In less than two years since the introduction of the SmartSun Therapy brand, the innovatively designed SST28 system has successfully elevated red light therapy to unprecedented heights in the tanning industry.

In the process, Smart Tan CEO and founder of SmartSun Therapy Matt Russell has seen his original vision for the service come to fruition. Russell created SmartSun Therapy not only to provide tanning businesses more affordable access to the most profitable light therapy equipment ever seen in salons but also to help operators make it clear to customers that the service is utilizing a light spectrum that exists in natural sunlight to provide many benefits, just like our other equipment.

In this exclusive interview, Russell details his motivations for developing the brand and reveals how the SST28 device has become the most profitable non-tanning service many operators have ever invested in, while also helping redefine their business models and becoming the centerpiece of their service offerings and sales strategies.

Matt:

A few years back, I became obsessed with the science surrounding red light therapy. This resulted in my search for a product that could not only provide sunlight benefits for consumers but could also become a highly profitable means of diversity for the most professional sunlight providers in the world – tanning salon owners.

My search led me to a U.S. manufacturer with a very unusual product design that I found oddly interesting. I wasn’t completely sold on the design at first until I made a trip to the factory and discovered exactly why it was designed the way it was. As an avid red light therapy reader, everything I learned about this new device made total sense. Here’s what I learned and why today more than 100 SmartSun Therapy SST28 red light therapy units are making money in tanning businesses all over the U.S.:

Red light is fickle. It loses a lot of energy within just a few inches. I had read about this in multiple books and papers, but I didn’t realize the significance until I met with the SST28 designers. There are plenty of red-light therapy units on the market today from clamshell beds to stand-up units, but unless the lights are nearly touching your skin, you’ve lost most of the energy and benefits. So, unlike any other unit on the market, the design of our unit is such that you can literally pull down the top canopy right onto your body.

I quickly fell in love with the design of the unit for a number of reasons. First, clamshell bed devices are designed to look like a level 1 tanning bed. Our customers have been conditioned to understand that units that look like that are the least expensive service we provide. How do we expect them to get excited and pay a premium for something that looks like a level 1 bed? What I have heard consistently from our users is our unique design is a head-turner. Owners have repeatedly told us that customers walking by the SST28 room will stop and ask, “What does that do?” or “What is that all about?” Yes, the design is effective.

What we’ve also learned is that optimized red light therapy is a “sticky” service. Just like our UV devices, consumers experience significant results and become very attached to the service. However, this doesn’t happen with a unit that doesn’t get the lights close enough to the user. We’ve learned that devices designed with lights too far from the user are very similar to the old low-pressure red-light devices which offered very limited results if any. To date, only the SmartSun Therapy SST28 is designed in a way that gets the lamps close enough to skin to provide significant results.

Now the SmartSun Therapy device is helping change consumer perceptions about the benefits of sunlight. Sure, some consumers today believe in the benefits of sunlight, but there are too many that still believe sunlight has little value and should be avoided. Science today is clear – the benefits of sunlight far outweigh the easily manageable risk of overexposure. As the indoor tanning industry’s most prolific advocate, Smart Tan has been saying this for years.

I had hoped that the introduction of red and near-infrared light in our communities would help keep that momentum moving forward, as almost everyone understands that these forms of light are therapeutic. However, not everyone has considered that red and near-infrared light are also wavelengths of the sun. So, my vision was that the introduction of SmartSun Therapy into salons would create opportunities for salons to have conversations in their communities about the benefits of sunlight. With the salons that I’ve worked with, this has truly been the case.

Pacific Tan general manager Carly White says the first thing new customers learn about in her stores is the benefits of SmartSun Therapy – teaching how sunlight is beneficial. She believes this has created a new way of thinking about sunlight in the minds of those who became concerned about sunlight exposure in the past. By making a comparison to sunlight, her services have taken on a different perspective in the eyes of her customers.

Two years ago, I had hoped that the SmartSun Therapy SST28 would provide most of the benefits I had dreamt that it could. According to the many tanning salons currently using the device, it has exceeded my expectations. Today, I’m happy to report that this device has turned out to be the most prolific new device our market has seen in quite some time.

Am I biased in that assumption? Absolutely. But I ask you to consider this: I’ve been involved in helping to change the indoor tanning industry since 1980, and this is the first time I branded a product with my company’s name. There’s a reason for that. It works, and it will change your salon and your salon’s future.

For more information about SmartSun Therapy, call 800-988-8712 or visit smartsuntherapy.com.