Breaking Ground, Building Dreams
- Elise Free
- Nov 18
- 7 min read
THE ELEMENTAL INSIDER: Issue No. 1
Hi friends,
As I stand in our new space watching concrete being torn out all the way down to the dirt, I can’t help but smile.
It’s noisy, dusty, imperfect… and absolutely beautiful.
Doug is literally ripping up a perfectly good brand-new floor — and honestly, the symbolism is not lost on me. We’re tearing out what looks fine on the surface so we can install the drains and supply lines we actually need.
Removing what doesn’t support growth. Creating the foundation for something that will last.
This — right here — is what transformation looks like. It’s not tidy. It’s not glamorous. It’s not “Instagram pretty.” It’s messy and loud and feels a little insane… and yet completely right.
And what you see in these photos isn’t just construction. It’s the physical beginning of a vision that started long before blueprints, architects, or permits.
It began with a feeling.
I didn’t know where it was leading (and I still don’t). I didn’t know how it would unfold (and I don’t get attached to the outcome.) I just kept following the whispers (and meditating every morning so I can actually hear them.)
How It Really Started: Florida, 2022
Before Elemental was even a flicker in my mind, there was this house in Florida. That house deserves its own entire Insider issue — because the way it came into my life was one of the craziest, most mystical “I can’t make this shit up” stories I’ve ever experienced.
But here’s what matters right now:
That house is where everything changed for me.
I had access to this home, and it was the first place I started bringing people together. Retreats with meditation, breathwork, sound baths, Energy work, mindset practices and feng shui. Ancient modalities that helped people reconnect with themselves.
And I saw something over and over:
People wanted to transform… but they didn’t know how to get out of their own heads.
“I can’t meditate.”
“My mind won’t stop.”
“I can’t sit still long enough.”
“I want to feel better, I just don’t know how.”
At the same time, I was being pulled into the world of biohacking — this blend of science and intuition that felt strangely familiar. I didn’t fully understand why the cold kept calling to me, but I could feel it.
Then one day in late November 2022, I listened to Dr. Susanna Søberg on Andrew Huberman’s podcast — the episode on hot and cold exposure for health and performance.
And something in me clicked so loudly, I swear I felt it in my chest.
Susanna wasn’t just talking about cold and heat — she was talking about them in a way that felt ancient, intuitive, scientific, and spiritual all at the same time. Her explanation of metabolism, dopamine, norepinephrine, resilience — it was all so clear.
I remember thinking: This is different. This is bigger. I need to try this.
And that was the moment I ordered my first Morozko Forge.
The Forge arrived on December 18, 2022.
The next morning, I stared at the water and thought, “Is this going to be another expensive piece of equipment I never use?”
But something inside me — the same whisper that got me into meditating at 5 a.m. years before — said, “Get in.”
So I did.
And in those two minutes, everything went silent.
No overthinking. No spiraling. No doubting.
Just breath. Just presence. Just me.
The cold forced me into meditation — into stillness. The kind I had been guiding others toward without realizing cold was the missing bridge.
I stepped out of that plunge feeling something ancient, familiar, and completely new wake up.
I didn’t have the language for it yet. But I knew my life had just changed.
Enter Leann
I called Leann and told her what I was experiencing.
She started winter swimming in Lake Erie — barefoot, brave, fully committed.
When I got back to Cleveland, we kept going together. Two women, freezing, laughing, breathing, shifting — not knowing we were laying the groundwork for a community that didn’t even exist yet.
By March 2023, we couldn’t imagine life without the cold, so I ordered a second Forge for Ohio. It arrived March 29th.
And that’s when the rhythm started:
11 minutes a week. Three plunges. Three moments where everything in life clicked back into place.
Cold taught us how to come home to myself — consistently, honestly, completely.
Heat: The Unexpected Plot Twist
Later, a Sunlighten sauna came into my world. If you know anything about me, you know I hate the heat! I lived in Florida for 39 years. That was enough heat for a lifetime. I intentionally moved from Florida to Ohio!
But something nudged me, so Doug and I drove to pick it up.
The first few sessions? Nothing. I didn’t sweat. I sat there thinking, “Why am I in this hot box? Why am I doing this to myself?”
And then one day… my body opened. I sweated. I released. I understood.
Cold and heat weren’t opposite tools. They were partners — a dance. A rhythm.
This Is Where the Vision Began
Somewhere between the cold plunges, the winter lake plunges, and the sauna sessions, a vision started forming.
What if there was a space where people could experience this too — regularly, safely, intentionally?
Not a retreat. Not a once-in-a-while getaway. But a real space they could return to again and again.
A home for transformation.
A place where people who couldn’t meditate… suddenly could.
A place where people who felt overwhelmed could breathe again.
A place where people who felt ungrounded could reconnect with themselves.
That’s when Elemental began — long before the name existed.
And now, here we are: Doug ripping up concrete, me filming it, and Leann saying this is insane and perfect and exactly what needed to happen.
The Breadcrumbs: How the Universe Delivered Our Next Step
Now, while all of this was happening — the plunges, the sauna, the early morning meditations, the shifts in my body and mind — something else was forming quietly in the background.
A realization.
If cold and heat helped me this much… If it helped Leann… If it helped people who came to my retreats…
How many more people could this help?
And then the next thought hit: Okay, Elise. If you open a space… how the hell are you going to keep the water clean and cold if you have dozens of people plunging in a day?
This is the part no one talks about — the practical reality behind the magic.
Morozko Forge is incredible. It changed my life. But it has limits.
One person at a time
40 minutes to drain, clean, and refill
Not built for the kind of volume I felt coming
And I didn’t want to do this halfway. If Elemental was going to exist, it needed to be: Clean. Efficient. Safe. Scalable. Intentional.
And just like everything else in my life — the answer didn’t come from planning. It came from a whisper.
The Week Everything Shifted
This is where the story takes a very “of course this would happen to Elise” turn.
One week — ONE WEEK — the universe threw me two different breadcrumbs from two completely different directions.
Breadcrumb #1: The Alabama Call
An acquaintance reached out and asked, “Elise, would you mind talking to a woman I know in Alabama? She’s building a cold plunge studio and I think she’d love your insight.”
Everything in my body said make the call. If you’ve been with me long enough, you know I’m not too busy for intuition.
So I said yes. I got on the phone. We talked about cold, biohacking, the usual things. And just when my mind said this is a waste of time, she said, “My friend found this guy in Florida who’s building a plunge that drains, cleans, and fills in four minutes.”
I literally froze. Four minutes?! It took me FORTY to clean one Forge properly.
I hung up that call thinking, Is this real? Is this a joke? Is this a mirage?
And then the universe said, you didn’t ask his name.
Breadcrumb #2: Steven’s Call
A few days later, my friend Steven Klein called and said: “Elise, you’re not going to believe where I am. Pinellas Park. And I met a guy you HAVE to meet. He built a plunge that can drain, clean, and fill—”
And I finished his sentence: “In four minutes.”
Silence.
Then Steven said, “…wait, how did you know that?”
And I just laughed. Because this is how it always happens when I'm paying attention.
Morning meditations → whispers → nudges → synchronicities → exact next step.
Breadcrumb. Breadcrumb. Breadcrumb. Confirmation.
Enter: John + EMRJ
So who was this mysterious “guy in Florida”?
John, the creator of EMRJ — a genius quietly building the cleanest, smartest, most efficient cold plunge technology on the planet.
And of course — OF COURSE — he was fifteen minutes from the house in Florida where I first plunged.
His system wasn’t just good — it was on a completely different level:
Completely refreshes water in minutes
Ozone + UV sanitation
Pure, oxygen-rich water constantly circulating
No downtime
Modular design
Scalable for hundreds of people a day
Designed for community, not just individuals
When I saw the system, I knew immediately: This is the future. This is what Elemental needs. This is the way to safely bring cold to everyone who breathes — which, by the way… is everyone.
This wasn’t an upgrade. This was an evolution. This was alignment.
What’s Next: The Ascend Pro (and Why It Matters)
We chose the Ascend Pro by EMRJ because it lets us do what we do best — safely, intentionally, powerfully.
Here’s why it matters:
Pure, oxygen-rich water — always Not sometimes. Not when the stars align. ALWAYS.
Perfect for beginners, powerful for veterans No intimidation. Just transformation.
Scalable for the community we’re becoming No long waits, no compromised sanitation, no “sorry, give us 40 minutes.”
Beautiful, functional, reliable A system built with the same intention we put into everything else.
Balanced cold Deep therapeutic cold — without the bite that turns people away.
The Ascend Pro supports the bigger vision: a home for resilience, healing, strength, presence, and community.
From the Ground Up
And now, here we are — literally tearing up the floor, installing drains, choosing tile, designing the experience like it's a sacred practice.
Because it is.
Every nail has intention. Every square foot has a purpose. Every choice is rooted in “What will help people come home to themselves?”
We’re not just building a studio. We’re building a sanctuary.
A place where your breath becomes your anchor. Your mind becomes quiet. Your body becomes your ally. And your transformation becomes inevitable.
Thank you for being part of this journey. You are why we're building.
With love (and cold water),
Elise
Quote of the Week
“When you listen to the whispers, you never have to hear the screams.”
Reflection of the Week
Where are you being whispered to — and what tiny, brave step could you take toward it this week?