From Garage to $200M Wellness Brand: The Plunge Story

How two float center owners turned a garage project into a $200M holistic health and wellness brand by focusing on health, community and fun.

Now they are inviting you to invest.

For those who are interested in investing in Plunge:
You can still invest in Plunge's community round before they raise their Series A later this year. All information is available on WeFunder.

Full disclosure:
I have invested in Plunge. This article is not financial advice.

From Float Tank To Cold Plunge

Ryan is a marketer, Mike is an engineer.

Before the pandemic, they both had their own floating center in California - until COVID forced them to shut down.

But that didn't stop them from working on a new idea.

In fact, the shutdown gave them the time they needed.

At that time, Mike and Ryan were already big fans of cold exposure.

Both had life-changing experiences with the cold and used it regularly to improve their health.

Thanks to influencers like Wim Hof, cold plunging was becoming increasingly popular all over the world.

But it was difficult to find a convenient way of doing it.

Your options were:

• filling your bathtub with ice cubes
• building a DIY chestfreezer plunge
• going to a local facility with professional cold tubs
• or finding a local river (in winter...)

They were either time-intensive (river), costly (50 USD for ice cubes for one session), or not very safe (forgot to unplug your chestfreezer? Good luck....).

One day, Mike started tinkering in his garage.

The idea was to sell 20 cold plunges to local float centers.

They bought one bath tub, modified it, sold it, and used the profit to buy another tub.

This cycle continued for the first years.

They didn't intend to build a company - let alone build the company they have built today.

Their goal was to help people get healthier with cold water - clean and ready at all times to lower the hurdle so people use it more regularly.

Over the next 4.5 years, they went from this:

to that:

How Did They Grow The Brand?

Their focus on fun and community played a big role in growing the company.

And a clever marketing strategy:

They started by gifting free cold plunges to celebrities and influencers they looked up to.

And by "gifting" I don't mean sending the tubs with a thank you card.

They hand-delivered each tub.

Talking to the recipients and getting firsthand feedback.

Among the lucky recipients were Aubrey Marcus, Rich Roll, Tony Hawk, and Andrew Huberman.

Even Andy Frisella (creator of 75 Hard).

But he didn’t use it for months.

In fact he made fun of cold plunging, until he tried it.

Then he said:

‘Nothing in my life has had as profound an impact on my mental health as cold plunging.’ - Andy Frisella

Their strategy worked.

Word spread fast and what people referred to as "ice baths" before quickly became "cold plunging".

This gave Ryan and Mike the visibility they needed to grow.

More and more people started talking about them online.

In fact, the cold craze about Plunge was so big that the demand was overwhelming at first.

They had purchased the domain name thecoldplunge.com for $10.

But when it started ranking number 1 on Google, they weren’t ready to deal with the inflow of interest.

The unexpected traffic forced them to create something outstanding.

Once they generated sufficient revenue, they doubled down on their big three's: health, community and fun.

They organized fun events for their community and participated in other events like Diplo Run's Club, Wodapalooza, Coachella parties, Stagecoach parties, Art Basel, Runningman Festivals and many more.

The events ensured that they were close to their customers and that their customers knew what the brand stood for.

How They Keep The Company Spirit Alive

Given their astronomical growth in just a few years, chances were high that the company culture would change - or even suffer.

Ryan and Mike have foreseen this change and have established some pretty cool (no pun intended) measures to ensure the culture stays as vibrant as it is.

Since both founders are health geeks, they support their employees in achieving their best health possible.

Another no-brainer: free cold plunging and sauna for all employees.

Some of the perks that their employees love:

• employee recognition awards - with the founders themselves
• health benefits fair where you can get your biomarkers checked
• healthy lunches covered by the company,
• pets at work - because you don't want to miss your best friend at work
• fun events away from work (e.g. a day at SunSplash)

"At Plunge, we believe in taking care of the people who make our success possible." - Plunge

Plunge also supports non-profit organizations that make this world a better place:

• Eat Real
• Fight For The Forgotten
• Kiss The Ground

The First Investment Offer

The first investment offer came as a surprise.

The meteoric rise of Plunge caught the attention of the TV Series Shark Tank.

They reached out and invited them to the show:

The offer they received:
$1.2M for 12% equity
plus a loan of $1.2M USD
at a valuation of $10M USD

Luckily for Plunge, the deal didn't go through because of due diligence issues and the skyrocketing development of Plunge at that time.

The company was growing so fast that by the time a valuation was agreed upon, it was already outdated.

They didn't need the money anymore.

The Current Investment Possibility

Fast forward 2.5 years and the brand has grown from offering one type of cold plunge to a whole series of products:

• several types of cold plunges (stationary, inflatable, portable),
• infrared saunas,
• an app that integrates all products,
• B2B products for gyms and spas (plus a management software)

They are now looking to expand even further - geographically and into new categories.

Their vision is to build an ecosystem of products that help people live healthier, more resilient lives.

With infrared saunas, app integrations, research collaborations, and new hardware categories in development.

Whether it’s in a backyard, a training facility, or a wellness retreat, Plunge aims to make the cold a catalyst for transformation.

The goal is to bring contrast therapy to millions.

And, true to their nature, they focus on community first.

That's why they have decided to allow their community to invest in their company first before they raise more money in a Series A round later this year (2025).

If you want to invest in their company and join forces going forward, check out their offering on WeFunder.com.

What Keeps Them Going:

Ryan and Mike started out by helping people become healthier with cold water.

And, over the years, their community has confirmed their goal:

they have received countless stories of how cold plunging has played a role in managing, and in some cases helping curb, debilitating conditions; improvements with autoimmune disorders, mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, and even recovery from serious illness.

These testimonials keep them going.

How To Stay In Touch

Website: plunge.com

Instagram: @plunge

Youtube: youtube.com/@plunge

Newsletter: Plunge Club

For Those Who Like It Chronologically
(aka Timeline of Key Moments)

• 2015: Ryan leaves corporate America and starts exploring wellness and alternative healing.
• 2017: Michael begins experimenting with cold exposure to support his immune system.
• 2019: Ryan returns to California and opens a float center.
• March 2020: COVID shuts down wellness centers across California.
• Mid-2020: Michael begins building cold plunge prototypes in his dad’s garage.
• August 2020: Michael and Ryan begin building together.
• October 2020: The first cold plunge unit is sold.
• December 2020: More than 80 units sold.
• July 2021: Monthly revenue hits $750,000. Shark Tank appearance filmed.
• 2022: Plunge surpasses $50M in lifetime sales.
• 2023: Plunge.com domain is acquired for 250k USD.
• 2024: Sauna line launches with $9.1M in first-year revenue.
• 2025: Lifetime sales cross $200M. Community investment round opens. Research partnerships initiated.

Full Disclosure

I, Simon (owner of enterthecold.com), have invested in Plunge through their community round.

This article represents my view of Plunge and is not financial advice.

Please do your own due diligence if you consider investing.