Don’t Sweat It: Mobile Sauna Unit Comes To You

First came the Good Humor man.

That was followed by food trucks. Pizza, hot dogs, tacos, gyros — all (and much more) now comes to you.

But those are small potatoes compared with the newest service: a mobile sauna.

Yep.

You can summon a sauna right to your beach (or corporate event, or party).

The newest addition to your beach party.

And — while you’re at it — you can make it a real Finnish experience, adding a cold plunge.

Plus a shower.

Kiin Sauna may be the hottest (and coolest) new business idea of the year.

Ginger Richardson, with her mobile sauna.

Kiin Sauna is the brainchild of Ginger Richardson. A Canadian native who moved to Texas, she and her husband came to Westport in 2010 for his New York job.

That was “before everything got fancy,” she says. They lived here — loving the nature and this “adorable town” — and in Weston for 11 years. After their divorce, she moved to Fairfield.

By profession, Ginger was an interior designer. She also worked at Local to Market (the former Main Street store across from Cold Fusion), and helps the Westport Farmers’ Market with sponsorships.

But she was always interested in wellness. In 2017 she earned certification as a health coach.

All along, she was a sauna-goer. She was a faithful visitor to an infrared one (now closed) near Jesup Green; then she bought one for her home.

Three years ago, a friend invited her to a cold plunge at Fairfield’s Jennings Beach. She was hooked.

She organized a group to jump in the water all winter long, followed by a sauna at her home.

She began coaching cold plunging. She helped people “tap into their breathing, and find inner strength.”

Native American, Scandinavian and Japanese cultures all understand the benefits of contrast therapy, Ginger says. Coincidentally, she learned that she has Finnish heritage. (Also coincidentally, her son’s name is Finn.)

All the stars aligned.

A mobile sauna (and cold plunge) is a way for people to “do something good for themselves, outside in nature.” Dopamine, adrenaline and norepinephrine flood a user’s nervous sytem. they feel alert, but also calm.

Kiin Sauna’s cold plunge tub. 

A year and a half ago, she bought a sauna tent. It was a start — but flimsy.

Ginger wanted more. She learned of a woman in Maine with a mobile sauna business.

“I was 52 years old. I sold my house, and invested in myself,” Ginger says.

She found a contractor, and designed her own mobile sauna.

Now she’s upgraded to a full mobile unit. It comes complete with a wood-burning stove, solar battery-powered LED lighting and sound system, and shower with a hose hookup. A compressor chills the water in the inflatable cold plunge tub.

Ginger designed the mobile sauna herself. It is a way, she says, to create a beautiful space, one that travels to other beautiful spaces.

Kiin Sauna rolled out — literally, hitched on a trailer to her Toyota 4Runner — 6 weeks ago.

She did a private birthday party at Compo Beach. Guests cold plunged, took a sauna, then watched the sunset. It was “magical,” Ginger says.

Her first big public unveiling was last weekend, at Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield. Ginger offered several 1-hour sessions. The sauna seats 7.

When the last group was done, Ginger joined them in the beer garden for dinner.

“It was a pinch-me moment,” she says. “Everyone chatted about their lives, in a casual, joyful way.”

For her and her clients, Kiin Sauna offers a safe space for a healthy activity, and a chance to share human connections.

Fairfield officials have already approved a permit for Southport Beach. She’ll offer regular hours there, after Labor Day.

Meanwhile, Ginger is lining up private events all over the area. Along with her mobile sauna and cold plunge tub, she can arrange for food trucks, yoga sound baths, massages and more.

To take the plunge, follow her on social media: @kiinsauna. The website www.kiinsauna.com will be live soon. Email: ginger@kiinsauna.com.

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A post-sauna and cold plunge shower.