TIME named Aaron as a source for the growth in float centers, spelling his surname “Thompson.”
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BUILDER. OPERATOR. CONNECTOR.
The experience
behind Vavora.
An independent service business. Pet Butler’s first franchisee in America. A float-industry hub. The loss of its sponsors during COVID. The experience Aaron brings to building Vavora.
Read the Founder storyFLOATATION LOCATIONSTHE HISTORICAL NETWORK
01 / EARNED ATTENTION
The work earned attention.
National reporting cited Aaron and the company. Other publications sent readers directly to the resource he helped build.
Reporting cited Aaron as chief executive of Flotation Locations on the industry’s growth. Fox also published the same story.
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Reporting cited Floatation Locations as a directory tracking nearly 300 float studios.
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Forbes used Floatation Locations as its source for the number of float studios in the United States.
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CBS2’s Floating Therapy report displayed “Source: Floatation Locations” beneath its national center counts.
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The opening float-tank image credited and linked FloatationLocations.com.
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Harper’s Bazaar India directed readers to FloatationLocations.com to find a float center.
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Its water-therapy article directed readers to the directory to find a facility near them.
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The article named and linked the directory as a place to find float therapy.
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The article recommended the directory, its beginner guide and its location-search tool.
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Penn’s alumni magazine cited FloatationLocations.com for the number of U.S. float centers.
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Select a publication name or “Read the proof here” to see its relevant excerpt and context without leaving this page. External source links are optional and may have access restrictions. These are historical sources, referrals and coverage, not endorsements of Vavora.
ON SCREEN
See the original references.
The company’s name and work, visible in the historical footage.
CBS · Floating Therapy
2 August 2015. The report used Floatation Locations as the source of its national center counts.
Watch part 1 · Watch part 2 & source credit
The archive plays in one-minute windows. Together these cover the report through its return to the studio.
Float Nation · Documentary
The film shows the Floatation Locations website and North American location map at 37:26.
Official FloatNation upload, 27 December 2014. The website appearance is verified; no separate closing credit is claimed here.
RESEARCH RESOURCE
PLOS ONE
A 2018 paper by Justin Feinstein and colleagues links the directory in its discussion of where float facilities can be found. This is a resource citation, not clinical validation of Floatation Locations or Vavora.
Read the paperBOOK REFERENCE
The Concussion Repair Manual
Dr. Dan Engle’s 2017 book directs readers to FloatationLocations.com to find a center. Printed page 30, PDF page 53.
Open the publisher’s PDFThe wider history also includes The Float Tank Cure, recalled by Aaron and represented on the historical press page, plus podcasts and other industry appearances. Explore the archived press collection. The book’s precise page has not been recovered for this review.
02 / THE FOUNDER ARC
Experience that changed the question.
The early businesses matter. They are where Aaron experienced both the demands of operating independently and the value of having other operators beside him.
01
FALL 2003
THE INDEPENDENT START
Build it. Learn it. Make it work.
In fall 2003, Aaron started Affordable Pet Waste Removal. He was building a local service business himself: finding customers, doing the work and learning how to keep an operation running. Newspaper coverage documented that early chapter.
He later joined Pet Butler and became its first franchisee in America. His original clippings preserve both sides of that progression: the independent business he started and his place in a growing franchise system.
02
THE FRANCHISE YEARS
SYSTEMS & PEOPLE
The people inside the system.
Aaron’s path included independent, licensed and franchised operations. As Pet Butler’s first franchisee in America, he worked closely with its founder and experienced a growing franchise from inside. He describes roughly twenty years of experience within that evolving system.
For Aaron, some of franchising’s strongest value came from the other franchisees: their experience, judgment and hard-earned lessons.
THE EARLY BUSINESS RECORD
Five clippings. A real operating history.
The original articles Aaron supplied, from Affordable Pet Waste Removal through Pet Butler. Open any image to inspect the full clipping.
Business is definitely picking up
Affordable Pet Waste Removal · independent-business coverage
Open full originalPet Butler’s first franchisee in America
The transition from his independent start
Open full originalPet Butler is “dog owner’s best friend”
Coverage of the service and the people it helps
Open full originalBusiness keeps picking up
Pet Butler business-section coverage
Open full originalWhen Opportunity Knocks, Put on Your Gloves
Franchising feature
Open full originalOriginal image quality varies. Several copies are small or cropped; opening them larger cannot restore missing print. Publication dates and outlet names are not established from these copies.
03
FLOATATION LOCATIONS
AN INDUSTRY HUB
Give people a useful place to connect.
As co-founder, CEO and operator of Floatation Locations, Aaron helped build an environment serving several groups at once: consumers finding places to float, independent centers being discovered, and partners reaching a relevant audience.
Directories, education, offers, advertising and ambassador relationships gave the industry reasons to gather. Media attention and partner feedback became part of that record.
More of the historical record
A customer’s perspective
Jared Roa’s testimonial described referral value for Sacred Floats & Gems Co. and Thaisolate Float Spa, including centers in the United States and Thailand.
The website as an environment
The archived homepage shows the directory, education, Float Saver, manufacturer links, media and ambassador material in one place.
WHAT IT DID FOR BUSINESSES
A directory became a business tool.
Centers could be found, advertise to a relevant audience and offer float packages through a shared service.
Discovery
A searchable directory and map connected people looking for a float with independent centers.
Visibility
Center listings, photographs, links and promotional placements gave businesses ways to reach that audience.
Float Saver
Customers could buy float packages through the site. Participating centers had tools to track sales and mark deals redeemed.
A CENTER OWNER’S EXPERIENCE
“Bringing hundreds of floaters to my doorstep.”
Jared Roa described the value for Sacred Floats & Gems Co. in the United States and Thaisolate Float Spa in Thailand.
His complete historical testimonial is preserved in the original screenshot.
Float Clinic
Up to 30 new floaters a month
The center reported tracing as many as 30 new monthly customers to the website.
Float Clinic
East Coast Floats
A source of first-time customers
Mark and Laurie attributed at least one-third of first-time customers to the directory.
Mark and Laurie · East Coast Floats
Float SNJ
A bridge to the nearest center
Tom valued the connection between people looking for a float and nearby independent centers.
Tom · Owner, Float SNJ
Dharma Floats
More new customers
The center reported more than a 50% increase in new floaters from its Standard Ad.
Dharma Floats · Porterville, CA
These summaries reflect historical testimonials on Floatation Locations’ Add Your Location page. Reported customer outcomes were not independently audited and are not promises for Vavora. Original archived source; some archived scripts may prevent its body from displaying.
THE PARTNER EXPERIENCE
The business model mattered, too.
Graham Talley, identified on the historical page as co-founder of Float On and Float Tank Solutions, described Float Saver as a way to bring in customers and gain exposure. The archive also preserves Thomas Wunk’s account of an early purchase through Float Saver and Chaz Allen’s experience recommending the directory before joining the program.
These old services and terms describe the prior business. They are not current offers.
03 / USEFUL RELATIONSHIPS
The connections were real.
Consumers, athletes, independent operators and industry partners found different kinds of value in the same environment.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Aubrey Marcus
His original Floatation Locations ambassador testimonial, published by FloatationLocations.com on 25 July 2015.
Watch on YouTube · Archived video record
A historical Floatation Locations testimonial; it does not imply a current Vavora endorsement.
REFERRAL & DISCOVERY 01
Frankie Edgar
Former UFC lightweight champion
“Thanks @floatlocations for finding me a place to float. Very cool experience. Check them out.”
His referral thanks appeared on the site’s Ambassadors & Endorsements page.
Internet Archive capture · 24 March 2025
ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIP 02
ONNIT
“Onnit is thrilled to be partnered with Floatation Locations.”
The historical testimonial describes connections with float spas and reports that incoming inquiries from float centers had almost tripled.
Internet Archive capture · 20 January 2025
ANOTHER PARTNER PERSPECTIVE
Muse
Its advertiser feedback describes reaching the float community and working with Aaron and his team.
A VERIFIED MOMENT OF REACH · 14 JANUARY 2015
Joe Rogan shared the partnership announcement.
Joe Rogan reposted The JRE Fanpage’s announcement of the Onnit and Floatation Locations partnership. His live repost and a same-day capture of his timeline preserve that moment.
View Joe’s actual repost · View the archived timeline
The fan page authored the post; Joe amplified it. This is evidence of historical reach, not a current Vavora endorsement.
Explore all 14 archived testimonial cards
Original images and concise accounts of the historical statements are collected below. The archive contains the original wording; some replay cards are truncated. All refer to Floatation Locations.
Joe Rogan
Re-tweet from The JRE Fanpage
Reposted the Onnit partnership announcement.
Historical source
Frankie Edgar
Former UFC Lightweight Champ
Thanked the directory for finding a float.
Historical source
Aubrey Marcus
CEO of ONNIT
Recommended the directory to people seeking centers.
Historical source
Ariana Kukors
Historical site testimonial
A historical testimonial appears in the archive.
Historical source
Keith Jardine
Former UFC Light Heavyweight
Credited Onnit and Floatation Locations after floating.
Historical source
ONNIT
Total Human Optimization
Recommended it as a floating-information resource.
Historical source
Graham Talley
Co-founder/CEO of Float On
Recommended it for finding and promoting centers.
Historical source
Ashkahn Jahromi
Float Conference Organizer
Used it to locate centers while travelling.
Historical source
Sean McCormick
Owner of Float Seattle & Float Bellvue
Recognized its work advancing the industry.
Historical source
Float Clinic
Torrance, CA
Described an ongoing advertising relationship.
Historical source
Pro Float
Float Tank Manufacturer
Recommended using the directory.
Historical source
East Coast Floats
Orlando, FL
Credited it with increasing center awareness.
Historical source
The Float Place
Long Island, NY
Described help gaining exposure for a new center.
Historical source
Float SNJ
Marlton, NJ
Valued it for building an initial client base.
Historical sourceTestimonials are the speakers’ historical statements. Reported results are attributed to them. These relationships concern Floatation Locations and do not imply present-day endorsement of Vavora.
04 / THE CHAPTER THAT ENDED
Then the sponsors disappeared.
Floatation Locations depended on advertisers and sponsors. When COVID shut down float centers, those businesses could no longer justify paying to reach customers they were not permitted to serve.
Within weeks, Aaron says, Floatation Locations lost all of its sponsors. The loss of that revenue effectively ended the business. Some centers and tank manufacturers also closed.
“We lost everything during COVID.” — Aaron Thomson
Aaron’s account of what happened to his business. The website remained available afterward; this describes the loss of its operating model, rather than a precise website shutdown date.
THE REALIZATION BEHIND THE WORK
“This didn’t start as a business idea. It started as a realization.”
Aaron’s earlier description of Vavora begins with a pattern he saw across businesses: capable people working hard, yet struggling to move forward without the right conditions, support and relationships.
That observation became a personal responsibility to build something people could enter and contribute to. His operating history gives that conviction context.
05 / THE NEXT EXPRESSION
VAVORAMore of what people bring deserves a useful place.
“We believe people are capable of far more than their current conditions allow them to express.”
The businesses were different. The experience carries forward: building independently, working inside a shared system, connecting an industry, and living through the loss of a business. Vavora brings a broader ambition: bring talent, knowledge, relationships, technology and resources together so more of what people contribute can become useful to them and to one another.
The through-line is human: better conditions, useful relationships and room to do something meaningful with what you have. Ground Zero is intended as the first public founding chapter.
Vavora is being developed. This page presents the Founder’s experience and the direction behind the company; it is not a product launch or an offer to purchase.
THE RECORD, OPEN TO INSPECTION
Optional external sources & context
Original images are preserved. Open an evidence image to enlarge it or view the full file. The present-day arrangement of historical images is editorial; it is not presented as an original site screenshot. Archive dates indicate when a page or asset was captured, not when a statement was first published.
Publication receipts
- TIME · 2015. Mandy Oaklander’s archived original feature names Aaron Thompson as a directory operator and source of industry figures. The surname spelling is the publication’s. Archive capture: 22 December 2015; that is not asserted as the publication date.
- The Wall Street Journal / Fox. Laura Johannes, “Can Floating in a Tank of Water Help Your Mind and Body?” The Fox republication names Aaron as the business’s chief executive. This is one syndicated reporting instance.
- Forbes · 11 December 2017. Jordi Lippe-McGraw, “Floating On An Arctic Lake Might Be The Coolest Experience Ever.” Cites Floatation Locations for studio counts. Publisher access may require a subscription.
- New York Times reporting · October 2015. Julie Turkewitz’s story identifies Floatation Locations as an online directory. Read the Express-News syndication or the original NYT article. Access may vary.
Images, ambassadors & partner statements
- Portraits and Frankie Edgar’s statement. Original assets from Floatation Locations, captured 25 September 2024; accompanying names and historical roles appear on the Ambassadors & Endorsements page, captured 24 March 2025. The twelve portraits are preserved from the original homepage mosaic, with names grounded in the historical site metadata. Their present order is an editorial choice.
- Aubrey Marcus video. The original YouTube video is embedded on the archived ambassador page. Its archived YouTube record identifies FloatationLocations.com as uploader and 25 July 2015 as publication date.
- Onnit and Muse. Testimonials on the Corporate Advertising page, captured 20 January 2025. The images reproduce those statements as displayed; reported outcomes have not been independently audited.
- Historical banner and homepage. Banner asset captured 25 September 2024. Homepage captured 10 February 2025. Floatation Locations’ servers are down and the service is not currently operating, according to Aaron. Archived promotions are not current offers.
- Joe Rogan’s repost. Live repost, 14 January 2015; independently preserved in his same-day archived timeline. Original post by The JRE Fanpage, then @JoeRoganEXP; the author’s account now uses @ShayneOnChayne.
- Pet-business clippings and Jared Roa’s testimonial. Originals supplied by Aaron. Clipping dates and publication names are not reliably legible. The first-franchisee clipping names the independent start in fall 2003; no precise franchise year is assigned here. The Jared Roa screenshot has no established publication date.
Historical record updated 3 October 2026. Past media coverage and relationships do not imply current Vavora partnerships or endorsements.