SWTHZ Crosses the 100-Studio Mark With No Signs of Slowing Down

One hundred is a perfect score, a boiling point, and the number of years in a century. As of today, it's also the total number of SweatHouz (SWTHZ) contrast therapy studios open across the United States.

On Friday, March 13, the wellness franchise officially opened its 100th location in Kansas City's Power & Light District, a milestone that puts a stamp on one of the most aggressive expansion runs the recovery industry has ever seen. The brand, now synonymous with contrast therapy, which offers private suites equipped with infrared saunas, cold plunges, and vitamin C showers, now operates in more than 25 states and delivered over 1.52 million hours of private recovery sessions in 2025 alone.

For a company that started with a single studio concept in 2019, those numbers land with serious weight. Founder Jamie Weeks, who previously built the largest Orangetheory Fitness franchise group in the world, launched SWTHZ with a straightforward bet on private, science-backed wellness. That bet is paying off faster than most industry watchers predicted. The brand opened two new locations per week through the end of 2025 and has additional territories in development across Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.

Now at the helm is CEO Nico Varano Jr., who entered the SWTHZ system as its very first franchisee in 2022. "One hundred studios means 100 communities where people are showing up for themselves on a regular basis," Varano tells Market Realist. "That number is exciting, but what gets me going is the 1.52 million hours of recovery we gave people last year. That tells me this stopped being a trend a long time ago."

Each SWTHZ suite operates on a membership-based, tech-driven model where guests book sessions through an app, customize their own sauna temperatures and plunge times, and move through the full circuit at their own pace.

“As SWTHZ scales, we believe it will become synonymous with Human DND Mode. In a world filled with constant noise and distraction, SWTHZ is one of the few places designed for the opposite, a private space where you can completely disconnect, eliminate stressors, and reset your body and mind.”

"We built SWTHZ so that recovery could be a weekly habit instead of a once-in-a-while luxury," Varano said. "When you make something private, convenient, and backed by real science, people keep coming back. That consistency is what fuels everything we're doing next."

As SWTHZ scales, we believe it will become synonymous with Human DND Mode. In a world filled with constant noise and distraction, SWTHZ is one of the few places designed for the opposite, a private space where you can completely disconnect, eliminate stressors, and reset your body and mind.”

SWTHZ was named to Entrepreneur magazine's 2025 Top New & Emerging Franchises list and recognized by Athletech News as one of the Most Innovative Brands in the wellness space. The company also holds a strategic partnership with cold plunge brand Plunge, projecting up to 12 million cold plunge sessions across all studios in 2026.

As the recovery category heats up, SWTHZ appears to be building a playbook that the rest of the industry is still trying to figure out. And with 100 studios now open, the brand has no plans of cooling down.