Water wellness: Business offers alternative therapies

Travis McQueen said the word he hears most often after customers spend 80 minutes at his spa is “amazing.”

McQueen and his partner, Raquel Martinez, opened Float Centers of Nevada, 5875 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 102, Feb. 1.

A float center is a path to “the deepest state of relaxation you’ll probably ever experience,” McQueen said.

A customer enters a private room, showers, climbs into a ventilated pod and floats for an hour in less than 1 foot of water. The floating is made possible because 1,100 to 1,200 pounds of Epsom salts are dissolved in the water.

After a few minutes in the pod, Martinez said the customer often doesn’t feel the water because it is kept at body temperature. The brain begins to relax, endorphins are produced, and as customer Vance Elrod explained, “You can barely hear yourself breathe — you are so relaxed.”

Elrod, a mixed martial arts fighter, said he normally has trouble sleeping, but after floating, he’s “good” for a couple of weeks as far as being able to sleep.

The atmosphere in the room housing each pod is heavy with humidity and warmth. Inside the pod, the environment is either completely or partially dark. A customer can choose silence or listen to music through a pod speaker. An intercom connects the pod to the front desk in case of questions or an emergency.

In addition to floating, another service available at Float Centers of Nevada is halotherapy, which entails breathing air containing heated salt crystals that can benefit people with lung and skin issues, McQueen said. The business’ brochure states that dry salt therapy can also expand the airways for increased oxygen flow and capacity to enhance athletic performance and endurance.

The business also offers a lounge area where organic teas and other refreshments are available. If inspired to, customers can write their reactions to their session in a notebook on the coffee table.

Introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Indiana native McQueen, a divorced father of two, and Martinez (from a military family) worked in the Las Vegas nightclub business after coming to town 11 and five years ago, respectively.

They heard about floating while listening to Joe Rogan, a comedian, actor, podcaster and announcer for the Ultimate Fighting Championships who is an advocate of floating.

Life on the Strip, dealing with lots of different people, can be stress-producing, McQueen and Martinez said, so they searched for a float pod in the Las Vegas Valley and found only one — in a woman’s home.

They floated, one appointment after the other (a half-day experience), but they loved how they felt and eventually said they’d like to start a business where they and others could enjoy floating. Along the way, they found that floating had also attracted the attention of two local women who offered floating experiences at their new business, Go Float Yourself, 4500 E. Sunset Road, Suite 4.

While planning their business in southwest Las Vegas, McQueen and Martinez were regular customers at Go Float Yourself.

Investing everything they had, McQueen and Martinez visited other spas, purchased equipment, supervised construction, hired a decorator and worked through the permitting and licensing processes.

McQueen explained, “We both are now licensed as CPOs (certified pool operators), and we educated lots of government officials about floating. Three health inspections were involved, but finally, on Feb. 1, after some eight months’ work, we opened for business.”

Sanitation issues are a large part of the business. At least a half-hour is taken between appointments for cleanup and to allow time for four filtrations of pod water. Three times a day, pod water is tested for free chlorine and pH levels. Also, tests for alkalinity, total chlorine and cyanuric acid are conducted twice weekly.

McQueen and Martinez share responsibility for the business, with McQueen taking the lead on any mechanical work and Martinez handling the accounting. Both work on their own well-being through floating.

Most business has been generated through word of mouth and a Facebook page, and although customers’ ages have ranged from the early 20s to the mid-60s, McQueen estimates that most of them are between 28 and 42.

Some dexterity is involved to climb in and out of the pods, and a waiver tells of possible feelings of nausea or dizziness, signs of the body detoxifying or letting go of stress, McQueen said.

Appointments are necessary at Float Centers of Nevada.

Individuals with pacemakers or illnesses such as epilepsy, psychotic attacks, respiratory and kidney issues or communicable diseases are not encouraged to try floating.

Customers must agree not to be under the influence of drugs, alcohol or illegal substances when floating. New customers watch a video before beginning their session.

“We don’t want to disturb anyone who has begun their float by bringing in someone else in the next room midstream,” said Martinez. “Multiple pod sessions all begin at the same time.”

McQueen and Martinez said their goal is to work for themselves and help people.

For more information, visit floatcentersnv.com or call 702-202-0181.