The sauna inside P3 Recovery Shellharbour, which is just one of the services it provides. Photo: Supplied.
After nearly three decades spent bent over pipes and digging trenches, Shellharbour plumber Matt Hillcoat knew his body needed something different.
Now, the former tradie has swapped plumbing tools for plunge pools, saunas and hyperbaric chambers, launching new recovery and wellness centre P3 Recovery Shellharbour as more everyday people embrace athlete-style recovery routines.
Matt said the science-backed P3 Recovery was one of Australia’s fastest growing recovery franchises nationally, despite recovery centres being a relatively new concept in the Illawarra.
“Recovery is new here, so a lot of people aren’t aware of what it does and its benefits and how good you feel when you do use it,” he said.
“To be honest, I wanted it for myself,” he said, laughing.
“With recovery, I’m at the age now I need it for myself.”
After being in a family plumbing business for 18 years, he moved out of that 10 years ago to start a plumbing business with his brother.
“That was a big part of what brought me across to this,” he said.
“Digging every day, being out in the sun, my back would ache bending over all the time, and I was like, my body can’t handle this anymore.”
He said when he discovered P3 Recovery and tried its facilities, he knew that’s what he wanted to do.
With a sporting background, he also knew the benefits for athletes.
Matt said he had played sport all his life, and while he had tried most sports, he’d mostly focused on rugby league, still helping coach Albion Park first grade, and had a black belt in jiu jitsu.
The new facility in Shellharbour City boasts four magnesium plunge pools, each fitting eight to 10 people and set at 5, 15, 28 and 38 degrees Celsius, allowing proper hot-cold contrast therapy in water.
It also has three infrared saunas, plus one large traditional sauna fitting 10-12 people.
The compression lounge is a dark, theatre-style room with leather recliner massage chairs, leg and hip compressions, and massage tools.
“You can sit in there and switch off with the big screen TV, which is really nice,” he said.
“A lot of people go in there and say, ‘I’ll take my computer in there to do some work’, and then you go back in and they’re asleep.”
Lastly, was the hyperbaric chamber, IV drip therapy and red light therapy bed due to arrive in coming weeks.
The plunge pools (left) and infrared saunas. Photo: Supplied.
Matt said what customers chose to do depended on their recovery preferences and differing needs, with benefits ranging from enhanced muscle recovery to reduced risk of injury, and alleviation of stress and fatigue, and improved sleep.
“If you finish in the hot pools in an afternoon, you’ll go home and you’ll sleep really well,” he said.
“But then if you’re finishing in the ice bath in the morning, it gives you awareness and energy for the day.”
While recovery centres were traditionally marketed to elite and semi-pro athletes, he said they were now spanning fitness, wellness, recovery, mindset, and community which he saw first-hand while undergoing training at its Burleigh Heads headquarters.
“To be honest, 85 per cent of the customers there were just normal everyday people and this was part of their routine,” he said.
“Yes, you’ve got all your athletes there, but the majority were everyday people and especially ladies – anything from 35- and 40- to 60- and 70‑year‑olds.
“Some people only have half an hour, so they go straight into the pools, get the pools done, and they’re out.”
Inside the compression lounge at P3 Recovery Shellharbour. Photo: Supplied.
He said others spent half a day there.
“We had some people who booked everything – they go into the saunas, into the pools, then sit 45 minutes in the compressions, finishing with an hour in the hyperbaric chamber,” he said.
“They said they’ve got Fridays off, they’re there for three hours and they walk out a million dollars.”
With wellness exploding across many areas of Australia, Matt attributed it to people being more interested in their health these days.
“Back in the day, everyone was more worried about going to the pub,” he said.
“These days, it seems they’re more than happy to hang in the gyms and focus on their own wellness.
“Everyone wants to look better, to feel better and to train better.”
He said they had already had a soft launch for members, with its official launch on 30 May. A public launch event will be held on 13 June.
P3 Recovery Shellharbour is located at Shop 002, Shellharbour Cinema, 4 Memorial Drive, Shellharbour City.
