Q & A with Bruce Schoenberg, owner of Oasis Day Spa (New York City)

Bruce SchoenbergHow many years have you been involved in the spa industry?

Oasis Day Spa has been open as a brick-and-mortar business for the past 16 years. We have been doing our pop-up spas for more than 17 years.

What was the path that led you into the spa industry?

I came from a trade show background and traveled the country promoting and running large-scale trade shows for many years. To ease the pain of being on my feet for three to five days straight, I would partake in monthly massages and began looking into the spa business as a whole. When I started Oasis, I wanted to bring affordable luxury to local New Yorkers and tourists that needed a refuge but with high quality therapists. Within the first year, we won Best of NY and business quickly took off from there. 

Where do you think the industry is heading?

I find that many of our clients have become more interested in wellness-based services.

What has surprised you most about working in the spa industry?

What has surprised me the most is the dedication and passion of the service providers in the industry—it's a labor of love.

What is the strangest client request you’ve fielded?

The strangest are obviously those inappropriate clients who associate spa services with other types of more personal services that are not offered at Oasis Day Spa.

What is the most bizarre treatment you’ve experienced?

I tried getting my shoulders waxed, once. That was enough to teach me that women are tougher than men.

What’s your go-to spa treatment?

Oasis Day Spa’s Muscle Meltdown MassageSwedish ($130, 60 minutes) and Deep Tissue ($135, 60 minutes)—one of our most requested treatments and the absolute best. With marathon season in full swing, we are getting a lot of requests for this.

What’s your favorite skincare ingredient?

Vitamin C—it brightens your day!

Tell us two things about yourself we don’t know.

Deep down, I love acting and went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. I also played college football and baseball at Stony Brook University (NY).

What positions have you worked in that you feel have been most influential to your career?

Straight away working in the Schoenberg family business, the largest Pawnbrokers in Brooklyn, growing up gave me a great appreciation of working in retail and how to interact with customers from every social strata. The trade show industry, which is truly a dynamic business, also proved how a small focused group of people can do the job of many with teamwork and cooperation.

If you could work in any other profession in the world, what would you be?

That’s a tough one, as I love the test of athletic competition and having that moment to either succeed or fail. Watching the career of someone like Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez has been fun. One of them always seems to rise to the occasion and the other not.

How would you sum up your personal philosophy?

Perseverance, loyalty, and a positive attitude. You cannot appreciate the sunshine unless you experience some stormy weather. Life is a short trip, don’t drink cheap wine.