BOARDMAN, Ohio – Erik Cromer enjoys being active.
“My dad taught me a long time ago – and I live by this adage – you don’t stop playing because you get old; you get old because you stop playing,” Cromer said.
But not unlike many athletes and adventurers, Cromer admits his body hurts and requires more recovery as he ages. So SweatHouz, 447 Boardman-Poland Road, has become his newest tool.
“I tend to have just a ton of aches and creaks and inflammation in my body, and I just feel sluggish and unfocused,” Cromer said. “The moment that I come out of there, it pretty much alleviates everything I just mentioned. My mood is better, my energy is better. It severely and drastically reduces my inflammation. … I just feel like a million bucks coming out of there.”
Using the heat of an infrared sauna and the frigid water of a cold plunge, SweatHouz, also stylized as SWTHZ, offers contrast therapy – alternating between hot and cold temperatures – in a private setting.
Franchisee Ron Taylor previously brought Edible Arrangements and The Simple Greek, which eventually became Garbanzo, to the Mahoning Valley. Now he operates SweatHouz in the Shops at Boardman Park.
When he learned about the health benefits of contrast therapy, Taylor said he was “hooked right away,” even though his first time in the cold plunge didn’t last long – just a little over 30 seconds. Now he uses the wellness facility three or four days per week and stays submerged to his neck for five minutes.
“One of the reasons I love this business is because I’m such a data-driven person,” Taylor said, citing that scientists in Scandinavia studied sauna therapy over a 30-year period and found that using one for 30 minutes, nine times per month, can lower the risk of all causes of mortality by 40%, heart attacks and stroke by 51% and dementia by 30%.
Likewise, Taylor points to Susanna Soberg’s studies of cold water swimmers. The Thermalist Method of the Soberg Institute recommends heat and cold and breathing techniques. Taylor said Soberg’s studies show there are long-term benefits, including a reduction in inflammation and the activation of brown fat cells, which help those who have trouble regulating body temperature.
“If your … feet and hands are constantly cold, you lack brown fat cells activation,” Taylor said. “Start putting yourself in cold water two to three days a week, and what you’ll find is when you’re sitting at your desk, your hands and feet aren’t as cold.”
To get the maximum benefit of a cold plunge, Taylor said Soberg recommends 11 cumulative minutes per week.
Taylor said the benefits of SweatHouz can be described by the acronym AMEN (attention, mood and energy now).
“The cold water basically forces your body to release dopamine, and your body is constantly searching for dopamine and you don’t even know it,” Taylor said, noting that coming to SweatHouz is like an “hourlong luxury, immersive experience.”
Customers get an hour in private rooms, which are thoroughly cleaned after use. The temperature in the rooms is 80 degrees. Mood lighting can be adjusted, and the music and television can be changed and linked to a phone by Bluetooth or shut off. A cold compress, unscented or infused with lavender or eucalyptus, is offered, and each room comes with towels, a bathmat and other convenience items.
Taylor recommends 30 to 35 minutes in the sauna, which is set at 150 degrees but can be adjusted, then a quick shower, which is infused with vitamin C to help with skin quality and anti-aging effects.
Next comes the immersion into 50-degree water, which admittedly can take your breath away.
“Even if you can only do two minutes, I promise you will feel the benefits,” Taylor said, adding he still gets the feeling of “holy cow, this is cold” every time.
Cromer said he has been doing ice baths at home for 10 years but has never gotten used to it.
“I love not getting used to it, because it’s kind of shock therapy,” he said, adding he likes the controlled environment he finds at SweatHouz and the opportunity to support a local business. He comes to the wellness facility two or three times per week.
SweatHouz’s six standard suites and one oversized, accessible suite are private. Couples and families are welcome to experience contrast therapy together in the same room. Taylor said he and his wife come together 99.9% of the time.
The visit also includes complementary use of a Bevi Smart Water dispenser (customers have to bring their own water bottles), a plastic bag for wet clothes, a Dyson hair dryer and styling equipment and other items.
Taylor said he never questioned opening his first location in the Youngstown area in November because the community always responds well to good, quality businesses and to those who they know are invested in the community. And he is already preparing to open a second SweatHouz location in Cranberry, Pa.
Taylor is offering $5 off the first visit to readers of The Business Journal. Book a visit HERE or call 234 256 5200, and use promo code Intro5.
For session prices and packages, visit the SweatHouz website.
Pictured at top: Ron Taylor, owner of the SweatHouz location in Boardman.