The ancient tradition of sauna is not widely practised in New Zealand — certainly when compared to countries in Europe. Kiwis tend to prefer the beach. But a couple of Bay of Plenty builders have found a way to combine both sea and sauna.
Evidence of saunas has been found dating back as far as the 4th century BC but it's unlikely those ancient Finns and Estonians would have ever thought that a sauna could be delivered to a New Zealand beach on the back of a Subaru.
But then who can ever predict the ingenious nature of the Kiwi tradie?
Co-founders Luke Mexted, Keelan Kanji, and David Seidel decided they didn't want to walk the regular tradie path and started building a sauna during the pandemic.
Realising not everyone has access to a local sauna, they developed the mobile steam room offering temperatures of 80 to 90C that can be towed and parked anywhere.
So far, it's been a regular at Waihi Beach and Mount Maunganui. There's another pop-up sauna based in Gisborne under different ownership.
Interested patrons can book an hour session, during which they'll sit in the hot box for three 15-minute spots. After the first 15 minutes, they'll have a cold plunge in the refreshing Pacific Ocean, come back and repeat the cycle two more times. This process shocks the body and releases dopamine.
I can attest, it's a euphoric experience.
The owners of The Sauna Project said it has taken over their lives.
"My life is about 70% sauna now," said Seidel. "It is addictive, in the healthiest sense of the word.
"People see it on the trailer at the beach, think it's a cabin and ask 'do you live in that?'"
Truth is, I think they would if they could.
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