This Wellness Franchise Makes Sensory Deprivation Tanks Cool Again

This Wellness Franchise is Not Just a Seattle Thing.

Joe Beaudry was combing Seattle for a way to decompress from his high-stress job. This was back in 2011, and he’d heard of “floating” — shorthand for going into a water-filled sensory-deprivation pod. The only one he could find was in some random guy’s spare room, and bravely, he gave it a try. “I left there feeling incredible. My head was clear, I was focused, I could even see better,” he says. He was convinced more people needed to try floating — just not in random rooms.

This wasn’t exactly a new idea, though at the time he didn’t know its backstory. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, these tanks were all the alternative medicine rage. Practitioners floated in complete darkness and silence in giant tubs of Epsom-salt-saturated body-temperature water, claiming it promoted deep relaxation, better sleep and pain relief. But the movement fell apart when its inventor, John C. Lilly, started taking LSD while floating and claimed to encounter beings from other dimensions. The tanks more or less disappeared by the 1980s. But now, decades later, they seemed ready for a new generation.

Beaudry connected with Scott Swerland, a friend of a friend who runs 90 tanning salons, and the two launched their first three-pod Urban Float location in 2013. It took off — the pods were booked 22 hours a day. They opened two more locations after that, and in 2016, they followed with their first franchise unit in Vancouver, Wash. Now they have deals to open six locations in Houston and plans for national expansion.

For more information on Urban Float’s franchise expansion, read the full interview here.

If you are looking to start a business in an industry primed for exponential growth, please follow this link for more information about Urban Float franchise opportunities. The Urban Float brand is focused on providing float clients with a superior experience. From our meticulously designed retail float centers, to our cutting-edge floatation tanks and our commitment to providing our clients with exceptional customer service, Urban Float has set the bar high.