Patrick Gunther
*This contrast therapy studio review is sponsored by Warrior Willpower, supplying ice baths and premium water chillers trusted by pro athletes for optimal recovery.
My Introduction to CHILLR°
I had a delightful visit to CHILLR° on the evening of April 23, 2024, their very first day of operation.
To give a little background, I first learned of CHILLR° in the summer of 2023. Driving my regular route along State Street in Lindon, Utah I had noticed a banner outside of their establishment, roadside, announcing their soon-to-come opening. I had no idea what CHILLR° was, so I went online to do a little investigating. I initially thought it was some kind of polar plunge club, which intrigued me. I learned from their website that they were a recovery studio, specializing in contrast therapy, among other things. These “other things” that evolved from their original plans are what I have come to understand set CHILLR° apart from the competition, and make it truly unique. But, I’ll get into that in a minute.
At about the time that I saw advertising for CHILLR° on the roadside banner, I was making some necessary changes in my lifestyle to become healthier. Learning about the premise of CHILLR° and contrast therapy sent me down a little bit of a rabbit hole of discovering whether cold water immersion might help speed up my metabolism, and help me lose weight. I thought, what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. I think I can withstand a little cold water. So, since CHILLR° was yet to open at the time, I went online and purchased an inflatable ice bath tub.
The Leadup
It’s interesting that CHILLR° was my first exposure to cold water immersion therapy, although it has not opened until this late date. Until now, for the past nine months, I had been first chilling in my tub at home in the backyard, had a short stint at Jiko Life, then graduated to attending Plunj Saratoga for contrast therapy on a nightly basis, and finally ended up at Ash and Ice in Pleasant Grove when it opened at the beginning of March 2024, just 3 minutes away from my home. I knew by this time that contrast therapy was my “jam”, a mainstay in my life for the way it makes me feel.
Fast forward to the evening of April 23, 2024. Finally, I would have my chance to try out CHILLR°…
My First Visit to CHILLR°
The Grand Tour
At 7:30 pm that evening, I met Jacee at the front desk. She greeted me with a bright, beaming smile, and we exchanged pleasantries as she greeted me, and made my acquaintance. Jacee showed me around the facility, and pointed out the various “attractions”. She showed me the Finnish-style dry sauna that was set around 194-degrees, and explained the infrared sauna to me, stating that it was different from the dry sauna experience, in that it heated you from the core outwards, as opposed to the dry sauna that heats you from the outside in.
Jacee then took me to the Red Light Therapy room. This is like a tanning bed, where you lie down underneath a red light with black goggles on to protect your eyes. She explained that this type of therapy was another modality that was good for circulation, but also benefitted the skin (wrinkles, skin texture, and tone), and was great for pain relief and healing. Jacee then showed me the cold plunges. These cold plunges made by Plunge (the company that made a deal with Robert Herjavec on Shark Tank), I was told, are the first of their kind in Utah. There were two of them, one set at 40-degrees, and one set at 50-degrees. What I noticed right off the bat is that their chillers were built in – most that I’ve seen have chillers on the exterior that are attached with piping to the acrylic bath tub unit. Not these – the chillers are self-contained inside of the unit, and boy are these puppies quiet! Other Plunge brand units that I’ve experiences are quite loud. These have a barely perceptible hum from the fan that runs the chiller motor. In between the two cold plunges, there is a shower for use to rinse off sweat from the saunas. Other facilities I have attended either have a bucket that you don’t have a lot of choice of temperature for (because you are sharing it with a group of people in a session), or a push button shower that gives you a limited amount of shower time before it automatically shuts off (kind of like what you experience with some public restroom water faucets).
Jacee then showed me the compression therapy. I don’t know what to call these individual “sleeves”, so I will just call them “sleeves” 😉. There were sleeves for your arms, hips, and legs; your choice. You set them up to run in 15-minute cycles. I was told that these were yet another modality for circulation, and to help with pain and inflammation. They basically provide you with a progressive massage for the targeted area you are working on, whether that be your arms, hips, or legs.
Jacee then showed me the basket that each customer receives when beginning their one-hour session, which includes a large towel (to towel off after the cold plunge), a small towel (for sitting on in the saunas), and a plastic bag for your wet swimming suit afterwards. I was also shown an area just outside of the CHILLR° Lounge, which had a collection of teas, hot chocolate, honey, and water to rehydrate with after sweating in the saunas. The CHILLR° lounge itself was an area to sit and relax, under calming blue light, which also contained a fridge with other specialized cold beverages.
Co-Owners, Ryan LeMone and Todd Davis
During this tour I met the owners, Ryan LeMone and Todd Davis (longtime friends of one another since high school). These fine fellows politely introduced themselves to me, and I was able to put a name with a face, since I had communicated with Ryan off and on during the months of construction of CHILLR°, in the leadup to their opening, as I kept tabs on their progress towards opening for business. I found both men to be very personable and easy to relate to. Come to find out, they graduated from high school locally just two years after my own graduation. So, we come from the same generation. Ryan’s wife, Cyd, is also on Pleasant Grove City Council.
I Start My Session
After being set free to get myself changed and ready, I started in the dry sauna. By the way, I recommend coming at least 10-minutes earlier than your session time, so you can take full advantage of your one-hour session. Being on time just doesn’t cut it (at least not for a first visit), as you’ll need to have time to get the rundown of everything made available for you here to take in. This is one of the things that sets CHILLR° apart – the fact that there are so many things to try, and they are all aimed at recovery. This is not just a contrast therapy studio. You’ll even find (for an additional charge) cryotherapy and a hyperbaric chamber here. They truly do cover the full gamut of recovery modalities. The one complaint I had was that I didn’t have enough time to take everything in. One just hour isn’t enough time to do everything they have to offer. But, I guess that’s what a membership is for – you don’t have to worry about missing out on any one thing in particular if you come regularly. Kind of like working out, you may focus on different areas according to your focus at the time.
The Finnish Dry Sauna
I sat in the dry sauna for about 15 minutes. I thought to myself that it is a good thing that there is so much to do here because patrons can be doing different activities, as it didn’t seem that the dry sauna could hold 8 people in it comfortably. It was beautiful (nice blue LED lights, or whatever color you choose, really, as you could alternate through different color settings for the LED lights that draped across the back of the main sitting bench), and I liked being able to experience relaxing music during my sauna, though it is rather snug inside.
The Cold Plunge Experience
I showered off and went to the 40-degree cold plunge. As mentioned earlier, this unit is smooth. It’s very quiet. I stretched out, and reclined in the cold plunge for my regular 5 minutes. I love how I feel when I get out of a cold plunge. It really spikes your endorphins. I felt euphoric and completely relaxed upon exiting the unit.
Compression Therapy
After I got out of the cold plunge, I toweled off and asked Jacee if she could set me up with the compression therapy. She was happy to oblige. I didn’t know which one to try, and asked for a recommendation. She mentioned that focusing on the legs was popular, so I had her zip the leg sleeves on me, and I took in a 15-minute cycle of this relaxing compression and massage of my legs. This treatment was rather magical. It was fun to feel the sensation of the different stages of compression, as well as the progression of the compression from my feet up to my thighs.
The Evolution of CHILLR° and How it Came to Be
After I finished the compression therapy, my hour was up. Ryan checked in with me to get some feedback on my experience, and to see if I had any suggestions. He also showed me the cryotherapy and hyperbaric chamber room, and explained both modalities to me.
Ryan also explained to me the origin of his and Todd’s idea with CHILLR°. I learned that there were a few bumps in the road before the end result of what this facility has become. Most cold water immersion therapy-type studios had to close down last year, or halt plans for opening because of archaic laws that prevented them from operating as anything other than swimming pools – i.e. underground structures complete with ladders for exiting, fencing, chemicals for sanitation, and a lifeguard. So, Ryan and Todd were going to forge ahead with plans to install a pool-like cold plunge with an adjacent hot tub. However, upon obtaining a prohibitively expensive quote of around $700,000 to install the same, they had Plunge retrofit their original model with the appropriate plumbing for chlorine infusion, and were going to figure out how to meet the other mandates. Fortuitously, at the beginning of 2024, legislation went into effect for the aforementioned archaic laws to be swept aside, in favor of allowing contrast therapy businesses to operate lawfully without the antediluvian barriers to entry. Thankfully, Ryan explained, the pause in the momentum from the restrictions they originally faced has allowed them to pivot from the plans of being only a contrast therapy studio, and guided them towards becoming a full recovery studio. This for them was a blessing in disguise.
Who Should Visit CHILLR°
I left CHILLR° feeling light on my feet, and in a very tranquil state of mind. To reiterate, this is not just another contrast studio. I prognosticate that in the future you’ll likely run into local celebrities here, athletes that operate at the top of their game, what with all of the advanced technologies and features that are offered. But, don’t think that you need to be an athlete to frequent this “community” of like-mined patrons. If you feel the need to recover from arthritic conditions, sprains, back pain, inflammation of any type, or just want to go in after a long day and feel fully relaxed, follow that intuition, and make an appointment. I’m confident you’ll be glad that you did. Most people have some type of pain they are dealing with, be that physical or mental. CHILLR° is good for what ails you, and I’m happy we have this new establishment in our community.
