Queer Forty- The married couple and small business owners share the story of love, living together, and learning how to grow their respective businesses.
Matt Gross and Boshko Boshkovic may have met online but they were also neighbors who realized they had a lot on common despite growing up oceans apart, and working in seemingly unrelated fields—public relations, and reiki. But the couple are all about bringing out the best in people, themselves, and each other.
When, where and how did you two meet?
Matt: We met online in July of 2011. We lived within a few blocks of one another (in Brooklyn, NY) and met up shortly after chatting with one another. Our first date was at a great Indian restaurant named Gandhi that sadly just closed!
How long have you been a couple and how did you choose to formalize your relationship?
Matt: We’ve been a couple for nearly twelve years and got married in Maui on the beach in August of 2019
You each have your own businesses. Matt, yours is in PR, Boshko, yours is in healing. That’s kind of unusual to both have businesses and in quite different fields. How does it affect your relationship?
Matt: I think it’s great! We get to see a lot more of each other than other couples that have 9-5s in different physical workplaces – plus we get to bounce ideas off of each other throughout the day. I love that.
Boshko: I feel that we get to spend much more time with each other since we both work primarily from home. We are also pretty good about keeping the boundaries not to mesh work and our personal time, which I think is important. I feel lucky that I am able to brainstorm work ideas with Matt since I trust and value his opinion.
Please describe each of your businesses and what was the ah-ha moment that made you feel like this was a good idea and a service you needed to offer? What does an average day at work look like to you?
Matt: I am a publicist specializing in the disciplines and cross sections of performance art, all things queer (including lots of drag), live theater and cabaret. The artists, venues and institutions that I work with are local (to NYC), national and international. Some of my beloved long-term clients: Jinkx Monsoon & BenDeLaCreme (their annual holiday tours and beyond), Isaac Mizrahi (his Cafe Carlyle residencies and beyond), Play On Shakespeare, Queer|Art, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret and so on. I’m very fortunate to collaborate with clients that I truly adore — and I highly respect their work, all of them. Shortly after graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Maryland, I went to work at an LGBTQ+ print publication. During my time there I wore many different hats — including but not limited to ad sales, website editorial, accounts receivable, copy editing, managing social media, etc.
After about a decade in that position, I needed a change and shifted entirely to the world of PR pretty much overnight. I worked at a small firm for about six years, focusing primarily on music clients before expanding my roster. Due to the pandemic that company was forced to downsize, and I was laid off in the summer of 2020. Shortly thereafter I had my ah-ha moment and started Heart Spade PR. It’s been going swimmingly the last two and a half years. Re: an average workday — it honestly varies. Some days I’m running around doing in-person press with a client, some days I’m in front of the computer writing press releases, pitching story ideas and setting up features. You always have to be on your toes (and glued to the inbox if I’m being 100% honest).
Boshko: I am a Reiki & Sound healing practitioner; Reiki is a healing touch therapy originating from Japan. It uses specific hand positions on the human body which correspond to our energy centers or meridians similar system used in acupuncture and helps release emotional and physical constraints.
My switch to Reiki was gradual, I started training in this modality while I still had my last full-time employment. Then I left my job without knowing what the next step was, which was the first time I have ever done something like that in my life. About 8 months later I decided that I wanted to dedicate most of my time to the practice of Reiki so I started giving Reiki sessions systematically — first to all my friends. Later on I started participating in Reiki clinics in New York City with different organizations like Maha Rose, the Jewish Community Center and Minka Brooklyn. These places offered Reiki treatments at a sliding scale rate and these experiences gave me the confidence and realization that I wanted to continue being on this path.
I start my day with doing Reiki on myself as well as certain meditative practices and routines that help me stay centered, aligned and grounded. I use part of my day to communicate with clients and plan. I also create my own social media content for Instagram and email campaigns. Afternoons and evenings are usually spent with clients in sessions in-person or virtual. Reiki sessions can be done via Zoom as well, I teach 2 virtual classes per week at two different senior centers. They are 60-minute sessions that include segments of Sound Healing, guided meditation and Reiki. I also conduct a Sound Meditation and Reiki evening group session once a week in person at Grand Street Healing Project in Williamsburg. I really enjoy the interactions that I have with the public during these group sessions.
What are the unique training, skill set, mindset you each need to bring to your practice and business?
Matt: I think one of the reasons that I’ve built such strong relationships with clients and writers alike is that I’m optimistic and also straightforward. No drama. From 2006-2018, I also ran two different and fairly successful music blogs on the side [The Music Slut and A Heart is a Spade, respectively] — so I’m familiar with how a pitch works and what separates a great one from a terrible one. I don’t think many publicists have been on the other end of the seesaw like I have.
Boshko: I have formal training in both Reiki and Sound Healing but what is really important is that I continuously practice these modalities on myself and do self work in order to be as clear as a vessel for the clients I serve. Being compassionate towards the clients I work with is important but also having a clear boundary at the same time so I do not take anything that is not mine. A mindset of being curious and open is always a good thing in my opinion.
If you didn’t do these jobs you would be… any other profession or occupation?
Matt: I’d definitely be running my own animal rescue (see below) — that’s such a passion of mine.
Boshko: I would be doing something in the field of contemporary visual art. Prior to becoming a Reiki practitioner, I worked as a curator in different capacities.
Where do you currently call home? And what do you do to relax when you have time off?
Matt: We live in Brooklyn, NY — specifically in the neighborhood of Prospect Lefferts Gardens. When I have time off, I love to go to my local animal shelter, Sean Casey Animal Rescue. I try to go at least a few times a month. From time to time, I like to attend IRL and virtual figure drawing classes. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include bumming around and watching my 8,000th Golden Girls marathon, my all-time favorite show since I was 5 years old.
Boshko: As Matt mentioned, Brooklyn is our home but I do have another place that I call home, which is Belgrade, Serbia where I am originally from. I still keep a connection to my hometown, family and friends and visit once a year. When I have time off I try to see close friends, I like to spend time in Prospect Park and I also enjoy cooking and reading books.
Connect with Matt Gross at @heartspadepr and follow him @mattheartspade. For professional inquiries email: matt@heartspadepr.com.
Connect with Boshko Boskovic @letshealnyc. For inquiries email: letshealnyc@gmail.com.
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BK Reader - This Reiki technician In Flatbush Says The Body Needs a “Tune Up” From Time to Time
It’s pretty safe to say that Flatbush Avenue– particularly the narrow stretch that runs adjacent to Prospect Park– is chaos in motion. And that’s not a criticism; it’s just a fact.
So, what a welcome relief to know that in the middle of chaos, there’s refuge. And no, I’m not talking about the yummy sort offered in the form of roti or doubles, peas and rice or plantains. These gastric sanctuaries in Flatbush make it worth the hustle and bustle.
I’m referring to another kind of oasis — one where the body, the entire body has a chance to decompress, cleanse and heal.
It’s like a tune-up for the body, and the best part about it is that, in 60 minutes or less, the client emerges feeling virtually brand new.
The “mechanic” in this case is Boshko Boskovic, founder of Let’s Heal NYC, located at 666 Flatbush, inside of Creatorspace Studio. Boskovic offers a non-invasive, alternative healing modality known as Reiki, which awakens, harnesses and then manipulates one’s own energy field as a medium for healing and well being.
In the past two decades, more and more people have become familiar with Reiki. However, it remains a concept that many struggle to truly understand. Originating from Japan, Reiki– sometimes referred to as “universal life healing”– taps into the electromagnetic field of the body by utilizing the hands to adjust the body’s vibrational frequencies.
“Scientifically speaking, there’s an electromagnetic field around our body in which every little cell immenates electricity,” said Boscovic, who is trained in the Reiki Usui Shiki Ryoho ineage by Aki Hirata Baker, Manu del Prete and Alice Jones. And he holds a certification in sound healing from the Globe Institute.
“Those (energy fields) get out of balance because of life, emotions, circumstances. And Reiki is a gentle way to bring them back into balance.”
Reiki treatments are meant to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and reduce the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight), helping the body to release physical and emotional constraints, purportedly improving the health and wellness.
“The way we live our lives, we become fragmented without realizing it,” adds Boscovic. “Reiki brings you back to your core and center.”
The modality operates on the premise that living beings are connected on a subatomic level through tiny particles which make up the fabric of the universe and have its own intelligence. The Reiki practitioner spends many months immersed in this learning, achieving certification at ascending levels.
Boskovic first learned about Reiki four years ago when he bumped into one of his old high school teachers who shared she was doing Reiki to improve her health and well being. He was intrigued:
“I began to read up on it, and decided to just go for first degree, just for myself, to help myself,” he said. “And I remember my Reiki teacher telling me that it would call me back. Six months later, I decided I was ready to go and do the second degree. Then after that, there was a switch for me, and I was just called into it.”
Boskovic says he starts all of his sessions by setting an intention based on the needs of the client: “Usually how I start is I get to know a little bit about what is going on with you at the time. And from that feedback, I say, ‘Well, I think this approach to your healing would make sense for you.’ And, of course, the person will have to agree.”
So the million-dollar question is, what exactly happens between client and the Reiki practitioner? And, furthermore, does Reiki actually work?
“So with our hands, we do gestures from the head to the toes and work with the meridians that are very similar to acupuncture,” Boscovic explained. “We touch upon the same energy centers– or chakras– as acupuncture. The head has 4, then there’s the heart, the stomach, the root, and then there are minor chakras behind the knees and other areas.”
In the session, following a 15 minute conversation about the client’s needs, the client will lay prone on a padded, elevated table. Boscovic’s small room is first saged and then accented with burning incense. He washes his hands. The temperature is regulated. He offers a blanket, if preferred, and sets the mood with calming music.
Then, for the next 60 minutes, he will begin moving his hands around areas of the body in a very slow, somewhat sweeping and scooping motion, lightly touching certain areas where there may have been an emphasis on tension or pain.
“A lot of people will say after the sessions that they can ‘feel themselves again,’ because it opens up the energy blockages and balances them out.”
How often does a person need to come? Will one time be sufficient for a new client?
“If there is something serious that you are working on addressing, I say it’s better to come regularly. It’s like tuning a car; if you do it once in a while, that’s great, but it will get rusty. But it if you do it regularly, like once a week or even once a month, the flow is going to become better and you’ll begin to maintain a balance.”
Boskovic said he gives himself Reiki every day so that he can be as clear as possible for other people.
“I’m seeing a lot of younger people, like in their 20s, really coming into this modality. They are open,” Boskovic said. “But I have clients of all ages. It’s just important to understand that to get the most out of Reiki, you just have to be open.”
Boscovic’s practice is mobile, so he travels between studio locations, makes house calls; and he holds classes in studios, at camps, or remote over Zoom upon request. Sessions run from between $20/person for group classes, to $80 for a 60-min studio session, to $200 for house calls.
For more information on Boshko Boscovic and Lets Heal NYC’s services, go here.
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City Life, New York— features the opening of Creator Space, a new wellness shop that opened in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The space aims to nurture the 'flow state' - the dimension when our creative work thrives. In the front of the space you will find a curated selection of wellness products for refueling and restoring while in the back, you can book a Reiki session or Tarot reading with resident practitioners Boshko Boskovic of Let’s Heal NYC and Amie Scrupski, respectively.
If you are struggling to achieve the energy flow in your body, Brooklyn-based Reiki practitioner Boshko Boskovic offers twice a month and by appointment 30-minute Community Reiki sessions at a discounted price of $40 at Creator Space.
Boshko (he/him) is a Reiki Master, trained & certified in the Usui Shiki Ryoho lineage. He is part of the healing collective Minka Brooklyn and has given Reiki sessions at the Weinberg Center for Balanced Living, Soho Works and Brooklyn Hospital. Reiki is a healing practice originating in Japan, which utilizes a method of placing palms in precise positions on and above specific body parts between the head and the feet. During a session, the client is fully clothed and lying down on a massage table. By adjusting the body’s vibrational frequencies, Reiki treatments activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and reduce the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight). This healing modality helps the body release physical and emotional constraints, improving health and wellness.
To read full article click here
Los Angeles (Catherine Tingey) — Boshko Boskovic was the featured healer for the month of June on Catherine Tingey’s popular blog that covers health, wellness and yoga. She asked Boshko to explain Reiki to someone who has never heard that term before, how does distant Reiki works, his background and how he became a Reiki practitioner, what conditions or ailments Reiki assist with, his virtual and in person services, and what qualities are important for a healer to posses.
Enclosed is an excerpt and you can read the whole interview here
In your practice, what are some conditions or ailments that you have seen Reiki assist with?
Quality of sleep, people sometimes come into the session highly stressed or they had a really bad day at work and after a Reiki session they feel much more calm, grounded and connected to themselves. The other day I had a client in a co-working space where I go once a month and he told me: “Before I went into the session, I was gonna lose it completely because I was really aggravated by family matters but the Reiki session completely calmed me down and I did not think it would.”
A lot of times people will have physical pain in their knee, or hip or the neck will be bothering them and after the session it will go away or ease. I am not saying that after a Reiki session the underlying issue will completely disappear but it will bring your body more into alignment and harmony with yourself.
The Art of Jin Shin meets Reiki
Alexis Brink, the director of the Jin Shin Institute in New York, talks to Boshko Boskovic about the differences and similarities between the healing modalities of Jin Shin and Reiki, both originating from Japan.
They discuss the hand positions on the body which are crucial in the practice of both healing modalities, the history of how Reiki and Jin Shin came about. They also talk briefly about the founders of both modalities and how Japanese women brought these to the United States.
NEW YORK (Mundane) — BROOKLYN-BASED SOUND HEALING COLLECTIVE )) R.I.S.E. (( ANNOUNCES DREAMY HYPNO-POETIC ALBUM WAVES OF POSSIBILITY
)) R.I.S.E. (( is a Brooklyn-based collective made up of healing artists: Boshko Boskovic, Gabriel Wade and Rebecca Nison. )) R.I.S.E. (( is an acronym for Reiki-Infused Sound Experiences. Produced and released by Muse Music, their debut album, WAVES OF POSSIBILITY blends ambient sound, chanting, psychedelia, spoken word, and multilayered instrumentation. The album welcomes listeners into a sound sanctuary of vibrational harmonics and dreamy hypno-poetic messages.
Of their debut album, the collective shares: “The process of creating this album was healing in our own right as well as permitting to amplify our own expression. We met weekly in Gabriel’s music studio in Park Slope, where we recognized that the process of recording meant we would need to be vulnerable while using our voices.
When sitting in front of the microphone we had the courage to ask each other for the energetic healing support that helped us cross the threshold into our capacity to perform, to be seen and heard. The synergy of us three being there together became a powerful force that opened us to listening and feeling what was happening in our actual bodies.
The practice of Reiki was integral to each recording session and we are grateful that we all met through Minka Brooklyn, a community-centered and spiritual-driven space for wellness and harmonious living”.
NEW YORK (NYSMusic) — Abigail Baughan of NYSMusic reviewed the debut album Waves of Possibility by ))R.I.S.E.(( The five-track album layers unique instrumentation and spoken word to bring listeners a spiritual, connected experience.
The artists behind the album, Boshko Boskovic, Gabriel Wade, and Rebecca Nison, said that the practice of Reiki was integral to each recording session. Reiki is a form of Japanese energy healing. R.I.S.E. is an acronym for Reiki-Infused Sound Experiences and each track on this freshman album amplifies that idea.
Produced by Muse Music, the sound experience of WAVES OF POSSIBILITY is multi-layered and dimensional. With ambient sound, chants, and soft-spoken messages, listeners can sit back and focus on the healing atmosphere of the album. The tracks convey a range of emotions, the sounds developing and changing throughout the length of each track.
The tracks include complex sounds, leaving any listener wondering what they may hear next. There are traditional instruments intertwined throughout the album, like electric guitar and bass riffs, and drum beats. However, the use of unique sounds such as birds chirping or bells chiming within the layered humming vibrations really drives the listening experience
With hypnotic-like harmonics and sparse lyrics, the tracks envelop any listener into an almost other-worldly and spiritual space. The combinations of sounds are uniquely creative and compelling.
Each of the 5 tracks is also accompanied by a video that showcases the work of 5 visual artists. The first of the videos, for the 12-minute track “Message for the Moon,” includes art from Skylar Smith. The visuals complement the audio foundations of the debut album, allowing listeners to get more of a multi-sensory experience.
Duality is Overrated Podcast by Natalia Ivanova — Natalia Ivanova speaks to Boshko Boskovic about his Reiki practice, how he started being interested in energy work and sound healing.
They discuss his background in contemporary visual art, his education in Reiki, the impacts and silver linings of Covid, Eastern Europe and what it means to have security and community in our lives.
They talk about the parallels between the healing arts and the visual art world and how the two overlap in some senses. Also they touch upon what it means to become an artist and how it feels to embody this role.
Ivanova wanted to know more how the RISE (Reiki Infused Sound Experiences) debut album WAVES OF POSSIBILITY came about which was produced Muse Music. Boskovic elaborated how the ambient sounds, chants, and soft-spoken messages created the healing atmosphere of the album.
To listen to the entire podcast click here.
NEW YORK (OutLoud Culture) — OutLoud Culture decided to list in their INsiders guide the debut album by ))R.I.S.E.)) an acronym for Reiki Infused Sound Experiences) which is a Brooklyn based collective made up of Reiki & healing practitioners: Boshko Boskovic, Gabriel Wade and Rebecca Nison.
The album was produced and released by Muse Music and their album WAVES OF POSSIBILITY blends ambient sound, chanting, psychedelia, spoken word, and multilayered instrumentation.
The album welcomes listeners into a sound sanctuary of vibrational harmonics and dreamy hypno-poetic messages. WAVES OF POSSIBILITY is about creative courage, the archetypal and spiritual human experience, energetic connectedness, and the cosmic mystery within all of us. Presenting a never-before-heard combination of vocal toning, laughter, and intentional breath, the five tracks that comprise WAVES OF POSSIBILITY layer the unique instrumentation of steel tongue drum, shruti box, electric guitar, bass, tingsha, children’s toys, and notebook pages, amongst others
Of their debut album, the collective shares: “The process of creating this album was healing in our own right as well as permitting to amplify our own expression. We met weekly in Gabriel’s music studio in Park Slope, where we recognized that the process of recording meant we would need to be vulnerable while using our voices. When sitting in front of the microphone we had the courage to ask each other for the energetic healing support that helped us cross the threshold into our capacity to perform, to be seen and heard. The synergy of us three being there together became a powerful force that opened us to listening and feeling what was happening in our actual bodies.The practice of Reiki was integral to each recording session and we are grateful that we all met through Minka Brooklyn, a community-centered and spiritual-driven space for wellness and harmonious living”.
My Reiki Practice
Meet the Elite Podcast was interested in knowing more about Let’s Heal NYC and how Boshko Boskovic started his Reiki practice with private clients.
The Science Behind Reiki
Jaclyn Francis, founder of Ready Sesh Go, a mobile energy healing company in Los Angeles, interviews Boshko Boskovic about the science behind Reiki. They explain to the public how to understand Energy & Reiki Healing on a deeper more scientific level. This is a good listen for those who are skeptical about energy work.
NEW YORK (CBS NewYork) — A group of local medical professionals say health care should be a basic human right, not a privilege.
That’s why they spent the day serving the community.
Doctors, nurses and other health care workers gathered in Prospect Park on Saturday afternoon for a free clinic.
They offered medical care for anyone in need, regardless of their financial situation or immigration status.
“In order to truly be a vibrant and healthy community, we need to care for each other, and that means providing care to anyone who’s in need, not just people who are still working and have insurance, not just people who have documentation,” said Dr. Juliet Widoff, with Health Care for the People.
The organization Healthcare for the People says they’ll be holding free clinic events every Saturday at different locations, primarily in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Leslie Jordan shout-out!
Iconic Hollywood actor Leslie Jordan congratulates Boshko Boskovic for becoming a Reiki practitioner…