Rachael and Richard Prentice are a couple of plungers. Cold plungers, that is.
Hailing from Malaysia and Scotland respectively, the two started cold plunging thanks to Richard’s interest in professional Mixed Martial Art, where contrast therapy is a well-established recovery treatment.
“As soon as we tried contrast therapy for ourselves, we both instantly loved it,” Rachael shared.
Convinced by the research done on cold water immersion’s effects on their health, the two began plunging consistently.
A 2020 peer-reviewed study found that contrast therapy was effective in increasing blood flow, reducing muscle stiffness, increasing muscle elasticity, and relieving pain.
This came at a time when the couple had gone through the pain of consecutive miscarriages, despite having a successful pregnancy in 2021. Thus, they decided to take their approach to wellness and health more seriously.
Along with regular exercise and better nutrition, contrast therapy became a key pillar of their health changes. “We were fortunate to bring in our latest addition to the family in October 2024, our baby boy Isaiah.”
Incidentally, that was the year their business, Rise & Plunge, got its start.
“We were plunging consistently at home but were doing it with an inflatable bath which we would fill with almost 50kg of ice every time we wanted to plunge,” Rachael pointed out.
As the ambient water temperature in Malaysia is around 26 to 28 degrees Celsius, you’d need a huge amount of ice for every plunge, which is impractical and wasteful.
“So between how impractical it was to do so at home and with Malaysia not having somewhere to do contrast therapy, we decided that we wanted to bring somewhere new, something different to Malaysia, and that concept became Rise & Plunge.”
Plunging into the business
Prior to entrepreneurship, Rachael’s background is in digital marketing. Meanwhile, Richard has been in senior leadership roles in the UK and Australia, having been a CEO for a Malaysian-owned business for nine years.
Both left their corporate roles in late 2023. After some time off, they began building Rise & Plunge at the end of Q1 2024.
By the middle of 2024, Rise & Plunge opened its first store in Mont Kiara.
Starting a business together has always been a dream of theirs, Rachael shared.
“We’re partners and best friends, so working together has always come easy to us,” she explained. “Rise & Plunge gives us a platform to build something that’s ours and it’s been great so far… most of the time.”
Dubbed Malaysia’s first dedicated contrast therapy spa, Rise & Plunge provides private studios designed for either one or two people to enjoy contrast therapy.
Sessions are typically 45 minutes long, with 30 to 35 minutes spent in the infrared saunas, and three to six minutes in the ice baths.
Single sessions are RM110 per person, and RM165 for a two-person studio (RM82.50 per pax). There are also multi-session packages available.
They also offer 15-minute sessions for those only looking to use the ice bath. These cold plunge-only sessions are around RM62 per session.
All nine contrast studios across two stores are private.
“We’re much less keen on shared spaces, it’s not part of our model,” they explained. “Our private studios are a great place to completely unwind by yourself, or spend dedicated time with a partner, family member, or friend.”
Swimming into diversified revenue streams
All technology used by Rise & Plunge is custom-built, designed to their specifications.
“The manufacturing side of the business is unseen to our customers, but has been a huge amount of work,” Rachael said. “Product research, testing, and refining has been one of the biggest requirements for Rise & Plunge to get right.”
Knowing that these equipment can handle the heavy demands of their spas, the couple believed it would also be perfect for people’s homes.
That’s why Rise & Plunge also has a home installation arm that installs their saunas and the ice baths into people’s homes.
“This allows people to make contrast therapy a genuine part of their daily or weekly routine from home,” the founders explained.
Including delivery and installation, the saunas cost around RM13K. According to Rachael and our research, this is relatively competitive pricing.
Rise & Plunge also offers ice bath products in a range of different tub types. The ice baths start from RM7,850 and go up to RM13,100, including delivery and installation.
Again, this is competitive pricing when up against comparable products in the market.
“Providing great quality whilst remaining as affordable as possible for both spa sessions and home products is something Richard and I are committed to,” Rachael said.
Not just a fad
These days, there’s been a lot of cold plunge businesses that have cropped up, such as Polar Plunge and Warrior Plunge.
Seeing that, we wondered if Rise & Plunge was just riding the wave of the hype.
“To be honest we don’t see contrast therapy and plunging as a new trend; it’s been a foundation of life in northern parts of Europe for a century,” Rachael explained.
After all, sports teams all over the world have used saunas and cold baths to boost recovery between matches or competitions.
What’s changed is that home and spa solutions are more readily available and affordable.
“If other businesses pop up with similar concepts, they’ll be growing participation in contrast therapy and with so many of the population yet to experience it (especially in Malaysia), a growing community of advocates can only help,” Rachael said.
Rising to the occasion
When Rise & Plunge first opened, Rachael was 29 weeks pregnant, and the couple was running everything by themselves.
“Looking back, it was a huge undertaking whilst also being heavily pregnant,” Rachael admitted. “The business operates in some capacity every single day of the week and honestly we’ve never worked such long hours in any of our roles previously.”
That said, the two strongly believe in consistent hard work. That, and a great support network such as family and friends, and a supportive team.
Rachael expressed that whilst it’s been difficult, it’s also been really satisfying. “And when we get really stressed, there is nothing like an ice cold bath to calm the mind.”
Barely half a year after opening their Mont Kiara outlet, Rise & Plunge opened its Bangsar Village 2 outlet in December 2024.
What’s more, their third location will soon commence its construction at The Campus Ampang. This takes them to three locations in the first 10 months of operating.
Looking ahead, they aim to expand into markets like JB and Penang. From there, they hope to bring Rise & Plunge beyond the shores of Malaysia.
Empowered by their mission, Rachael and Richard have boldly taken the plunge with this business. And so far, things definitely look to be on the rise.
“If you’d said to us that we would be about to start building our third retail store, just seven months after opening our first store, we would have said you were crazy,” Rachael mused. “As it turns out, I think it might be us that are a little crazy.”
- Learn more about Rise & Plunge here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Rise & Plunge
