From a Childhood Sauna Tradition to a Canadian Manufacturing Company

My connection to sauna culture started in childhood. I grew up in Eastern Europe, where the traditional sauna, known as a banya, has been part of everyday life for generations. I grew up enjoying sauna sessions with family and friends. For me, a sauna was never simply a luxury product. It was a place to relax, warm up during the winter, spend time together and disconnect from the stresses of everyday life.

Years later, that personal connection would become the foundation for SaunaSpa, a Canadian manufacturer of outdoor saunas, cold plunges and other wellness products crafted primarily from Western Red Cedar.

Combining Business With Hands-On Skills

Before entering the sauna manufacturing industry, I studied business and spent much of my professional career working in sales and marketing. A significant part of my earlier career was also closely connected to the commercial food-equipment industry. Working around professional equipment gave me valuable exposure to fabrication methods, durable materials and, in particular, the different grades and qualities of stainless steel used in demanding environments.

That experience later influenced the way we select hardware and metal components for SaunaSpa products. I learned that not all stainless steel is the same and that material grade matters when components are exposed to heat, humidity and outdoor conditions. This is one of the reasons we use 304 stainless steel for many of the stainless components in our saunas, including straps, threaded hardware, heat shields, stove guards and other metal parts.

At the same time, I was always a hands-on person. Over the years, I completed numerous renovation projects in my own homes, including kitchens, bathrooms, carpentry work and other improvements. I developed an appreciation for quality tools, properly equipped workshops and, most importantly, building things correctly rather than taking shortcuts.

I always enjoyed understanding how things were built and finding ways to improve them. Eventually, the combination of my business experience, knowledge of materials and practical building skills gave me the confidence to pursue something I had thought about for years: building saunas professionally.

The First Saunas Were Built in a Garage

In 2015, I began building saunas as a small part-time business from my garage. There was no large factory, production team or sophisticated manufacturing equipment. In the beginning, it was a small operation focused on craftsmanship, learning, improving designs and listening closely to customers. I was involved in virtually every part of the process, from speaking with customers and sourcing materials to building, finishing and delivering the saunas.

As more orders began coming in, the garage was no longer enough. Additional space had to be rented and I occasionally brought in help to make sure customers received their saunas on time. What had started as a side business was gradually becoming a real manufacturing company.

The company eventually became known as SaunaSpa.

A Major Step Forward

In 2022, SaunaSpa moved into a larger production space on a farm in Saint-Martine, Québec. This marked an important stage in the company’s development. With more room for production, equipment, materials and finished saunas, we were able to increase manufacturing capacity while continuing to improve existing designs and develop new products.

But growth was never intended to come at the expense of the principles on which the company was built. The objective remained straightforward: manufacture durable and attractive outdoor wellness products in Canada using quality materials and practical designs suited to the Canadian climate.

Growing Through Canadian Partnerships

Another important milestone came in 2023, when we began working with Tanguay, one of Québec’s best-known home furnishing and retail companies.

Tanguay went on to become one of our largest clients and helped introduce SaunaSpa products to more customers throughout Québec. That same year, we entered into a distribution relationship with Kodiak Saunas, helping expand our presence in Ontario.

For me, these partnerships represented an important validation of an idea that had started years earlier in a residential garage: Canadian-made saunas could compete based on craftsmanship, design, customer service and value.

Expanding Into the United States

In 2024, we reached another milestone when SaunaSpa began exporting Canadian-made saunas to customers and dealers in the United States.

Entering the U.S. market required us to think beyond being a local sauna builder and develop the production capacity, logistics and processes necessary to serve customers across a much larger territory.

It was another important step in transforming SaunaSpa from a small Québec manufacturer into a growing Canadian outdoor wellness brand.

Expanding Beyond Saunas Into Cold Therapy

As SaunaSpa continued to grow, I became increasingly interested in creating a more complete outdoor wellness experience.

Cold plunging was a natural addition. Alternating between sauna heat and cold water has long been part of sauna traditions in many Northern and Eastern European cultures. For customers creating their own backyard wellness space, combining a sauna with a cold plunge was an increasingly natural fit.

We began developing and manufacturing cold plunges designed to complement our outdoor saunas. We later expanded our offering to include cold plunge systems with chillers, allowing customers to maintain cold water temperatures without relying exclusively on ice.

The addition of cold plunges also reflected a larger change in my vision for the company. SaunaSpa was no longer intended to be simply a sauna manufacturer. The goal was becoming broader: to manufacture outdoor wellness products that allow people to create a complete relaxation and recovery space at home.

New Products and a Permanent Home

The year 2025 represented another period of major growth and investment for SaunaSpa. Several new sauna models and outdoor wellness products were introduced as we continued responding to changing customer preferences and experimenting with new designs. That same year, SaunaSpa purchased its own building and land in Saint-Chrysostome, Quebec, providing us with the permanent space needed to continue increasing production, investing in equipment, improving manufacturing processes and developing future products.

For a business that had started inside a residential garage ten years earlier, owning a dedicated manufacturing property represented an especially meaningful milestone. It also demonstrated my commitment to continuing to manufacture SaunaSpa products in Québec and investing in the company’s long-term future.

Canadian-Made With Western Red Cedar and Quality Materials

Material selection has always been an important part of our philosophy. Western Red Cedar became one of our primary materials because of its natural beauty, distinctive aroma and suitability for many outdoor applications. The same attention is given to the materials that may be less visible.

Drawing on my previous experience in the commercial food-equipment industry, we place particular importance on the quality of stainless steel used throughout our products. Stainless components such as sauna straps, threaded hardware, heat shields, stove guards and other exposed metal parts are made using 304 stainless steel.

For me, these details matter because a sauna is exposed to a demanding combination of moisture, temperature changes and outdoor weather conditions. I believe customers purchasing an outdoor sauna should understand not only what the finished product looks like, but also what it is made from, how it is constructed and how it should be maintained.

That philosophy has influenced our approach to product development from the beginning. Rather than focusing exclusively on creating products that look attractive in photographs, we consider how the sauna will actually be delivered, installed, heated, maintained and used by customers throughout the Canadian seasons.

Building Products for the Canadian Climate

Having experienced sauna culture since childhood and Canadian winters for many years, I believe outdoor saunas sold in Canada should be designed with the realities of the Canadian climate in mind.

Material selection, construction methods, roofing, heaters, ventilation, stainless-steel hardware, maintenance and proper installation all matter. Temperatures in Québec and other parts of Canada can vary dramatically throughout the year and outdoor wellness products must be built with those conditions in mind.

For us, this means continually evaluating products based not only on appearance, but also on how they perform in real-world Canadian conditions.

More Than Selling a Sauna

One of my priorities has always been helping customers understand what they are buying. Many people begin shopping for their first sauna without knowing much about sauna construction. They naturally have questions about electrical requirements, wood-burning versus electric heaters, foundations, sauna sizes, insulation, maintenance, delivery access, ventilation and the differences between barrel, cube and modern-style saunas.

Our role is not simply to sell a product. It is also to help customers understand these decisions before they purchase. That philosophy comes partly from my background in sales and customer service.

A satisfied customer who enjoys the product for years is far more valuable than simply completing a transaction.

A Hands-On Owner

Despite the growth of SaunaSpa, I have deliberately remained closely involved in the company’s everyday operations. I oversee sales and customer relationships, work closely with the production team, participate in product development and become involved when unusual problems need to be solved. Customers may occasionally even see me arriving on a delivery or helping with a service call or repair.

That involvement is intentional. I believe the owner of a manufacturing company should understand what is happening throughout the business, not only from behind a desk, but also in the workshop and at customers’ homes.

Being part of the team allows me to see firsthand how our products are manufactured, transported, installed and ultimately used. Those experiences often lead directly to improvements in designs, production methods, delivery procedures and customer service.

My philosophy is that it is difficult to improve a product unless you remain close to both the people who build it and the people who use it.

Growing Without Losing the Company’s Identity

As SaunaSpa has grown, maintaining the culture of a smaller manufacturer has become increasingly important to me. Growth does not simply mean producing more units. It means improving manufacturing efficiency, investing in better equipment, developing new products, creating skilled jobs, building stronger relationships with dealers and providing better service to customers.

At the same time, I want SaunaSpa to remain approachable. Customers should still be able to speak with people who understand the products and the manufacturing process rather than dealing with a company that feels disconnected from what it sells.

That balance between growing the company and remaining hands-on is something I consider essential to SaunaSpa’s future.

Looking Ahead

SaunaSpa has changed considerably since I built the first sauna in a garage in 2015, but I believe we are still at the beginning of our journey. The long-term objective is to continue investing in Canadian manufacturing, develop new outdoor sauna and cold-plunge products, improve production technology and expand our dealer and distribution network across Canada and the United States.

There is also a broader goal. I want more Canadians to recognize that high-quality outdoor wellness products can be designed and manufactured here at home.

As SaunaSpa grows, I want the company to remain recognizable as the kind of business it was when it started: accessible, knowledgeable, hands-on and proud of the products we build.

“I never wanted to build a company where the owner doesn’t know what is happening in the workshop or what customers are experiencing. I want to stay involved, keep improving our products and make sure that as SaunaSpa grows, we don’t lose the craftsmanship and customer service that helped us get here.”

From a garage workshop in 2015 to a growing Canadian manufacturer serving customers in Québec, Ontario and the United States, my journey with SaunaSpa has ultimately been about turning a lifelong appreciation for sauna culture into a Canadian manufacturing business.

What began with building saunas has grown into a larger vision of creating Canadian-made outdoor wellness products that bring sauna, cold therapy, relaxation and time together into people’s homes.

And for me, there is still much more to build.

I’m also now a star of our own little YouTube channel, where we humbly share our sauna experiences with anyone passionate about the sauna lifestyle, hence the name: https://www.youtube.com/@SaunaSpaCA

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