I'd been researching for some time. I came to it the way a lot of people do — the cardiovascular benefits, the longevity research, the idea that something this simple could change how I slept and how I felt at the end of the day.
But research only takes you so far. The thing that actually convinced me was getting into a sauna myself — sessions with friends, public saunas on Vancouver Island's west coast, and the public saunas around Nanaimo. The more I tried, the more I knew I wanted one of my own.
When I started shopping seriously, a local sauna builder generously connected me with one of their clients so I could see a sauna in person before committing. The owner was happy with their product, and I was glad I made the visit — because sitting inside it, I realized it wasn't the right one for me. Not the right size. Not the right finish.
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"I'm grateful I made that visit. Without it, I would have bought the wrong sauna."
The idea was simple. Build a working setup at my own property — a real sauna, a real cold plunge — and open it up for people who are genuinely interested in buying one. Not a showroom. Not a spa. A place where you can light the fire, sit on the bench, dump the bucket, and know within twenty minutes whether this is something you actually want in your life.
DAILY THERMAL CIRCULATION
Light the fire at 7. Take the dog out for a 30 or 45 minute walk while the sauna comes up to temperature. In the sauna by 8. Half an hour of straight heat, with a few ladles of water on the stones — I add a little eucalyptus oil for the aromatics, which mixes with the smell of the red cedar and the steam in a way that's hard to describe. Then a bucket dump and cold shower. Then sit by the fire pit afterward — sometimes with friends, sometimes alone with my thoughts.
The atmosphere around the sauna really comes alive at dusk, when the lighting around the setup starts to illuminate as the natural light fades. It's a really cool vibe.
There are no electronics in the sauna. No music. Just the intermittent pop of the wood fire and the warmth.
The most noticeable thing for me has been the unplug. The first few minutes lying on the bench — the warmth enveloping your whole body — it's a really nice feeling. I look forward to it every time.
"The sauna alone isn't the experience. The setting is the experience."
The path you walk to get there. The drainage that keeps the deck dry. The trees framing the view. The fire pit you sit at afterward. Where the cold plunge sits relative to the sauna door. Whether you can hear the road or just the forest.
A kit dropped on a slab isn't that. A great sauna in the wrong setting isn't that either.
When you come to visit, you'll see how the pieces fit together. That's what I want to help you build at your place.
I'm also genuinely happy that the saunas I sell are built in Canada from Canadian materials — specifically Western Red Cedar.
There's no shortage of imported sauna kits on the market. Some of them are good products. But there's something right about a Vancouver Island sauna built from a wood that grows here, by a company building in Canada. The grain, the smell, the way it weathers in our climate — it's all of a piece.
Leisure Craft has been doing this for decades. When I went looking for a brand to represent on the island, that mattered.
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The Narvi NC 16 wood-burning stove in my sauna is something I'm genuinely proud of. It's a long-standing, high-quality Finnish stove that lets me regulate the heat by how much wood I feed it — which means I can adjust the experience night to night depending on what I need.
But the real thing is the steam. The Narvi holds a large volume of stones, and when you ladle water onto them you get a heavy, full body of steam that fills the sauna. Electric heaters can't match that. Lower-end wood stoves can't either.
When you come and visit, you'll feel the difference within the first few minutes. I'm happy this stove is in my sauna — and I'm happy I can offer it to people who want the same experience at their place.
I'm not a retail store. I'm not open for browsers, and I'm not here to convince anyone they need a sauna.
I'm here for the person who's already done their research, who already knows they want this in their life, and who just needs to feel it once before they commit. I built Lantzville Leisure Co. around the conversation that starts when you step out of the sauna for the first time and say "yes, this is it."
If that's where you are, come and visit. The fire will be lit. The sauna will be ready. All that's left is for you to step in. Then decide.
The demo site in Lantzville is open by appointment for serious buyers. Twenty minutes to know.