Holy smokes we did it! This years’ Start-a-Center Giveaway was really amazing. The quality of submissions was really a cut above any other year we’ve run this, and it certainly made it a challenge choosing between all of the submissions. More than anything, we want to thank each and every one of you for sharing your stories, your dreams, and your plans with us. To know that we share an industry with such thoughtful, passionate people makes the work we do worth it. Thank you for making this decision so hard on us.
Before we announce the winner, we want to thank, once again, the amazing sponsors for our giveaway who have contributed to the grand prize. They’ve all really helped take this year’s contest to the next level.
Maximum Floats has crafted personalized marketing programs for over 70 float centers already. They’ve given our winner free consulting to help create a marketing plan that will work for them and give them the best foot forward right out of the gate.
For more information, and a FREE case study for float center owners, check out their site, Maximum Floats.
The winner also gets 4 days of the brand new Float Center Sitting package, where a float center manager with years of experience will come watch over your center while you take a vacation. For any existing float centers out there, you know just how valuable it can be to have someone who is an expert at running a float center so that you can get a few days away.
Possibly the best pun in the float industry, Float Ease makes the amazing Float Halos, a wonderful float pillow that are specifically designed for float tanks. We use them at Float On and they’re incredible. The winner gets 10 shipped right to their door.
Iron Lion Soap has been offering high quality soap products since 2008, handcrafted from time-tested, 100% plant based ingredients. They have offered an initial supply of both their Organic Body Wash and Organic Castille Soap to the Giveaway winner.
Check out the Iron Lion Soap online store to view their full product line.
One of the most well known modern publications on floatation, The Float Tank Cure covers author Shane Stott’s personal journey and research into the world of floating, and offers the reader a fascinating insight into what floatation therapy can do for an individual.
The Giveaway winner will receive 10 copies to stock in their center’s library or retail in their shop.
Without further delay, we’d like to officially thank Rebecca Schulman, our 2020 Start-a-Center Giveaway winner. Rebecca is opening her center Thyme and Salt in the heart of San Diego. In addition to offering floating, Thyme and Salt will provide several alternative wellness services.
We got to call Rebecca and give her the good news a little earlier, and we took the opportunity to record the interaction. We thought it might be something y’all would like to see too.
That’s it! That’s all of our thanks and excitement. This giveaway has been truly incredible and we’re so glad to have found our winner. Now let’s hear from Rebecca! Below is her vision of her center. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.
Thyme and Salt is my dream float center located in the coastal area of San Diego, of which there is only one nearby float spa, yet there are thousands here who love the water and are well aware of the healing that saltwater can bring. I will offer float therapy, infrared sauna, and one of my unique forms of bodywork called Sensory Repatterning.
This modality is used to move the client through space in a slow, gentle and cradled fashion, or with rhythmic undulations to mimic the sensation of floating in water. I have been teaching and practicing this for over a dozen years and have been searching for the next best way to expand my healing therapies to more people.
My float center will have 3 tanks to begin with a fourth room plumbed for a future tank. I would love to have a couple of different types of tanks to appeal to different sensibilities, comfort levels, and curiosities. I have many clients who are older, who have mobility issues, or who are seeking ways to manage their anxiety and depression holistically and they are all extremely supportive and excited about my float spa. Its a clean and light space with blues and greens and votives of pink Himalayan Salt.
There will be a room each for a pod, a cabin, and an open float room. Along with a fourth wet room plumbed with drains that I will initially use for wet treatments like scrubs, vichy shower, and a scots hose. You cannot underestimate the pure exultant joy people experience laying there while being hosed down by a warm water-heavy pressure hose and the equivalent of a human car wash. It is so special!!
In addition to my float rooms, I will have a simple massage room with an ADA accessible hydraulic massage table and my Ashiatsu bars recreated in this new space. There will be a small infrared sauna in my center and a lovely and light-filled relaxation room. Here I would have dozens of plants and greenery to infuse freshness in the air, surrounding a large comfy sofa, and a couple of chairs with weighted blankets. Light snacks, teas, and coloring books will be waiting here for my clients.
I hope to have a cozy break room for employees and laundry, and a utility room for sinks, mops, drains, and storage. I want to create a business that values and cares for its employees by offering competitive pay, benefits, and all the floating you could ever want! I would like to have a small retail area with artwork from local artists, a CBD line, weighted blankets, self-massage tools and books relevant to healing. I realize it may be challenging in this field, but I want to find the best ways to “green” my business, and find ways to curb my environmental impact.
One aspect of my dream center is to offer floating to underserved populations and those who may not feel like holistic therapies are accessible to them by sponsoring some of my favorite non-profits. I have already supported local non-profit organizations Groundswell Community and Urban Surf For Kids through my time as a volunteer and offering gift certificates for fundraising. In having more revenue from my center I would be able to do so much more in terms of sponsorship! I would be able to sponsor whole events, or “scholarships” for floating memberships. Since San Diego is a border town I will also publish bilingual marketing, service menus, intake forms, and educate staff in working with non-English speakers so that we can bring floating to as many people as possible!
I chose the name Thyme and Salt because of the history fo thyme as a healing herb. It can be burned as a purifier to clear the energy and is thought to enhance psychic powers and mental clarity. Its also believed to inspire courage, attract good health and protect from negativity. It’s my belief that fear is the basis for so many of our anxieties and depressions. Fear of not being good enough, fear of not being loved, fear of things that are out of our sphere of control. I have been trained in trauma therapy and have taught somatic body therapies here in San Diego for the last 12 years along with my massage practice. So much of my work is based around helping people rediscover what it’s like to listen to their bodies and to learn to enjoy being present in them again and to live without their fears guiding them. I have had the honor of supporting people through so many of their life’s transitions: the births and deaths of their children and parents, clients who have survived cancer, trauma, the richness of their relationships. I have been blessed in sharing their joys and triumphs. I would be so honored and grateful to have this space available for helping people heal on exponential levels. There is only so much I can do as one person with massage and I believe this float therapy center would allow me to reach so many more people and provide them with the experience that healing and feeling peaceful are available to everyone, no matter your circumstances.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #27
Our northern neighbor – a sister city, of sorts – Seattle is the largest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest. It’s the land of Microsoft and Kurt Cobain, and the culture here embraces both simultaneously. It’s tech business professional in the front and rock n’ roll grunge in the back. This blend creates a perfect storm of high energy business life and high energy nightlife, making relaxation a valuable commodity. Floating helps fill the void left by nightmarish traffic and overcrowded restaurants.
Given that it’s so close to home, the float centers in Seattle are a lot more familiar to us. Our visits here were more like a high school reunion than they were like the first day of school. During some of our visits, we were picking up conversations right where we left them.
The Float Tour Blog Issue #26
Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, and third largest on the West Coast. It’s a major hub for international trade, with one of the largest ports in the world, giving it a large migrant population, mainly from Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. It’s also been a long-time home to the Canadian film industry, and has even been nicknamed “North Hollywood.” Dozens of film and television productions from major studios film here every year.
Vancouver is very much an international city. It has large boroughs dedicated to varying cultures, including one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. The society here is more receptive to new ideas, always looking for the next big thing; it’s not surprising that floating has blown up in Vancouver as much as it has.
In the last 3 years, 10 float centers have opened up, most of them being larger 4–6 tank centers. The really interesting thing is how they all opened within the same short amount of time about 1 ½ to 2 years ago, within months of each other.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #25
We finally made it back to the West Coast! We went through the Canadian Rockies and were overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. We drove through hours and hours of winding mountain roads, fertile valleys, and tiny towns so picturesque they looked like movie sets. It was so captivating, in fact, I suspect Graham and Ashkahn may have secretly replaced themselves with robotic doppelgängers to hike throughout Banff.
This post will focus on the smaller communities in B.C. that are bringing floating to new people every day. We also get to visit Canadian manufacturer Pro Float. They’re relatively new to the scene, just opening up earlier this year – another exciting sign of the growth in the industry.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #24
Alberta is often called the Texas of Canada. Part large oil industry, part cattle country.
Don’t Mess With Alberta!
At the base of the Rocky Mountains, replete with an Olympic Stadium, Calgary is a world-class destination for winter sports. The float community developed here similarly to Edmonton – there wasn’t anything nearby except for one or two residential float tanks, and then, in a short period of time, several centers opened all at once. Instead of competing, they’ve decided to work together and have developed one of the tightest knit float communities we’ve seen. They even have monthly Float Dinners, much like we do with the float centers in Portland. They don’t keep meeting minutes, so it’s hard to determine what they talk about at these dinners; my guess would be salt, the effects of salt on various substances, and how salty salt damage can make someone salty.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #23
After Montana, we blazed our way back into Canada. The drive was long, but the scenery was beautiful. We followed the Rockies north, driving up to Edmonton. It’s a bit of a detour but, there are so many float centers in Edmonton, it seemed crazy not to stop by.
The city itself is primarily made up of workers from the oil fields – high risk, high income jobs that fuel the economy. At least until recently. Our visit was right in the middle of the Fort McMurray wildfire which has displaced a lot of the workforce, forcing 100,000 people to leave their homes. Many came to Edmonton, being the nearest metropolitan area to Fort McMurray. Some already split their time between the two cities, living in Edmonton and traveling to Fort McMurray for weeks or months at a time for work.
It’s understood that, in economic hardship, luxury commodities are typically the first thing people cut back on. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case for floating. In fact, more people seem to be trying it to help alleviate the stress, many centers even offering free or discounted services to those displaced in an effort to help in a small way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #22
We’ve got two more stops in Colorado Springs before heading west. It’s a town known for its military base and long history of weapons testing. With such a large military presence, it comes as no surprise that the float center owners here are veterans, themselves.
After that, we shoot across to Salt Lake City. Utah is filled with gorgeous sights, from breathtaking lakes to stunning painted hills. With an international landmark famous for its effects on buoyancy, Salt Lake City should be pretty familiar with the concept of floating. With five different float centers, and the manufacturer of the Zen Tent out there, there could be some cause and effect.
After that, we head up into Idaho and Montana to close out the Central United States portion of our Tour. We’ll follow the Rocky Mountains north, taking in the scenery along the way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #21
Denver has been home to a vibrant float community for a long time. Some of the earliest commercial centers that started up in the ‘70s and ‘80s were out here. 30 years is a long time, and most of the old centers aren’t around anymore, but there’s a conscious community that has been floating since the old days and they love how much the industry has evolved and grown.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #20
We now follow the trail of our ancestors, Meriwether Lewis & William Clark, whose expedition started in St. Louis and would, eventually, lead them to Oregon – just like us.
Except, unlike them, we didn’t actually start in St. Louis, don’t have a tour guide from the Lemhi Shoshone tribe, and aren’t carrying flintlocks (except for Graham).
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #19
Chicago is home to one of the oldest float centers still in operation – SpaceTime Float Tanks.
We had the misfortune of timing our visit as they were moving to a larger location, the only time in 34 years that they have ever been closed. It is with great regret that we were unable to see their historic float center in operation.
They were trailblazers even before there were trails to blaze – so many float centers in the entire Midwest trace their roots back to a single float at SpaceTime.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #18
We made it back to America, everybody. It was a harrowing experience being in an uncivilized country where they think gravy and cheese curds on french fries is a meal but, thankfully, we’ve crossed the border back to a country where we know that chili and shredded cheese on french fries is a meal. Civilization.
Quite honestly, we might be in love with Canada. We’re definitely making another trip up there. For now, it’s about to MPH not KPH.
