After just 15 minutes into his first session of float therapy, Scott Mitchell fell into a deep meditation.
Mitchell, who was looking for a way to help manage mental health challenges, heard of float therapy from a podcast and decided to give it a try in 2017.
“I’ve never been in a meditation before that point, and it really kind of changed my whole life,” said Mitchell, who now owns a float studio, Float Rhode Island, with his business partner, Lindy Fregeolle.
Float therapy, also known as sensory deprivation or reduced sensory therapy, involves floating in an egg-shaped pod filled with about 10 inches of water and 850 pounds of Epsom salts. The pod is heated to the average temperature of a person’s skin.
The goal is to reduce or eliminate senses so the body and mind can slow down, and a person can reach new headspaces, Fregeolle said. People usually try float therapy for a range of reasons, from pain or anxiety management and looking for a new method of meditation to just trying something new.
Mitchell and Fregeolle purchased the studio in 2022. Since then, they have made several changes, including changing the name from Float to Float Rhode Island and adding an infrared sauna unit.
With this unit, the studio offers halotherapy – also known as dry salt therapy, in which salt particles are dispersed with a halogenerator; the infrared sauna, which provides radiant heat that increases blood and oxygen flow to muscles; and red-light therapy, which uses different wavelengths of light to boost wound healing, manage pain and reduce inflammation. Customers can also get a combination of the infrared sauna and halotherapy.
Float Rhode Island also offers massages; Reiki, a form of energy therapy; and there is a wellness studio where group sessions of sound healing and guided meditation are done.
Neither Fregeolle nor Mitchell had experience running a spa or wellness studio. Fregeolle had worked in education and started a small jewelry business from home and Mitchell had worked as an engineering executive. But they were passionate about float therapy and were looking to take their careers in a new direction.
“We just really knew it was the kind of business that could not only help us but help other people,” Fregeolle said.
They were able to get help getting funds and running the business through courses and mentorship from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Now, Mitchell and Fregeolle are hoping to keep growing their business at their current location through offering services that help customers.
“There’s still a lot of potential here,” Fregeolle said. “Our goal is to continue to grow so that we can continue to help as many [people] as we can.”
OWNERS: Lindy Fregeolle and Scott Mitchell
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Wellness center
LOCATION: 2258 Post Road, Warwick
EMPLOYEES: Six
YEAR FOUNDED: 2022
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
