8 minute read
WELLNESS: RIMBA SWEAT
Communal Contrast Therapy And More
We chat to LAUREN WRIGHT, the founder of one of Sydney’s first infrared sauna studios, Rimba Sweat, who is about to open their third location.
How did you get into wellness?
I’m extremely passionate about the health and wellness industry and the benefits of living a well-rounded life has always been ingrained in my values, a big reason why my family and I choose to live on Sydney’s idyllic Northern beaches. It was in January 2020, I was on my last six months of maternity leave from my career in the media industry and my husband and I thought ‘what are we waiting for? If not now, then when?’ A bit of a fearless leap (global pandemic kicking off), I exchanged the corporate attire for active wear and set out to follow the dream of becoming an entrepreneur – creating Sydney’s Northern Beaches’ first dedicated sauna studio.
What made you want to open your first Rimba Sweat and why Manly?
Being part of the local community ourselves, I had a vision of creating a self-care haven that incorporated the Manly beachside, relaxed lifestyle – which is woven throughout the DNA of Rimba Sweat Manly studio because we created every part of it with our locals in mind, including the interior aesthetics to the fresh ocean scent present when you walk in. Rimba is a place for local residents to take time out of their busy lives, adding to their weekly health and wellness regime.
The community aspect is also the reason that the next two locations we have chosen to expand into have a really strong local community presence – both Neutral Bay and Cronulla.
You were one of the first infrared sauna studios in the area, what was that like and how did you attract customers?
Being the first on the Northern Beaches was a really exciting experience! We are overwhelmed by the success of the Manly studio, which is testament to the support and loyalty we have received from the local Manly community. Since opening the doors, word of mouth has been a big part of our success. Our signature Mediterraneanluxe aesthetic coupled with our high level of customer service and cleanliness standards play a big role, then of course the therapy itself –it’s a very easy therapy to fall in love with!
How has demand for wellness treatments changed over the years?
Wellness is still in its infancy and treatments continually evolve. I think demand has been driven by Covid which has definitely made everyone more conscious about the importance around prioritising self care, and how important it is to use preventive measures for longevity to support mental health.
The effects of mental health can have a significant impact on physical health, people can get caught up in the busy-ness of day to day life and sometimes need to be reminded to switch off and take time for themselves, doing something good for their physical and mental health. Being able to switch off and disconnect from everything and just have that alone time is invaluable. We’ve had this feedback from high level corporate executives to busy mums.
When did you know it was time to open a second studio, why Neutral Bay?
After opening our Manly doors and seeing how well it was received and the amount of people travelling from other areas outside Manly to experience Rimba Sweat, we felt the need to expand and share the Rimba experience with other communities. Again, it was about choosing a location with a really strong local community presence, for us that stood out with both Neutral Bay and Cronulla.
How is that studio different to Manly?
Our new Neutral Bay studio is double the size of our Manly studio, we wanted a space that allowed us to add the contrast therapy offering, but also the vision for future studios was to take the interior design to another level, which we’ve certainly been able to achieve.
Through our own research and my husband’s new found love for ice baths we found we could open Neutral Bay with the new concept of the ‘Remedy Room’ and it complimented our original offering of infrared sauna therapy. The Remedy Room consists of a traditional Finnish sauna, two ice baths and a pail shower. It is a communal space for four people at any one time so you still feel like it is a semi private space, whereas everyone enters the space together and progresses through the contrast therapy for the hour time slot. We’ve had a great response from our clients whether it be four total strangers experiencing it together or a group of friends who have booked out the whole space. This is a really unique way to experience this type of therapy as most places are either a public pool or sporting facility.
Explain the concept of communal contrast therapy
Contrast therapy revolves around the use of hot and cold extremes. For us that’s using the traditional Finnish sauna for heat, and the ice baths for the cold. Going from 80-95 degrees, down to 5-10 degrees.
At Rimba, we recommend the Hot, Cold, Rest & Repeat method. The first step is heat exposure using the Finnish sauna, you’ve got the beautiful addition of being able to pour water on the stones to create steam. After 8-12 minutes of sweating, you move on to step 2: cold exposure via the ice baths. Before entering the ice bath, we ask you to take a cleansing shower using the pail or rain shower located in the room. Pick the ice bath of choice and fully submerge your body into it. One is set for five degrees, and the other is set around 10 degrees. Once you have submerged your body, practise breathing to help the amount of time you last. Anywhere between two up to five minutes is great but when your body feels ready, move on to step 3: rest. Time to relax. Take a seat, and let your body rest. Allow your body to rest for at least five minutes before heading back into the sauna. And repeat!
What kind of client do you attract?
At Rimba we really do attract everyone, it’s such an easy therapy to incorporate into your wellness regime. Obviously we attract health conscious people who are proactive in maintaining general health and wellbeing but the spectrum significantly varies as sauna therapy has so many significant health benefits. Clients will come to us for one specific benefit such as muscle recovery, and they then receive so many other benefits as a byproduct, like improved sleep and mental clarity and that’s what keeps them coming back.
Tell us about your third studio, about to open in Cronulla.
We are currently on track for an opening in mid-Feb 2023. We’re working with Daniel Malik for our third studio in Cronulla, who was the original designer and architect of our Manly studio. It’s amazing to be working together again and what is planned for Cronulla is a step up again from the design of Neutral Bay. We are so excited to share this next space! We’re wanting to continue to elevate the design of each studio allowing us to stay ahead of the design trends but also to be able to allow the location and lifestyle to be woven throughout the look and feel of our studios.
What are you planning for 2023 / what does the future look like for Rimba?
We love sharing our spaces and therapies with all our clients, the benefits are undeniable and the way you can really reset or set someone’s day up for the better, no one ever regrets a sauna session with Rimba Sweat. The endorphin release makes it feel like a blend of walking out after a relaxing massage and just finishing a workout. When you see the clients leaving our studio either feeling completely energised for the day ahead or relaxed in the evening winding down from a stressful day, it gives you a genuine feeling that we’ve really helped improve their mental and physical wellbeing, and that makes us feel really proud to be doing what we do.
In 2023 and beyond, we want to continue to share the Rimba experience with as many people as possible so the vision is to continue to expand throughout Sydney, NSW and interstate within the next few years.
Rimbasweat.com.au
