I’ve never properly said hello on here, so… hi, I’m Chris.
I have a bit of a love affair with saunas.
It started when I was young, thanks to my Finnish aunt, long, slow evenings, heat, quiet, that feeling of stepping back out into the cold. It stayed with me.
Later on, running (and eventually ultra running) became a big part of my life too, and saunas took on a different role, not just something I loved, but something I relied on for recovery, for stillness, and for that reset after pushing my limits.
Fast forward a few years (and quite a lot of time in meeting rooms), and in 2022, I left my corporate job and went off to see how other people do it - travelling, sweating, and finding some very special saunas in some very beautiful places.
Somewhere along the way, it stopped being just curiosity. I realised I wanted to build something of my own.
That path led me to Rupert McKelvie, founder of
@out.of.the.valley . We clicked straight away - same pace, same ideas, and a shared respect for craft. For materials that age well, for details you only notice when you slow down, for building things that are made to be felt as much as seen. About a year later, I joined as a (slightly late) cofounder.
We design and build handcrafted saunas from our studio in Devon, each one shaped by hand, and by the places they’re made for.
More recently, I authored a book with
@gestalten , filled with some of the most beautiful saunas around the world, many of which I’ve been lucky enough to visit.
It still feels slightly surreal that not that long ago my days were all boardrooms and laptops… and now, more often than not, they’re steam, timber, and cold water.
These days I’m living down on the south coast of the UK, surrounded by one of the most inspiring, creative communities I’ve ever known, which, all things considered, feels like I’ve landed exactly where I’m meant to be.
