CARLSBAD – First cousins and triathletes Joshua Church and Rob Church have found the edge in the hot trend of cold water immersion world with their company Edge Theory Labs.
Co-founder
Edge Theory Labs
Scientific studies have found that cold water immersion therapy, a method of recovery involving putting your body in water cooled to temperatures in the mid-30-degree F. range, can work to reduce inflammation, help heal injuries, sharpen cognition, promote better sleep and lower stress levels.
The Churches’ product, tubs made of sturdy, inflatable drop stitch material similar to what is used in standup paddle boards and also similar in durability to material used in the military for some of their vessels, is driving the cold water immersion market.
The company — initially bootstrapped with $50,000 and later financed via a friends and family loan of $100,000 — has grown its income 800%, from $1 million in 2022 to $8 million in 2023. It now has 19 employees with more growth and new products on the way.
Co-founder
Edge Theory Labs
Edge Theory Labs, cold therapy partner with the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (home of Team USA), has also been successful in forging partnerships with some of the world’s top athletes.
The reigning National Basketball Association champion Denver Nuggets, 2022 National Hockey League MVP Auston Matthews, professional triathlete Ashley Paulson (the overall winner of the 2023 Badwater 135 event) and local surf legend Rob Machado are among its customers. Fitness studios, health spas and athletic facilities are also on board, or rather in tub.
Behind the company’s very cool success, Joshua Church, 29, was named to Forbes’ most recent 30 Under 30 list.
Lifelong athletes, the Churches were sold nearly a decade ago on the value of cold water immersion therapy. They were put off by the high cost of impractical and makeshift tubs on the market and related inherent challenges with heavy weight and lack of portability, plus the amount of ice needed to create cold temperatures every time the tub was used.
Looking for ‘Something Better’
“We had to figure something more sustainable because we can’t just keep going and buying ice and draining all this water, especially in California,” Joshua Church said. “We knew we needed something better.”
In 2019 and 2020, they worked on research and finding prototypes.
Already steeped in the wellness world, Joshua Church noticed Facebook groups with thousands of members creating “DIY cold tubs” where people were hacking chest freezers or using kiddie pools to create their own cold immersion tubs. He said Rob Church’s background as the family’s “tinkerer” and work as a supply chain director bode well.
“I saw that there was definitely demand there and no really accessible tubs at accessible price points,” he said. “I could see the market was about to really take off and I remember saying the kind of famous words to Rob, ‘If you build it, I will sell it.’”
Rob Church said Edge Theory Labs is not just about top-tier athletes, as it challenges people to move out of their comfort zone and push themselves to be their best.
“Our mission is to optimize human performance,” Rob Church said.
“And that means a lot of things. But what we see it becoming is a platform offering products and services that enable our customers to find their edge, whatever that is for them, whether it’s athletics or getting to be a better mom or better dad… It’s going to be physical tools like our products that we hope can create a wellness or a performance benefit. And it’s going to be education, with a community to bring people together and teach them how to use these tools.”
Joshua Church, who attended Miami of Ohio, was previously director at an online startup where he learned about cold water immersion as well as breathwork and yoga, eventually becoming a certified Wim Hof breathing method instructor.
His journey to the wellness sphere came after serious health issues that have included chronic back pain, a high school football injury that nearly resulted in a leg amputation, and a surgeon’s error during his appendix removal that resulted in internal bleeding and several blood transfusions.
Both he and Rob Church are from families of entrepreneurs, he said.
Suja Juice the Foundation for Cousins
Joshua’s father, Jeff Church, co-founded the cold-pressed juice company Suja Juice, which in 2015 sold a 50% stake, valuing the enterprise at $300 million, to Coca-Cola and other investors. Rob Church, who graduated from Florida State University, is the son of a Tampa-based restaurant owner. Rob Church moved to San Diego in 2015 where he worked for nearly seven years at Suja Juice, before moving to entrepreneurship.
The cousins took part in the San Diego Sport Innovators’ accelerator in 2022 where Joshua Church said he was taught how to think several steps ahead and gained mentorship and support that helped to shed light on blind spots, accelerating Edge Theory Labs’ growth and success.
CEO
Selk’Bags
Cedric Penders, CEO at Selk’Bags, was one of the mentors the Churches worked with at SDSI, and calls Edge Theory’s growth “insane.”
“They’re really, really, really growing strongly,” Penders said. “I’m so happy for them. I looked at their marketing plan and their marketing spend and their financial plan for 2024 and it told me those guys learned something from us.”
There are currently two types available, the Edge Tub Elite, which sells for $5,490 and the Edge Tub Legacy, with a few less bells and whistles at $4,490.
The Elite model has a 1 horsepower commercial grade compressor and a built-in hot mode (which can bring the water temp up to 104 degrees F.). The Elite cools water down to 37 degrees F. in less than 2.5 hours and its interior dimension can fit a person up to 7 feet tall.
The Legacy model has 0.8 HP and cools the water down to 37 degrees in five hours with no heating functionality, and fits persons up to 6-feet-4 in height.
The company also sells accessories like mats, cushions and cases; swag like hoodies, t-shirts and totes; and offers maintenance products like sanitizers, oxidizers and filters; as well as support and a “tribe” of supporters through its community of users that share information, insight and inspiration.
The Churches say that research shows that cold water immersion profoundly stimulates the metabolic system by boosting mitochondrial function to create more adenosine triphosphate, the energy-carrying molecule that plays a role in metabolism and energy transfer within cells.
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system increases noradrenaline by 530% via the cold shock response, they say, citing scientific literature that shows human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures.
Cold water immersion has been shown to increase metabolic rate by up to 350%, strengthen mitochondrial function, and improve insulin sensitivity, they say, and the cold stimulus activates natural mood boosters like endorphins and dopamine by up to 250%, which can help boost feelings of positivity.
Edge Theory Labs
FOUNDED: 2022
CO-FOUNDERS & CO-CEOS: Joshua & Rob Church
HEADQUARTERS: Carlsbad
BUSINESS: Health and Wellness
REVENUE: >$10 million
EMPLOYEES: 20
WEBSITE: www.edgetheorylabs.com
CONTACT: info@edgetheorylabs.com
SOCIAL IMPACT: Co-founders and co-CEOs are passionate about Muscular Dystrophy and have raised funds supporting those afflicted by and to find a cure for the disease
NOTABLE: Co-Founder Joshua Church recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 list; Edge Theory Labs is the official cold tub partner of the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center.
