April was quite a month for the float industry, not only did the Rise Float Gathering take place in St. Louis, but we also convinced several people that drop bears were real!

If you didn’t check out the live blog feed from Rise where we covered the events in detail, I highly recommend checking it out. It was a spectacular event, but aside from that, we had some spectacular episodes this month. We know that bingeing 30 episodes from the past month is a lot for the float center owner on the go, so we’ve conveniently consolidated this list of our favorites that aired during April!

Methods for Filling Weekday Float Sessions – DSP 131

It’s really funny listening to Graham and Ashkahn try to think about how conventional schedules dictate the busyness of weekends and the light hours of weekdays, or as Ashkahn likes to clarify “weekday days not including Friday”. The 9-to-5 lifestyle is clearly so foreign to them that they take a very comical, almost anthropological perspective on the notion.

This episode is also chock full of tricks for filling tanks up, not just from Float On, but from other centers as well. After all, who doesn’t struggle with filling the weekday schedule?

Cause and Solutions for a Crystallized Pump – DSP 137

It’s always fun hearing Ashkahn have flashbacks from late night emergencies at Float On. Also, float center merit badges do seem like a good idea. Someone get on that, please.

From the unlikely to the extremely probable, professor Ashkahn thoroughly explains exactly what could cause float tank pumps to seize up and crystalize. 

Special Tools for Cleaning Your Float Center – DSP 139

After this intro, I definitely think Graham and Ashkahn could comfortably start DJing at raves if the whole “floatation therapy” thing doesn’t work out.

This is one of those episodes where the truth of the answer is even more hilarious than you expected. As it turns out, from tank chemistry to major cleaning equipment, Float On uses more children’s toys than industrial or professional equipment (in hindsight, we all should’ve known). So this is a great episode to listen to if you wanna know what kind of toys to get Graham and Ashkahn for Christmas.

What to Look for when Buying a Used Float Tank – DSP 144

Float tanks have been around for decades. If they’ve been stored properly and/or well maintained, in decent condition, they can run for a very long time. Float On started out with used float tanks, which definitely helped make it financially possible to open. Fun fact, we’re still using one of those original tanks that have been in use since the 90s!

Ashkahn and Graham give some practical tips for finding used tanks as well as what to look out for when in the market. It’s just such a good solid condensed list of practical advice for looking for old tanks, everyone in the planning stages should give it a listen.

Live at Rise Float Gathering – DSP 146

While we recorded an entire weeks worth of episodes while out at Rise, I didn’t want to dominate the list with each one, given that they’re just such good conversations with other float center owners. I’m only placing the first one on here and trusting that hearing Graham and Ashkahn in a live environment is captivating enough to get you to listen to the rest of them.

The guys sat down with Jake and Kevin from Float STL and the hosts to the Rise Float Gathering to talk about the industry, getting to host these big industry events, and just a little bit of everything. It really feels more like listening in on old friends catching up more than an informational podcast. Definitely a nice change of pace from how serious and dour Graham and Ashkahn are on their own.

Honorable Mention: April Fool’s Day Episode (How to Keep Your Float Center at 100% Capacity)

Okay, so we feel a little bad about this one. Naturally, we thought it’d be funny to put out a fake episode where the sound cuts out and we fake a drop bear attack (it was pretty funny). We did get dozens of comments, emails, and even phone calls about the episode shorting out. We kinda assumed that once people would look at the calendar, they’d get the joke. However in podcast land, episodes live forever… So, for that, we’re sorry.

Thank you all for being such good sports about it.

If you wanna hear it, I highly recommend checking out the YouTube version of the episode, it has some fun visual additions to it that you won’t find anywhere else.

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And that’s it. Those are the gems from this April. Honestly, the Rise episodes are in such a league of their own, if you only catch one episode on that list, let it be that one.

Thanks again for giving us a listen. If there’s an episode that you think we missed that deserves some attention, let us know. Send an email to jt@floathq.com.