With the first industry run Float Conference right around the corner, we wanted to take a minute to talk about what we’re excited about at Float Tank Solutions and HelmBot, since we’re all gonna be there.
This year is especially exciting for us, since no one on our team is running the Conference this year, so we finally get to participate in the Conference just like the rest of the industry.
Graham:
I’m excited to, once again, not have to explain what float tanks are to anyone around me. I’m excited to see what the Conference is like in a new city, and I’m excited to see all the Denver centers in style from the beer bus tour. Mainly, though, I’m excited to dole out hugs, to listen to crazy and inspiring stories, and to share another floaty reunion with everyone!
Ashkahn:
I’m excited for the hugs, clinking jugs, seeing everyone’s beautiful mugs, hearing how float tanks are better than drugs, learning how to kill those infectious bugs, and feeling my heartstrings get those tugs.
Also, I’m excited to get to just sit in the audience and watch the talks. Is that what you guys have been doing this whole time?
Kathryn:
It’s all about the people for me. Obviously, our whole crew is a blast to be around: some of my closest friends are also my co-workers, I haven’t seen Jocelyn (the high priestess of the Conference) in a while, and we’ve got a new team member on HelmBot who’s coming out that I’m super excited to see. Outside of the Float On party, Flux (who gave a fantastic talk at last year’s conference) didn’t make it out to Rise, so I’m hoping to run into him. Feinstein’s always great to see. The STL folks, the Float Harder friends, maybe I’ll get lucky and see the chef-turned-float-soap-making guy from RAW Goods (if you see him, ask him for pictures of cake sculptures). There are a few people who have cool art projects in and outside of floating that I’m jazzed to check in on. Oh gosh… there are just too many names. I’m so pumped to see all of you!
Derek:
Denver is one of the few cities I’ve been to more than once and that’s because it’s one of my favorite cities! I’m excited to experience the Float Conference in a new city, but also a city I’m familiar with that ISN’T Portland. I’m flying into town on Thursday and you’ll be sure to find me at the Euclid Hall for some Pad Thai Pig Ears, so let’s chat about marketing… but I digress. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is actually being able to attend all of the wonderful Friday Activities that my schedule will allow. I’ve worked the entire weekend during every #FloatCon and I’ve consistently found myself on the outside, looking in, at all the fun people are having on Friday. It’s truly one of the most unique things you’ll find at ANY conference you’ll ever attend.
Bryan:
I can’t wait to hear all the crafty ideas we as an industry have come up with to tackle the glass ceilings we invariably encounter. Certainly there is a lot of room for growth in this business, and the more we put our heads together, collaborate with and support each other, the faster we seem to break through them. The Float Conference is always inspiring for me in that way. I know that leaving Denver, I will have reinvigorated my passion for this industry, and for floating as a public service that has the potential to change the world.
The weekend, in my experience, is always a bit of a whirlwind. Kinda like getting swooped up in a tornado with a bunch of friends you never see, having the most killer of times for like, 72 hours straight, and at some point we all click our heels and wake up back on our respective couches. This year, I’m looking for a way to stay unified with all my favorite salty weirdos. If that sounds like a cool idea to you, come holler at me. I’m excited to meet you, or see you, or continue working with you. Or all of those things. Hasta luego.
P.S. – Orale. Se habla espanol, mas o menos. Necesito practicar con uds.
Frank:
Another Conference brings another chance to connect with the lovely individuals that make up the float community — and I can’t wait. It’s such an amazing experience to be able to swap salty stories, hear how everyone’s businesses (and lives) have evolved over the past year, and learn a ton about new developments in the world of floating. I am always excited about the opportunity to meet and speak with the newest and next generations of float center owner/operators. I particularly love being able to finally put faces to the many voices I’ve become familiar with on the phone over the past year. If we’ve spoken this past year, definitely come visit me at the Float Tank Solutions booth, we’ll have a lot of exciting things to share!
Juliet:
I’m so unbelievably excited for this year’s Conference. Normally, I’m running around scrambling to make sure all the talks behind the scene go off without a hitch and Ashkahn hasn’t wandered off somewhere. Now that Ashkahn is allowed to wander freely at the Conference, it frees up a lot of my time to enjoy everything else and talk to everyone present.
I’m excited for the high quality hugs that get circulated at Float Conferences. I’m excited for all the regular Conference things with Denver flavoring. I’m excited for the amazing heartfelt, intellectual, beautiful talks. I’m excited for Stephen Johnson getting more stage time. I’m excited for lunches, easy commutes, and making space for great conversation.
Come talk to me when you’re there!
Ben:
The conference is a reminder, in physical form, that there are so many amazing individuals and teams bringing this wonderful, briny health modality to the masses. It’s amazing to be surrounded by so many who share the intention to foster healing and wellness. I’m also so excited to get to see many of our current HelmBot clients in person!
Danielle:
I’m so jazzed to have the pleasure and privilege to see old faces and meet new people. Putting a name to the face for HelmBot clients brings me so much joy! I’m looking forward to rejuvenating my love for floating, which always spikes during the Conference. I especially enjoy listening to other people’s stories and hearing about their personal experiences in the float universe. How the heck did they get here?! And who doesn’t love a solid embrace from a fellow floater?
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Take Part in the 2017 Float Industry Report
We’re gathering responses for our 2017 Industry Report through the end of June, and we once again need your help.
Please take a brief moment to answer a few questions about your float center (or future float center) – it may be easiest thing you can do to contribute to the growth of floatation around the world.
The Basics of Float Tank Sanitation
Some of the most common questions you’ll get as a float center operator involve the cleanliness of the tanks. This post will be an introduction to some of the most commonplace sanitation methods used in float tanks. These are generally either chemicals that go in the water or devices that attach to your filtration system. We’ll be discussing chlorine, bromine, ozone, UV, and hydrogen peroxide, which accounts for the sanitation methods used on nearly every float tank on the market.
Testing and Maintaining Float Tank Water Quality
Editors Note: This is a revision of a past blog post, updated to reflect the most current sanitation methods and standards
In a perfect world, you could just pour water and salt into a float tank and it would stay pure and clean and fresh and salty forever. In the real world, conditions in the water are constantly changing, so keeping your water safe and clean takes a fair amount of vigilance.
This post covers how we maintain basic water quality in the float tank, except for sanitization methods, which will be covered in their own beastly sanitation blog post. Stay tuned for that coming out next week!
Floating, mental health, and wellness
This post will explore the intersection of floating with the concepts, beliefs, and experiences related to mental health and wellness, with a focus on anxiety and depression. I’ll explore my own story as it relates to floating before diving into the current intersections of floating and mental health, with a look at past, current, and potential opportunities for research and personal growth.
Massage, Acupuncture, and Float Tanks… A Chat with Sandra Calm
We’ve seen lots of float centers that aren’t just float centers.
Many have massage, some offer counseling, some have yoga classes next door. Lots of people start out either by incorporating float tanks into a larger business, or with float tanks only being one of many modalities at their center. Being specialists in floating, Float On has not mastered anything else.
So, to help gain insight into this growing aspect of the industry, we contacted our old friend, Sandra Calm. She started up The Float Shoppe here in Portland with her husband and podcast sensation, Dylan Calm, back in 2011. When they first opened, they had just two float tanks, and slowly added acupuncture, massage, counseling, along with two more tanks. Talk about expansion!
She was more than happy to take some time for the industry to help us understand just what it’s like to run a center with multiple services by answering some questions.
Reflections from the Rise Float Gathering
Over this past weekend, a good chunk of the Float Tank Solutions and Float Conference crew ventured to St. Louis, MO for the first ever Rise Community Float Gathering. Beyond our excitement to see old friends and meet new ones, we were thrilled to be able to attend a float event that we didn’t have to plan.
When it comes to float tanks, we often deal with a lot of the “what” and the “how” of things – what do I need to do to open a float center and how to I make everything work? We write blogs and put out content. We spend our days thinking about conference flowcharts, water chemistry, detailed business plans, soundproof insulation, etc.
Rise, on the other hand, focused on the “why?”
The Story Behind the Float Marketing Forum
Over the past few years, primarily through feedback received from conference attendees and through industry survey responses, float center owners struggled with and wanted a solution to one thing… marketing. It makes sense – if there’s one thing every center needs (besides salt), it’s a solid flow of customers in tanks.
After some brainstorming with Ashkahn, we’ve decided the best solution for this year was to host a series panels covering key marketing topics that will provide the biggest impact in growing your float center business.
Introducing: The Float Conference Marketing Forum.
Announcing the 2nd Ever Start-a-Center Giveaway WINNER!
In what was one of the most difficult decisions that we had to make as a team… and after sorting through nearly 200 entries… we’ve decided upon a winner in our second ever Start-a-Center Giveaway.
Read more to learn who we’ll be guiding through the process in starting a float tank center in their community.
Gut your space before construction!
One line we don’t think you should cross is this: as much as possible, when building out your float center, gut it completely. Start from scratch.
At least then the mistakes you make are your own and your building will hold fewer surprises down the line. There are many benefits that you may not think of immediately. In this post, we’ll guide you through some of them.
The Heart of Floating – Guest Post by Kevin McCulloch
“When we commit to The Heart of Floating, we form relationships and communities. We share experiences, we connect, we learn, we teach. We care.”
In this guest post, Kevin McCulloch, owner of Float St. Louis and organizer of the Rise: Float Community Gathering, explores the heart of floating and it’s power and potential to connect, heal, and grow individuals, relationships, and communities.
