Summary
On this casual comedy podcast, co-host Jay shares his first float tank experience as a 30th birthday adventure at Float Sixty in the South Loop of Chicago. After years of hearing about float tanks through Joe Rogan and other sources, Jay received gift cards from family and decided to take the plunge. The episode provides an entertaining first-timer perspective as Jay walks through every detail of the experience while his co-hosts Nate and Chris (NBC) react with curiosity and humor. Jay describes choosing the largest available tank -- one he could stand up in, with enough room to nearly touch both walls with his wingspan -- rather than a coffin-sized pod. He recounts an initial moment of panic when the lights went off at the 10-minute mark and he thought 25 minutes had already passed, then momentarily could not find the door handle (grabbing a support bar instead). After overcoming that initial fear, he settled into what he rates as a 100 out of 100 experience -- the first perfect score the podcast has ever given. Jay describes the water as "silky" and the experience as one of the coolest things he has ever done. His mind wandered to creative places (imagining being reborn at 30 with all his life experiences), he lost all sense of time and spatial orientation (sometimes feeling like he was standing when he was lying down), and he achieved brief moments of a truly meditative, zen-like state. He says even someone with ADHD who struggles with traditional meditation was forced into mindfulness by the tank. The float cost $90 for an hour with a $60 first-timer deal available.
Key Points
- Jay rates his first float tank experience 100 out of 100, calling it one of the coolest experiences he has ever had
- Choosing a larger room-style tank rather than a small pod helped with claustrophobia concerns and allowed freedom of movement
- Complete loss of time perception is common; what felt like 25 minutes had only been 10 minutes, and the full hour felt like both 15 minutes and two years simultaneously
- Brief moments of spatial disorientation occur where you feel like you are standing up when lying down, creating a floating-in-space sensation
- The water feels silky smooth due to the extreme salt concentration (around 1,000 pounds of salt) and is too buoyant to allow sinking
- Even people with ADHD who struggle with traditional meditation find the tank forces a mindful state by removing all other options
- Float sessions cost around $60-90 for an hour, with package deals available for regular floaters
Key Moments
First float as a 30th birthday gift rated 100 out of 100
Jay shares his first-ever float experience as a 30th birthday gift, describing the large room-sized tank at Float Sixty in Chicago. He rates the experience a perfect 100 out of 100, the first perfect score on the podcast.
"was for my 30th, I went and did a sensory deprivation tank. Oh, a float tank. Was it awesome? I gotta hear this. I had never done one before. I've never done one. They kind of scare me. I was intrigued. I liked the idea about it. I thought it was going to be fun. Everything I read about the float tanks. Joe Rogan is a big enthusiast. He's very pro-float tanks. He has one in his house."
Moments of floating in space and losing all sense of perception
Jay describes reaching a zen-like meditative state where he lost all sense of perception and felt like he was standing up and floating in space, even though he was lying on his back, calling it a clearing experience unlike anything else.
"And so what and I go do we have a tax person because I want to I just asked the guy that I sit next to and he paid Illinois state income tax and I paid New York and she's like, oh that's weird. Check your workday. I check it. Oh, it says I'm in Illinois. It escalates up to our tax guy and he's like, oh, this is a mistake. I will get ADP to issue you a new W-2. I'm like, okay, perfect."
The float tank forced meditation on someone with ADHD who cannot sit still
Jay reveals he has ADHD and cannot normally meditate or sit still, but the float tank forced him into a mindful state, and he is now curious about trying three to four hour sessions to go even deeper.
"Since then, I don't know what happened. Witchcraft, it's fixed itself, and it's just working again. It's a miracle. So I can unplug it. I can use it in other rooms and such. So for those that have been listening to the pod, this is exciting news. The laptop has come back to life. Thanks, Steve Jobs."
