In late 2022, I suffered a neck injury that prevented me from doing all of the things I love to do.  I was numb on my right side and unable to do a simple pushup or paddle a surfboard.  I spent a ton of money and time on chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, hot yoga and pilates, neck decompression devices and treatment...And I wasn’t making any progress. 

In early January, I ran into an old friend.  He was in Seal Beach to surf, and the waves were going crazy.  He asked me if I was paddling out and I told him what I was dealing with and that I was unable to get to my feet.  I think his exact words were…"ok, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but you need to start a water fast for 4 days and get in an ice bath until you shake.”  I said, well, I’m not ready for the water fast, but I’ll try the ice bath out!

Fortunately, my next door neighbor has an ice bath, so I asked him if I could give it a try.  The first time, I lasted for about 1 minute, in 44 degree water.  I felt like my chest was caving in!  The next day, I lasted for 2 ½ minutes.  And the next day I stayed in for 5 minutes.  The relief wasn’t immediate for my neck, but I could tell that something good was happening.  And the rest of my body felt better than I can remember.  No soreness, no aches and pains, and I felt invigorated. 

After those first 3 days, I decided to purchase an ice bath.  BUT, I just wasn’t ready to spend $5500+ on something that I wasn’t sure I was going to use long-term.  That lead me to the DIY cold plunge using a chest freezer.  I built it and used it daily.  I had all of my friends and and family using it.  And to be honest, it was great.  But at the same time I was trying to figure out why there were such limited product options and why every manufacturer's product was SO EXPENSIVE, and to put it mildly, had zero aesthetic appeal.  So our team at Santa Barbara set out to change that.

In terms of background, I’ve spent my career working in product design, marketing and manufacturing.  Specifically as the president of the Americas region for Quiksilver, inc.  Since leaving Quik in 2015, I’ve been running my own DTC brands - Need Essentials USA, Colby Plus, Kate’s Sunblock, Linksoul and many more. 

Our team knows how to design, produce and take a product to market.  And we’ve been careful to only focus on products that we're passionate about.  Technical products for surfing like, wetsuits.  Running shoes that help you run with proper form and reduce injury from movement pathology, etc. 

Our team works on every aspect of the business to ensure customer service and satisfaction are our top priority.  And because we own our Santa Barbara facility, you can count on us standing behind our products, and that a big part of our cost structure will stay the same (wages, production and the cost of marketing obviously excluded).  We mention this because we are committed to delivering those savings to you in the form of lower prices and higher quality.

Thank you for considering Santa Barbara Ice Bath.  We are here to help 7 days a week.  And if you're in the Santa Barbara area, please drop by, say hi and jump in an ice bath in our showroom!

 

All the best, 

Rob, James, Jack, Evan, Charlie and Hayes!

 

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