Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Good morning, Fort Macquarie, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned into the Mac city morning show as for usual, I'm your host, Elliot Pierre. And we're going to start this episode off the same way we start every episode off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time. So the fact that you spend with us truly does mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, Tanner hidden with the intro.
Speaker 0 00:00:29 All right. We are back as you can see, we are not on the set of the Mac city morning show. I'm not going to tell you where we are and I'm not going to tell you who the guest is as per usual, I'm going to let them do that themselves. So on that note, sir, can you please tell anybody at home who you are, what you're about and where we are to date?
Speaker 2 00:00:43 Cool, man. Yeah. My name is Jamie Phillips. Um, I'm one of the co-founders of modern gravity flow studio here in Edmonton, Alberta. And yeah, this is the shop. This is what we do.
Speaker 0 00:00:55 Pretty cool shop, man. Thank you. So I had the privilege to go float yesterday. I came here once before the pandemic. It is a, it is a crazy experience to say the least free world. So I know you from Fort McMurray, born and raised Fort McMurray, then you moved downtown Wheaton. Let's start off before we start about Mo before we start talking about modern gravity, explain to me your journey from Fort McMurray to here. Like how did that all transpire?
Speaker 2 00:01:22 Cool man. So, uh, yeah, I was born and raised Fort Mac. Um, I grew up there for about 18 years just before I turned 18. Um, graduating, wanting to get out of the city, um, small town life. I was like, I want to expand my horizons to a degree. So I decided to come to Edmonton. I had the opportunity to do it. I wanted to go to school, ended up, um, not working out in that way. Yeah. Started working at a warehouse and then eventually over many years that kind of turned into kind of where we are now. Yeah. Yeah. So
Speaker 0 00:01:55 Crazy. So like what kind of warehouse? My dad worked in where I was his whole life up in Fort Mac. What kind of warehouse were you working down here? Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:02:00 It's like a fittings and like pipeline kind of supplier. Actually my oldest brother, you know, Roddy. Yeah. He got, he got me a job there. He kind of saved me cause like is either get a job or like head back home. So I was like, I want to stay in the city and he kind of hooked me up and I stayed there for a bit. And then actually, so like the whole kind of reiteration of everything is just like, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was supposed to go to school at Nate to do like a pre-trade scores. But when me and my friend applied, we applied to the wrong campus. I had no idea. So like the first day of school came around and um, and they're like, oh, your school's in like medicine hat or like grand Prairie. And I was like, oh, where's grand Prix. Is that a different campus? Like that was a different city.
Speaker 2 00:02:47 Right. Like I had no idea. Um, not really, I guess maybe Google maps didn't exist at that time or something. I know. Right. But, um, yeah, so I had to kind of figure that out. So that's what got the warehouse job. And I actually, one day at the warehouse, I was like, oh, what should I like, I'm not going to do this forever. I know that. Um, but do I want to do? And I just thought, well, like what does my dad do? My dad happens to be like, he's like a red seal mill. Right. Which is like an industrial mechanic. Right. So I actually just opened up a phone book and looked at millwright like a yellow pages and I phoned all 11 places and I somehow got a job and then like started the trade kind of career and kind of went from there.
Speaker 0 00:03:24 And so how does that transfer being a millwright calling, looking up at the yellow pages. Toning afloat.
Speaker 2 00:03:31 Yeah. So like I worked in, I wouldn't actually back to McMurray for work for a bit that got the kind of end dish, I guess could say of that part of the career. Um, I worked most of my trades in town, in Edmonton, just moving from shop to shop. I just knew it wasn't really, for me, there's like a few instances where I was just like the safety aspect of it, like kind of got like a little dicey, like just, you know, working trades, you can come across these situations. And then I had some issues with my eye and I was like, Hey, I can't do this forever. Yeah. So it wasn't actually, you know, um, you know, my roommate, Matt or my, um, uh, business partner, Matt, he used to be my roommate during the time during our twenties, the whole party phase. And like all our friends from McMurray would come down, we just all hang out and stuff and it is great.
Speaker 2 00:04:14 And after living with us for so long living together for so long, I knew Matt wanted to open a business for a long time. You want to open up a gym. Um, and I was like, oh yeah, you know, I'm working like making a decent amount of cash I'll I can definitely be an investor in your gym. Right, right. But he, he used to float back in the day, he was like 1918 then down in red deer and like old lady's house. Right. So he wanted to actually figure out what type of businessy or what kind of gym you want to open by using a float tank and kind of like clarify as head, you can find a float tank in town. Right. So he's looking and looking and looking and then like the light bulb clicked on he's like, I wonder if you can open like a float center.
Speaker 2 00:04:52 So he looked into it and there actually at that time was when all the float centers were opening up. So he asked me, he's like, Hey, do you want to run a float center? And that was kind of transitioning out of the millwright phase. And I was like, well, I don't want to go to school right now. So yes I do. And like, funny enough, all the, the millwright skills, like they kind of like intertwined here quite a bit because all the pump systems and like the mechanical assistance, it's nothing like so complex, but it does transfer over. So that's kind of how the whole route started. He's personal fitness and I'm more right. So there's,
Speaker 0 00:05:24 So you guys have had this place for a while. Like I came here, I think like two years ago. It was the first time I came and floated. So how long have you guys been in business for?
Speaker 2 00:05:31 Uh, January 26th, 2016. Oh, wow.
Speaker 0 00:05:35 So it's been going well and like, obviously I know your brothers, um, it didn't always start off in the location that we are here currently.
Speaker 2 00:05:42 Yeah. We actually started doing this in the townhouse or Matt was my roommate where I live currently, but um, yeah, like a little yellow townhouse, just north of 107th avenue. We'll start floating people in our basement. We float over 1200 people in our basement, in a laundry room. Wow. Yeah. And, uh, that that's back in Tony 2014.
Speaker 0 00:06:01 Yeah. That's crazy. So like, explain that to me. Cause like when you float in itself, it's an experience. It's different. It's like, I don't think it's mainstream as of right now more and more people are definitely finding out about it. Mind you, but back then it must've been fringe and people were like, okay, coming into your basement in the living room, you're like, yeah, just get in the tank,
Speaker 2 00:06:20 Go for a float. Basically. Like all we did was, um, go look a shower rod and like long, long enough to like kind of like cover the end of the basement. So it kinda just looked like a long hallway and then like, right, when you go downstairs in the house, there's a bathroom, which is perfect. And then underneath that or down the hallway is the laundry room. Right. So we're just like the ceilings unfinished and stuff. So we just like to like this like fabric store on the south side and got like a big sheet, just stapled it to the roof and kind of made it like loopy, like kind of made it look like kind of like, you know, kind of spa. Like we're like, okay, it's kind of works where you put some sheets of on the walls to knock the salt spray and stuff. And then, um, yeah, we had, we happened to find a float tank, like one of the original kind of OGE float tanks from like the eighties just happened to fit in our laundry room perfectly. So I had to move the washer and dryer covered those up with sheets, put the float tank there, covering out the sheet. So it just, you walk into the room then it's just basically like a float tank entrance. You pop inside, floating there.
Speaker 0 00:07:17 And so now, like you're talking old school flow tank. Now you have these rooms that you go into where it's like, it's a shower area. And then you open the door and you're like, what would you call it? Like, it's a room. Is it a capsule?
Speaker 2 00:07:30 It's like, uh, I guess, um, people refer to him as rooms or cabins, I guess. Uh, like I just call them float rooms, which is kind of confusing. Cause like the float room is in a float room, so you can call it a float cabin. But basically it's like you had, when, when floating kind of started, you had like a lot of pods and smaller kind of compartments, just like purpose built going here, lay down float and like it's narrow and get drips of water. These are kind of like the next generation of that. That's right. Where you can actually stand up inside there's stars in the ceiling. Like it's a lot more spacious. Yeah, definitely. So much of like what people are apprehensive to is like anxiety and claustrophobia. Right. So they want to go into it like a small space. It's already kind of like impactful. So they have to, we try and like make it not such a small space.
Speaker 0 00:08:14 No, it doesn't seem small at all in there. And that's for sure. But you have a lot of, a lot of space, like where you're floating as well as the upper space. And then when you come out and you have the shower area, it's, it's a long, long amount of air. You don't feel cost claustrophobic at all. Yeah. I hope not. Yeah. So for the people at home, who's, who've never floated before and they may be interested in doing it. Like what is the type of experience that your clients kind of tell you, they get while they're in there, what are the benefits of going for a float?
Speaker 2 00:08:41 Yes. Like that's like the wall parts, like cause everything and everything, you know, it was like kind of, we were talking yesterday and stuff like, yeah, you can go in once, then go in a second time. And it's not the same, the different in their own ways. Most people are coming in for like honestly distress, stress, relief, relaxation. Cause like, all it's really doing is just while float tank is just an environment that allows your parasympathetic nervous system to like respond. So like you cut out all stimulus and then like your brain doesn't have to focus on much basically. Right. And then in turn it like kind of just puts you in a meditative state and that's enhanced by like the lack of stimulus going in and like the weightlessness on your body and assault and everything. You just going fo like float in this like void of darkness for a bit.
Speaker 2 00:09:24 And you just come out feeling super relaxed and like trippy, strange things can kind of happen in there from time to time. So like some people do it for that element. Some people do it for like distress relief. Like I've been hearing more stories and stuff from like, um, some of our team and stuff where they say, uh, they have been asking people, one of our team members is asking people like, oh, why do you come float so much? Some people like, oh, cause I'm an angry person, which you would never, never, ever expect with some people like they're the friendliest people that you ever see. Right. But people come in for just a myriad of reasons. Right. And yeah, if you've got a recent surgery or they're in recovery or sports athletics, they like to work out just like athletic recovery and just a whole spectrum of things.
Speaker 0 00:10:06 So I would say nowadays, especially because of like the pandemic and COVID and the stress level people are having, like, this is great for mental health. Great. For mental health. I know for me, like I'm a pretty chill guy and I meditate a lot, but going into those tanks, like it's, it's another level of that meditation that I would do for sure. And you come out and it's hard to be upset or even like mindful of like your worries once you come out of that, it's just a very cool chilling.
Speaker 2 00:10:35 Yeah. Yeah. Like the mindfulness aspect is such an important element. That's the main reasons that I personally want to like actually open the flow studio is because I think it's important for people to kind of like reflect inwards and like kind of achieve some kind of mindfulness so they can kind of like, just see themselves in how they address the world. Right. And it's such an important thing because you know, if we all treat each other better than, Hey, you know, like world's a better place in my opinion. That's right.
Speaker 0 00:11:04 Yeah. Now, yesterday we were talking about this when I go in there, I go just it's black, no sound. But if that's a bit intimidating for some people, like you said, there are stars, you can listen to music. Like you can do it more so than just isolating all of your senses. It, it can have more experience.
Speaker 2 00:11:19 Exactly. Yeah. Like we have lights in the basin, so underwater and then lights on the ceiling. So if you're don't want to be in the pitch black, you don't have to be, um, we don't often play audio, but you can, like, some people bring in meditation tracks and people will bring in certain albums. They like things like that. So there is ways to kind of get used to the process, although like I'm a, I'm a purist at nature and I'm always just like, you're going to want to at least float, like with nothing eventually to that point. But it just takes time for people to warm up to different things too. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:11:49 It's really cool, man. Like it's, uh, it's an experience to say the least. Yeah. For me, I know the first time I went in there, it was borderline psychedelic light without any form of narcotics whatsoever. It was just like me and my brain. And I was like, man, this is wild. But then yesterday, like it was not like that at all. It was a completely different experience where like, I couldn't hold onto a thought to save my life. Like it really did like clear my brain and uh, you lose all track of time when you're
Speaker 2 00:12:20 Exactly. I see. It's like time traveling to some degree, you know, like you can go into a float tank for an hour and they'll feel like five minutes. Actually. I know we went to the conference, there was a story from another center where, um, some places will play music to kind of get people in for the first 10 minutes. Um, and this is one of those places. So they say one of the customers went in, he laid down the tank, they're playing music. And he passed out so quickly that by the time the song was over, he thought he was in there for like an hour and a half and he just got out and they're like, oh, why are you up too early? And he's just like, what do you mean? I was in there for like an hour and a half. Right. He's just that relaxed already, just like that quickly. And it doesn't happen necessarily that every single time, but it can. Right. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:13:01 So now you're in there and your pitch black, there was a red button. Yeah. So like, what's like, there's a bunch of different things in there. So like do, is that for somebody who's like, oh, I'm freaking out. It's too dark. I hit that and lights come on. Like I never hit the buttons. So what's that? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:13:14 Essentially it's essentially just an emergency button. Okay. Um, yeah, like kind of like a panic button. Yeah. We've had it maybe pressed like four times since we've been open. Um, cause I mean the easiest thing, if you feel like you're trapped in a float tank, like you literally just have to bend your knee and then touch your foot to the bottom and you'll stabilize yourself. You can just sit up that's right. So, but in the, I mean obviously in a moment of panic people, aren't going to think clearly like that. So they need something to like jam and then we can go in and get them, get them help to kind of get out of the tank. Things like that.
Speaker 0 00:13:45 It's really cool, man. I enjoyed it. So that's the end of the show. Really? That's I think we're close to 20 minutes. It's hard for me to tell. Okay. That's I know it flies. So first and foremost, I want to say thank you very much for letting me like experience it. Amazing. I'll definitely be back again and again. Um, but before I cut you loose everybody at the end of the show gets a shameless shout out or plug. So you got the cameras on you, you got lights on you.
Speaker 2 00:14:08 Ooh. I get to, I get to shout out people. Yes, sir. Oh, crazy. Okay. Uh, well first I got to kind of look at the camera. Well, first I got to think, um, everybody who kind of made this a thing. Um, so that's my family. And like my business partner, my business partners, family, um, all our customers that come in and actually have support, especially during the pandemic people that kept their memberships going. Cause they want to see us like survive. That was, I can't thank everybody enough for that to even be open to having this conversation with the camera and Elliot right now, if it wasn't for these, it wasn't for you guys then like we wouldn't be here and then just everybody that's associated. Um, my buddy down the states, Justin Asher. Um, thank you. Right. And yeah, my beautiful, my beautiful partner, Lauren, she has been a incredible help during these many years of stress, as you know, opening a business is kind of crazy.
Speaker 2 00:15:10 Um, yeah, all my family, all my friends and just like the closest people around me, like all the support, you know, it's just all love is all we've ever got since we've been doing this. And you know, there's a smudge of, of doubt here and there, but it's so negligible, which is not what I expected. So everybody that has supported us over the years, just thank all of you. And we hope that we continue to do this for many years to come and we can expand and grow and get more people into this and kind of get the mindfulness to spread across Canada, the world wherever. So
Speaker 0 00:15:42 Yeah, there you go. Awesome. And for the people at home, if they are down napkin, where are we?
Speaker 2 00:15:47 Whew. So we're on a hundred and 20th street and a hundred ninth avenue. Um, basically you're driving down one 11 tab south of the Tim Horton's um, basically just like a little bit Northwest of the downtown core. Um, not too far away from the corner of Edmonton and yeah, we're, we're here. We're open seven days a week, you know, perfect. Scott floats for everybody.
Speaker 0 00:16:09 Well Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. That's been another episode of the Mac city morning show. Thank you very much for tuning in. It does mean the world to me. I hope you're having a great day and we'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 2 00:16:18 Peace, peace
Speaker 3 00:16:22 Dalio Wade. And another morning show later by us.
Speaker 1 00:16:30 You
Speaker 2 00:16:39 Talk about quenching your ugly thirsty.
