Today, we’d like to introduce you to Cole Painter.
Cole, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Throughout my journey, I’ve encountered challenges in forging a self-identity and nurturing an emotional connection with the world. As I ventured into marriage and parenthood, deep-seated issues surfaced, revealing chronic anxiety, ulcers, and depression.
This period of introspection and relentless self-improvement was driven by an urgent quest to understand the pervasive feeling that “I’m not okay.” It led me to make a pivotal decision: to leave a promising career in my previous industry and embrace wellness, contributing to the societal shift we are witnessing, especially during the height of COVID-19, when mental health issues seemed to reach a peak.
During this transformative time, I was inspired by an ancient Japanese practice called the misogi challenge. The challenge entails choosing a task you believe you have only a fifty-fifty chance of accomplishing. For me, this was running 50 miles across the Grand Canyon and launching a business. My entrepreneurial spirit was fueled by a desire to be part of the solution to widespread problems.
This journey of pushing my physical and mental boundaries heightened my awareness of my thought patterns and the limiting beliefs that had been ingrained in me from an early age. My mission evolved into creating spaces for individuals to reconnect with their inner selves, shed external attachments, and discover everything they need resides within. My initial venture was to establish luxurious, unique, tiny home wellness retreats in nature. Although the retreat didn’t take off as planned, it led me to the transformative practices of saunas and cold plunges.
Five years earlier, while studying at Utah State University, I explored the impact of sauna and cold plunge practices on mental health for an entrepreneurship class project. This experience marked the true beginning of my journey. Today, I am profoundly changed. As my inner world transformed, so did my external reality. I am committed to continuing This pattern of growth and discovery, exploring the infinite possibilities of the mind.
This path has been both brutal and beautiful. Without financial security, my wife and I welcomed our baby boy into our family. To chase this dream, we resorted to renting out our house on weekends, launching a meal prep company, and cooking 700 meals from our kitchen weekly. It took two years to get the business off the ground, but as I grew, so did the venture, shifting my focus to self-improvement and self-expression. I never considered myself creative, yet this journey has unveiled many facets of my being.
My mental health struggles had left my nervous system in a constant state of fight or flight, blocking my ability to connect and feel. The transformation in my health has been my most significant achievement, and saunas and cold plunges have played a pivotal role. They teach us to manage stress and reach a state of calm where we live from our hearts, not our minds.
In a world bombarded with stimuli, drawing our attention away from what truly matters, saunas and cold plunges guide us back to our essence. The answers we seek are not out there but within us. I hope these spaces offer a refuge for individuals to escape distractions and reconnect with their true selves.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Embarking on this journey hasn’t been akin to navigating a calm river; rather, it’s been like traversing a vast, often turbulent ocean. The voyage has been anything but smooth, filled with highs and lows, moments of profound joy and deep reflection.
One of the most significant struggles was the challenge of confronting and overcoming the deep-seated issues that lay buried within me—issues like chronic anxiety, depression, and the relentless feeling of not being ‘okay.’ These personal battles were not only daunting but also pivotal in steering my life toward a path of wellness and discovery.
The decision to leave a promising career and dive into the uncertain waters of entrepreneurship during a period as tumultuous as the COVID-19 pandemic was another considerable challenge. It was a time when the collective mental health seemed to be at its lowest, a period of great uncertainty but also of immense opportunity for change and growth.
The Misogi challenge, with its philosophy of undertaking a task that seems nearly impossible, was both a metaphor and a literal reflection of my journey. Running 50 miles across the Grand Canyon symbolized the immense physical and mental hurdles I faced. Starting a business from the ground up, with no financial security and a newborn in the family, added complexity and required unwavering determination and resilience.
Failure was a big part of this expedition. The initial attempt to launch a wellness retreat envisioned as a sanctuary for healing and self-discovery did not succeed as hoped. Yet, it was through this failure that I discovered the transformative power of saunas and cold plunges, practices that not only aided my mental health but also became the cornerstone of my business.
Throughout this journey, my understanding of creativity has evolved. Once believing myself to be distant from creativity, I’ve opened up to the multifaceted aspects of my identity, realizing that creativity is not just an art form but a way of life that embraces flexibility, problem-solving, and innovation.
Indeed, this journey has been brutal and beautiful, marked by moments of vulnerability and incredible transformation. It has taught me that the greatest struggles often lead to the most profound growth, revealing that the essence of our strength lies not in never falling but in rising every time we fall, continually rediscovering the infinite possibilities that lie within us.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At its heart, our business is a sanctuary for those seeking to reconnect with their inner selves through the healing powers of nature and introspection.
Specializing in luxurious prefabricated outdoor saunas and cold plunges, we provide not just a product but an experience—a gateway to wellness, self-discovery, and profound personal transformation.
What sets us apart is our commitment to crafting these sanctuaries as tools for mental, physical, and emotional rejuvenation, integrating the ancient wisdom of thermal therapy with modern, eco-conscious design.
Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Dr. Huberman, Brandon Collinsworth, Modern Wisdom podcast, Dr. Bush MD, Your World Within- Eddie Pinero, Diary of CEO, Rich Roll, Alex Hormozi. CAYE- Music. Think and grow rich- Napolean Hill.,
Pricing:
- $14,000-$50,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://newprimitive.io/
- Instagram: @newprimitive1
- Facebook: New Primitive
Image Credits
Jackson Averett
