A hot tub will make you healthier, happier and a little more groovy.

Few words or phrases in the english language elicit feelings of relaxation like “hot tub.” A close second is “long weekend,” which happens to be about as much time as you need to follow our advice and get a hot tub for yourself. (For the record, the third phrase is “Coors Banquet Beer.”)

Our friend Shayd Johnson is a world class relaxer, and he recently installed a hot tub at his cottage near Vancouver, BC, so we asked him what he loved most about it. His response made us consider clearing out a room in our apartment in San Francisco (who needs a couch anyway) and getting a hot tub installed. Read on for a few words from Shayd about his experience with these magical relaxation machines, followed by some reasons why you should consider putting “build a hot tub” at the top of your to-do list this weekend.

“Last year, my partner and I moved out of the city to pursue a slower pace of life in a small coastal town about an hour away from Vancouver. We traded the small apartment living for a large cottage in a rural setting. We’ve been visited by the neighbourhood bear, have a garden in the back yard and can walk to the ocean or hike up a mountain right from our front door and just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we added a wood-fired hot tub.

“My first experience with wood-fired hot-tubs was at a friend’s off-grid paradise called “Moonshine Kingdom”. Their oceanfront lot, which can only be accessed by boat, is just a 40 minute boat ride from the city and is the perfect weekend getaway with some simple canvas tents, a small rustic cabin, large deck with a diving platform to the sea, all centred around their wood-fired hot tub. We spent a chunk of our time helping out on the lot, with some downed trees, cutting up wood, and in the evening we were rewarded with a soak in the tub and a cold plunge in the ocean.

“We moved into our new place in October, the start of the rainy season in the Pacific Northwest. The weather can be pretty disheartening… In January it rained almost every single day, so we spent a lot of time indoors. That all changed when we pulled the trigger on a Alumitub, wood-fired hot-tub. They are built locally just 20 minutes from our place, and on delivery day, after about an hour of setup, we filled it up, lit the fire and soaked all evening, a real game changer.”

Why Owning a Hot Tub Will Make You a Better Person

We can’t promise that owning a hot tub will make you a god-like figure in your neighborhood, bursting with robust heath and chill vibes, but we know that it’s a good start. If you’re not already convinced, we talked to Shayd about his experience and complied this handy list of ways that a hot tub will help you live your best life.

They’ll make you all lovey-dovey

Let’s start by getting this out of the way: Yes, hot tubs have a reputation, and yes, they deserve it. Swingers in the 70’s knew it and you’ll figure it out soon enough—spending time soaking with a partner is a great way to kindle those lovin’ feelings. Shayd has seen this first hand. “My partner and I were already great at chilling, but this experience has taken it to the next level, “ he says. “There’s nothing really more romantic than hearing a crackling fire under the stars while soaking in a hot tub is there?”

You’ll look forward to rainy days

Those who live in the PNW know that it’s not enough to tolerate a rainy day, it must be embraced. If you’ve ever sat in a warm tub in a cold rain, you know that the adversity only makes your warm little pool of heaven that much more cozy. “I usually fire up the tub when I know the weather is going to be particularly gloomy or cold,” says Shayd. And it’s not just for rainy weather; the hot tub is ready to pivot when the sun starts beating down. “When it’s hot in the summer, we fill it up with cold water and use it to cool off.”

You’ll get to play with fire

A Jacuzzi is plug-and-play, but a hot tub like Shayd’s includes a whole other element of work. Luckily that work is chopping wood and starting fires, two activities that we love almost as much as soaking under the stars.

“Owning a wood-fired hot-tub means that you have to have a constant source of wood,” says Shayd. “Luckily for us, we already burn wood in our fireplace indoors, so adding an extra cord of wood for the hot tub isn’t a big deal.”

You’ll get to do some scrubbing

Ok, scrubbing isn’t always fun, but if you take a zen approach you might find a little bit of enlightenment. If this feels like a stretch, consider the alternative-dumping a bunch of chemicals in a tub where you regularly soak your body.

“The hardest work involved in the process is draining and cleaning the tub every 4-5 uses, because we don’t use any chemicals, we have to change the water often,” says Shayd. Hard work sure, but the materials he uses don’t require a single warning label. “I just simply use some vinegar and water and a sponge to go over the surfaces before refilling.”

You’ll be healthier (we think)

People have long soaked in hot water to cure what ails them. We’ll leave the details to the doctors, but there’s definitely something life affirming about a good soak. Even better? Following that with a dip in freezing cold water. “We try to mimic the scandanavian style spa experience, says Shayd. “And we channel our inner Wim Hof by braving a ‘cold plunge’ afterward, which vastly increases the feeling of being Jello when you finish tubbing. I always sleep like a baby after.”

You’ll become a local hero

If you own a pickup truck, you’re used to people asking you to help them move. Not fun. If you own a hot tub on the other hand, they ask if they can drop by for a soak with you, a much more pleasant proposition than hefting a couch up four stories. “Your neighbours will become jealous really quick, your friends will want to come over more often and you will be forever known as the guy with the wood-fired hot tub.”

You heard it here: a hot tub will change your life. You might be resistant to the idea of being known as a “hot tub guy,” but trust us when we say that they live a life that’s just a little looser, a little goovier, than the rest of us.