- Words by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe
Josh Dupuis has been building things since he was a child. He started working in construction at just 15 years old, but never thought he乌鸦传媒檇 have a business building saunas.
乌鸦传媒淚f someone had told me three years ago that I would be building and renting saunas right now, I would have laughed,乌鸦传媒� says Josh, the founder of . 乌鸦传媒淚t was something that hadn乌鸦传媒檛 crossed my mind until my wife, Amy, said she loved saunas.乌鸦传媒�
It all started in 2020 when Amy wanted to rent a sauna for Christmas. When they couldn乌鸦传媒檛 find one, Josh decided to build one in the backyard.
乌鸦传媒淚 thought it would be really cool to have one on a trailer because you could take it anywhere you want. Then I thought, 乌鸦传媒楲et乌鸦传媒檚 throw it on a trailer and rent it out!乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕 Josh explains. 乌鸦传媒淵ou can bring the benefits to everybody and share such a cool thing. Show up at someone乌鸦传媒檚 birthday party with a sauna and drop it off乌鸦传媒攊t乌鸦传媒檚 pretty cool. And we actually went camping with our barrel sauna.乌鸦传媒�
So Wildwood was born, and has since built up a business around custom sauna builds and mobile sauna rentals乌鸦传媒攊ncluding weekly Saturday stints at Willows Beach in Oak Bay, where they do both drop-ins and pre-booking.
乌鸦传媒淏usiness is really good and everybody loves it,乌鸦传媒� Josh says. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 such a great thing to have. Our goal is community building, and at Willows, the groups come and do some cold dips and everyone hangs out. It乌鸦传媒檚 really cool and there are big smiles all around. When you come out of the sauna, it乌鸦传媒檚 hard not to smile. We really enjoy doing it, because it乌鸦传媒檚 such a nice thing to bring to the community and the health benefits are great.乌鸦传媒�
For Josh, who also owns Josh Dupuis Construction, the building bug started at a very young age.
乌鸦传媒淏eing creative is definitely my passion,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淲hen I was 11 years old, I built my first go-kart just by looking at a picture in a magazine. I bought a welder and learned how to weld. Doing that first go-kart and seeing it drive, that乌鸦传媒檚 where it started. I thought, 乌鸦传媒榃hat else can I build?乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
After struggling in school, Josh moved out on his own when he was just 15 years old and started in carpentry, building homes for five years.
乌鸦传媒淚 wanted my freedom and I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 very good at school,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚 was home-schooled and I didn乌鸦传媒檛 do well with books, and I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 sit still and I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 stop building stuff, so I decided to just go build stuff. I never thought I could own my own business because I was so terrible at school and math.乌鸦传媒�
But after getting into commercial refrigeration and obtaining his Red Seal in HVAC-R, Josh realized he could do math and concentrate on things he was passionate about. He spent the next eight years building grocery stores all over Canada before quitting his job to start his own construction company in Victoria three years ago.
乌鸦传媒淚 was building the Walmart in Langford and on my days off, I was going home to Edmonton, where I was living at the time. It was -50 C there and I was in a T-shirt here, so it made sense to move here,乌鸦传媒� says Josh, who grew up in New Brunswick. 乌鸦传媒淭he weather is great, there乌鸦传媒檚 lots of construction, and Victoria is beautiful. All the hiking here is crazy!乌鸦传媒�
Josh grew up playing competitive sports, including baseball, hockey, amateur boxing and skateboarding, and says the best advice he ever received was from a coach, who would say: 乌鸦传媒淢ind your thoughts, because they become your words. Mind your words, because they become your actions. Mind your actions, because they become your character. Mind your character, because it becomes your fate.乌鸦传媒�
Keeping a positive mindset has been something he乌鸦传媒檚 tried to do, even when faced with the challenges of the construction industry.
乌鸦传媒淐onstruction can be pretty challenging all the time,乌鸦传媒� Josh says. 乌鸦传媒淭he timelines, trying to get things done quickly and well at the same time, that乌鸦传媒檚 probably the hardest thing. The biggest lesson I乌鸦传媒檝e learned is to double-check prices on materials before sending the quote.乌鸦传媒�
Summer is also a challenging time for the sauna rental business, especially when the last two summers have seen several heat waves and record-breaking temperatures.
乌鸦传媒淚t really slows down when it warms up,乌鸦传媒� Josh says. 乌鸦传媒淲hen it乌鸦传媒檚 30 C it乌鸦传媒檚 hard to rent a sauna, but we still had lots of people at the beach. But now that it乌鸦传媒檚 raining and not nice, we乌鸦传媒檙e pretty busy because it乌鸦传媒檚 a pretty unique way to warm up.乌鸦传媒�
Passionate about health and wellness, Josh says he thinks saunas are definitely making a comeback as people look for different ways to de-stress.
乌鸦传媒淚 think people are really getting more aware of the health benefits,乌鸦传媒� Josh says. 乌鸦传媒淲hen I have pain from working hard all day, I乌鸦传媒檒l do a cold plunge and then a sauna and I just feel so relaxed after. It clears my brain and I find it puts me in a good mood.乌鸦传媒�
Wildwood has two rental saunas right now and plans to build a third one soon. The company is also going to be designing cold-dip tubs next year, and is even considering starting sauna boat tours. Josh says his dream is to have a whole fleet of saunas and to be doing custom builds full time.
乌鸦传媒淭he biggest mistake I乌鸦传媒檝e made has been not starting this company sooner,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淣ot believing that I could be successful and not believing in myself enough. When things get hard, that乌鸦传媒檚 when you乌鸦传媒檝e got to push through, and once you do, that乌鸦传媒檚 what shapes you and makes you better. Don乌鸦传媒檛 give up when things get hard. When you push through, that乌鸦传媒檚 the game-changer.乌鸦传媒�
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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