rest at your own tempo. There should be points of interest to engage you, but also the freedom to disengage at will. Staff should be attentive and kind, showing professionalism and proficiency at every turn. You should feel taken care of, thought for, pampered. Your needs should be anticipated but not assumed, and your individual preferences honored in every way that they can. You should leave feeling your time was well spent and look forward to visiting again soon.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own wellness or spa business?
If you love it, do it. You’ll never regret attempting to climb a mountain if you enjoy the view the whole way up.