“Together, sauna and cold plunge are the PB & J of outside experiences”
– Justin Jutunen, Co-founder and CEO Cedar & Stone Nordic Sauna
Sauna and cold plunge are hot topics in pop culture these days. There’s a good chance you’ve heard prolific podcasters Joe Rogan, Andrew Huberman, or others discussing the benefits of heat and cold exposure – as if they were a new and novel idea.
Co-founder and CEO Justin Juntunen has been partaking in this comforting ritual all his life. And now, it has become his life’s work.
“My family emigrated to Duluth from Finland,” he said. “I grew up in northern Minnesota, and our family gathered either in the sauna or around the dinner table. The sauna has always been part of my life.
“I still remember building my first sauna with my dad when I was 3. The smell of fresh-cut cedar is locked into my memory.
“Sauna is a process … a ritual,” Juntunen added. “It includes steps of hot, cold, rest, rehydrate, and repeat. Sauna is not opulence or extravagance; it’s essential to life.”
What is it?
The activity of “taking a sauna” involves sitting in a hot and humid room or structure specifically designed for that purpose. “Anywhere between 160-200 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature,” Juntunen said.
“But, it’s important to listen to your body,” he added. “Start with a lower temperature and work your way up. It’s not about enduring the heat, but enjoying the heat.”
Juntunen shared many health benefits associated with sauna. “Hot (and cold) are good for us, but sauna is not just a workout or a protocol. It’s a deeper cultural tradition that scientists are now studying.
“Sauna will give you better sleep, it is good for your mental health, it reduces inflammation, and it’s good for social and emotional health,” he noted. “You will either feel connected by taking a sauna with others or can get silence or respite by doing it alone.”
Additionally, the sauna supports cardiovascular health – by elevating your heart rate and promoting your arteries’ ability to vasodilate. Conversely, the act of taking a cold plunge afterward is also hugely beneficial; it helps with vasoconstriction of your arteries, can boost metabolism, and can help reset your nervous system.
A temperature of sub-60 degrees is optimum for a cold plunge, for a length of 45 seconds to 3 minutes, Juntunen shared. This can be accomplished with a quick dip in Lake Superior, a roll in the snow, or even a cold shower.
Maximum health benefits are achieved when the hot and cold are combined in tandem. “Together, sauna and cold plunge are the PB & J of outside experiences,” Juntunen noted with a chuckle.
Cedar & Stone
Fortunately, you can accomplish both at Cedar & Stone. The business offers sauna sessions daily, including a Floating Sauna Experience, directly outside of Pier B Resort.
There, you can book a single seat, or reserve the entire facility, which can accommodate 25-30 people. Monthly Community Cold Plunges and memberships are a great (and money-saving) option for regulars.
During your sauna session, guests are invited to cold plunge right in Lake Superior, and then get back into the hot sauna to warm up. You can pair your sessions with amazing views of Bentleyville in the winter, concerts at Bayfront in the summer, or come any old time; the saunas are open year-round. The business also offers design and construction of saunas for your home or business.
Cedar & Stone’s demographic includes both local residents combined with plenty of tourists. Folks spending a night or weekend at Pier B love taking a sauna just a few steps out the door. And, of course, people love the unique Duluth experience of “cold plunging” into Lake Superior. Through a unique partnership, Cedar & Stone also has a presence at the Four Seasons Hotel – Minneapolis, featuring a gorgeous rooftop terrace sauna experience.
When it comes to their design and construction services (which are handled out of a facility in West Duluth), their customer base spans across North America. Growth and expansion are definitely on the horizon for Cedar & Stone.
“Our ultimate goal over the next 10 years is to introduce one million people to sauna, and help them build more resilient lives,” Juntunen said.
Origin Story
After graduating from Esko High School, Juntunen attended Bethel University in St. Paul, where he double-majored in philosophy and theology. He later earned a Master’s Degree in higher education/teaching from Geneva College (PA).
He worked in higher education for a decade – in The Twin Cites, Pittsburgh, and Duluth. When he and his wife, Gretchen (the two were high school sweethearts), traveled to Europe for part of a summer, however, Juntunen’s career path pivoted completely.
“We spent a summer in Europe, including a number of weeks in Finland.” he explained. “We enjoyed the public saunas, one of which was floating on the Baltic Sea. It was magic. On that day, I told my wife, ‘We could do this in Duluth.’ She rolled her eyes and said, ‘Sure, honey.’
“That was 14 years ago. Back then, I was a teacher. Now I just teach people about sauna.”
The two relocated back to Minnesota shortly thereafter. “The winters weren’t cold enough anywhere else,” Juntunen said. “I’m a proud Minnesotan, and I love the four seasons here.”
Initially, upon their return, Justin worked at the College of St. Scholastica and later helped lead a national faith-based non-profit. Gretchen continued her healthcare career at Essentia Health, where she still works today – as an ultrasound technologist. “We fell in love with Duluth again when we returned home,” Justin remembers.
But the idea of starting a sauna business never left Juntunen. After two years of development, including creating a massive 47-page business plan, Cedar & Stone began to take shape.
“I knew I’d need to go all in and quit my full-time job if we were going to work at the level I wanted Cedar & Stone to become,” he said. Seven years after experiencing the floating sauna in Finland, Cedar & Stone opened its first public sauna and began the new sauna design company.
But, the business’ early days were challenging, as it opened six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic and needed to close to the public for over four months. They eventually reopened with private sessions and much precaution. Unexpectedly, the design and construction side of the company continued to grow as people were stuck at home and stressed out. “Saunas became common investments during the heart of the pandemic,” Justin recalls.
Juntunen and fellow Duluth entrepreneur Joel Vikre co-founded the business. Vikre and his wife, Emily, also own Duluth’s Vikre Distillery. Cedar & Stone has now grown to include 50+ employees, including woodworkers, welders, fabricators, expertly trained sauna guides, designers, hospitality, sales and marketing professionals, and more.
Sustainability is important to Cedar & Stone when constructing their saunas. “We try to source our materials as locally as possible,” Juntunen said. That includes the fragrant cedar wood used to line the saunas.
Personal
The Juntunen family, including their two children, Rowan (10) and Otto (7), live in Duluth’s Chester Park neighborhood. They enjoy skiing, swimming, and, of course, taking saunas together.
In addition to his business and family life, Justin also serves as the Co-Board Vice-President of FinnFest USA.
Rewarding
Juntunen is incredibly proud of building a business in his home state, focusing on a cultural tradition that is deeply meaningful to him.
“I started this work because I wanted to think in decades about the flourishing of Duluth,” he said. “I wanted to create jobs and introduce people to our land, our water.
“And life comes with a lot of stress,” he added. “Our work is ultimately to help relieve stress through the Nordic practice of sauna.”
For more information – or to book a session – please visit cedarandstonesauna.com.
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Andrea Busche is a Duluth + regional freelance writer and small business owner. She is credited with more than 1,000 bylines in local print and digital publications, and has been a frequent contributor to Destination Duluth since 2017.
