In The Hot Seat - May Edition
Founder’s Newsletter
By: Pete Nelson II
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This past month has been an incredible mix of travel, learning, growth, and adventure for SISU as a company and myself.
Personally, I started May off with a bucket list item and completed Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon with multiple of my Colorado friends who exemplify what “Grit Over Glory” is in so many ways. We ran and trekked 44 miles in 14 hours with 11,500 feet of elevation gain. It was one of the most deceiving endurance events I’ve done and it excited me for what’s to come with my summer ultra running schedule.
Once I got back to Ohio we celebrated the tandem launch of our Homecraft heaters partnership and the release of our Mother’s Day campaign, featuring my wife, Paige. Paige completely crushed it. The video is a love letter to our kids, to motherhood, and to grit. Watch here if you haven’t seen the video yet.
After Mother’s Day, I traveled to South Carolina and North Carolina for an ambassador trip with Bert Sorin, the President of Sorinex, and my long-time friend John Lindsey, from The Movement Journey. This trip was special since I got to bring my Dad along. We built out Crew Cabins with Bert and John, shared workouts, and ran miles with both. I love bringing my Dad along for SISU trips - it puts into perspective that family is the center of all we do.
Two days after the ambassador trip SISU trucked one Crew Cabin and two Edwin Barrels to the Cleveland Marathon finish line for our first major brand activation in our hometown. Our team had the best time getting to know the runners, their stories, and why they run. We invited runners and spectators into our activation and fortunately the weather was perfect for both running and using the saunas. You never know what to expect in Cleveland come spring time! For those who live in Cleveland you know exactly what I mean. I encourage you to check out SISU’s Instagram for more behind-the-scenes stories and content from marathon weekend.
The team is busy gearing up for a summer to remember leading up to our 3rd birthday. We’ve got a ton to share in the coming weeks. I’m beyond excited for you to be here and share in the process. Let’s do this.
Best,
Pete Nelson
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Team Update
Young gun, Andrew Dittmore, from Centre College in KY, has joined the SISU team this summer as our full time videographer. What’s wild is that I am a Centre College alumn, a school of only 1,000 students, and it’s crazy we were connected! Andrew is ready, hungry, and already super talented. We’ve got a lot of upcoming content to shoot and cannot wait to share it with you all!
Big Win
The launch of our Homecraft heater partnership! The Homecraft team has been nothing short of amazing to work with and we love that we can offer Homecraft alongside our current HUUM heater offering. These two give us a lot of confidence in our products and the quality that our customers expect.
Another Win
Let’s just say we’re going to make a big splash in the coming weeks! Stay tuned to email and socials so you’re in-the-know when the news drops.
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Product Spotlight
The Crew Cabin
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The Crew Cabin. An Amish handcrafted, 7ft. wide by 6ft. deep by 7ft. tall, cabin sauna for those who want a more modern and Finnish-style sauna experience. This traditional sauna features two-tier benches that sit above the heater rocks, ensuring your whole body sits within the heat cavity. The Crew Cabin calls for your crew to sauna with you. |
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The Crew Cabin. An Amish handcrafted, 7ft. wide by 6ft. deep by 7ft. tall, cabin sauna for those who want a more modern and Finnish-style sauna experience. This traditional sauna features two-tier benches that sit above the heater rocks, ensuring your whole body sits within the heat cavity. The Crew Cabin calls for your crew to sauna with you. |
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Research Insight
Thermoregulation and Sleep Onset
Source: Frontiers in Bioscience, 2010
Traditional sauna use in the evening, prior to sleep, raises core body temperature. When exiting the sauna, the body experiences a rapid natural cooling phase after the session. This post-sauna session drop in body temperature mimics the body’s natural temperature decrease that precedes sleep onset.
What this means for you: Sauna use prior to bed will help you get to sleep faster and help you stay asleep longer. As an added bonus, check out my friend Todd Anderson’s company, Dream Recovery. They have created some of the best sleep products on the market that I personally use.
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Total Running Volume: 40 miles this week
Here’s a snapshot of my Wednesday lower body strength session.
It’s simple and effective:
4x:
- 4 Back Squat at 80%
- 15 Weighted Back Extensions
4x:
- 5 Deadlifts at 75%
- 10E Weighted Step Ups
3x:
- 8x Heel Elevated Goblet Squats
- 8 RDL
1x:
- Max Rep Bodyweight Walking Lunge
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The SISU Maintenance Manual |
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Clean the floor of your sauna
When was the last time you checked the inset flooring if you have a barrel sauna?
Spring has sprung and I recommend you sweep or Shopvac the floor of your sauna to keep leaves or other debris out. This helps maintain the cleanliness of your sauna and also ensures debris doesn’t stay caked on the wood.
If there are areas that require a deeper clean, I recommend a 120 grit sandpaper to buff out any debris or water staining.
Keeping your sauna floor clean will help prevent any rot or decay of the sauna floor and also keep your sauna smelling like that fresh, brand new cedar.
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Up to this point we’ve built SISU into a community and brand that our entire internal team is really proud of all centered around grit. It just so happens we sell saunas. In the coming couple months, through product innovation, you’ll see us bring the SISU lifestyle full circle with new experiences beyond sauna. For those who are seeing this email, you’ll have the first look at these exclusive product innovations and we’re so excited for you to come along for the ride.
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