Chandler resident Steve Bell likes to joke about his job.
“I’m selling heat in the desert; it’s a little weird,” Bell said.
He and his wife, Dodie, own the rights to three Perspire Sauna Studio locations in the East Valley, including the Ocotillo franchise across Arizona Avenue from Hamilton High School.
Bell says these saunas are nothing like what most people think of when they hear the word.
“Stereotypical, a large room with steam and a bunch of old men naked sitting around benches,” Steve said. He called that old model wet saunas.
What Perspire offers is a dry sauna, which uses infrared technology to heat the body instead of trying to heat up the air around the body. The Chandler studio has nine individual saunas, each with a door that locks to give clients privacy.
Each room is split in two halves. One is enclosed in glass and is the sauna. The other is the changing area that has a television to entertain folks while their bodies are sweating.
“What these saunas do is they create a false fever,” Steve said. “We’re tricking your cardiovascular system into thinking that you either have an infection, or a fever.
“Think about it, when you have the flu, and you go to bed you start sweating. Your body’s trying to push out whatever is bad in there. That’s what we’re creating here.”
Perspire uses infrared lights to heat up the body directly during 40-minute sessions. Steve said the temperature inside their saunas can reach between 130 to 170 degrees, depending on the tolerance of the individual user.
They publish the science behind infrared saunas on their website, saying there are multiple positives.
“It’s a healing light,” Steve said. “We have a lot of our members who are recovering from something.
“We actually have cancer patients, and people recovering from surgeries. We have athletes who come in, we have (mixed martial arts) fighters who are cutting weight or they’re recovering from fights.
“Or they have mold or many toxins in their body,” Steve added, noting that in addition to those negatives, the sweat also removed heavy metals in the body.
“What infrared heat does is it’s really good for detoxing our bodies,” Steve said.
As far as losing weight, Steve said that the final 10 minutes of a session his heart is pumping hard, even while he sits there watching a show on Netflix.
He pointed to his fitness watch, and said he usually burns between 150 to 200 calories during his sessions.
The Bells opened their first East Valley location in Gilbert in February 2022. It is doing very well and is usually booked.
They opened the Chandler location in April, which wasn’t the best time to open a sauna in Arizona.
The Chandler couple said even though there are documented medical benefits, it’s not easy to get people to try stepping into a sauna when it’s 118 outside during the summer.
They expect business will start picking up this winter. Once the Chandler location is on firm footing, they plan to open the final franchise they have a license for, probably somewhere in or near Ahwatukee.
Perspire offers a first-time session for $20 so people can experience the benefits. The usual price for a drop-in session is $39.
They do offer memberships, ranging from $79 for four sessions a month to $179 for unlimited use. They also sell packages for people who have busy schedules and are unsure about when they’ll be able to get to the sauna.
Dodie said members are eager to share their stories on how infrared saunas have improved their lives.
“Just hearing the stories of how people’s lives are changed by just coming here,” Dodie said. “It helps your body relax, it’s 40 minutes for yourself. This is great for soul care.”
Perspire Sauna Studio
3885 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler
480-745-1674
www.perspiresaunastudio.com
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