Exploring Life & Business with Joel And Rachel Garcia-Daly of Bathe Sauna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel And Rachel Garcia-Daly.

Hi Joel and Rachel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Bathe Sauna came about from our love of sauna and bathhouse culture and community. Joel has a background in carpentry and construction and was working with a tiny home manufacturing company in Texas while simultaneously operating a Pedicab company. He would travel to different events all over the country and in the summer of 2018 he made it to Denver, visiting friends and exploring the awesome mountain biking trails that Colorado has to offer. In that short time in Denver Joel was distracted by Rachel, a strikingly beautiful and intelligent woman working as a massage therapist. Since both of our jobs are very physical, we understood the importance of taking care of our bodies. Rachel, a spa and bathhouse enthusiast has visited and worked in many different wellness industries and has always had a vision of starting her own wellness facility. We took many trips that centered around visiting hot springs and spas all over Colorado and in the winter 2019 Joel decided he would take a trailer he owned and instead of building a tiny home on it would build a sauna. He finished the exterior at the same time the pandemic struck. We decided to move in together and brought the sauna up from Texas to Denver and parked in the backyard of our house. Over the next year, Joel finished the interior. We decided to build a traditional wood-burning sauna with Oregon cedar shiplap on the inside and cedar benches to give it a cozy cabin vibe. What started out as a passion project became the inspiration for a business. The sauna was completed in 2021 and since then we have gradually built a wellness community with our friends and word of mouth connections.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been some ups and downs for sure. In the beginning, it was difficult to convey to people what we were offering and getting people to understand that it was a sauna on a trailer- it was hard for some people to envision the portability. However, with the popularity of hot and cold therapies, it has become a smoother sell to the general public. With each new location it inspires new ideas on how to make the experience better. It can be exciting and challenging but that’s one of the reasons we love what we’ve created. Self-care has been gaining popularity and seeing it grow within Denver has been rewarding to watch.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Bathe Sauna is a mobile wood burning wet and dry sauna. We have been operating since 2021 making Bathe Sauna the first mobile sauna in Denver. What started out as a personal passion project led into our desire to create a sauna/spa culture that was missing in Denver. Rachel, having a keen entrepreneurial eye saw a lack of opportunity in Denver for sauna experiences. She encouraged Joel’s passion for carpentry and innovative thinking to help form a traveling community sauna for the city of Denver and beyond. Our business specializes in creating a traditional wood burning sauna and cold plunge experience that can be delivered to a variety of locations. We find that our customers value the time and effort we put into to bringing this unique experience to them. The sauna has the ability to have 10 people inside, therefore allowing large parties to enjoy a wonderful hot and cold bonding moment. Something we are very proud of is the grassroots word of mouth popularity and love that has put us in contact with many clients and venues: such as Invisible City, Zodiac Hause, Beacon RiNo, ESP, Dry Clean Only, Desert Reef Hot Springs, private parties, yoga/dance studios, and apartment complexes, just to list a few. Well, the say “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” We take great pride in being the trailblazers in the mobile sauna concept in Denver. And, we are encouraged by the many other companies entering the market to help legitimize this new industry for our city.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Denver is an amazing place to live. In spite of being a big city it has small town values and community engagement that’s willing to support small businesses to create connections. So many people from all different demographics and economic backgrounds rub shoulders with ease and no judgement- a very egalitarian vibe. Many who live here have a deep love of nature and love of the mountains. That commonality removes many barriers that otherwise might separate people. The popularity of living in Denver is bringing many like minded people to relocate. With that growth comes typical growing pains, traffic, crowds, and housing issues. We all need to practice tolerance and patience as our community grows.
So, Be Kind and have a Bathe Sauna!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bathe.sauna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bathe-sauna/61567503716275/

Image Credits
Stephen Cardinale