Business is definitely picking up
Affordable Pet Waste Removal · independent-business coverage
Full article in HD coming soon.
FOUNDER. OPERATOR. BUILDING WHAT COMES NEXT
AARON
THOMSON
Aaron Thomson has spent more than 23 years building, owning and operating businesses: as a solopreneur, licensee, Pet Butler’s first franchisee, and Co-Founder & CEO of Floatation Locations. His experience spans many industries, including commercial and residential real estate and Web3.
Over the years, Aaron has built a global network spanning entrepreneurs, investors, influencers, athletes, celebrities and academics.
EXPLORE AARON’S STORY
SELECTED COVERAGE & REFERENCES · AARON’S BUSINESSES
WHERE HIS BUSINESS STORY STARTED
From starting solo
to first franchisee
SOLOPRENEUR → LICENSEE → FIRST FRANCHISEE
Aaron started Affordable Pet Waste Removal as an independent operator, then spent a year as a Pet Butler licensee. He became Pet Butler’s first franchisee, owning four franchise territories across Ocean and Monmouth counties, New Jersey. Its founder became a mentor, giving him a close view of how a franchise takes shape.
Over time, Pet Butler operated under three parent owners, two with established franchise businesses. Aaron experienced both sides: a franchise being built from the ground up, and established organizations adding Pet Butler to a wider suite of services and businesses.
READ THE EARLY CHAPTER
The first customers. The first systems.
In fall 2003, Aaron started Affordable Pet Waste Removal. Finding customers, delivering the service and keeping the operation running gave him a firsthand education in owning a business.
Becoming Pet Butler’s first franchisee brought a different perspective: learning directly from its founder, working within a developing system and exchanging hard-earned lessons with other franchisees.
A business that kept evolving
As ownership changed, Aaron saw how established franchise organizations brought another business into their operations. The experience extended beyond running a local service to understanding the people, processes and relationships behind a growing franchise.
The early newspaper coverage
Pet Butler’s first franchisee
The transition from independent operator to first franchisee
Full article in HD coming soon.
Pet Butler is “dog owner’s best friend”
Ocean County Observer · Adam Taliercio · June 12, 2006
Business keeps picking up
Asbury Park Press · Zach Patberg · May 22, 2007
Full article in HD coming soon.
When Opportunity Knocks, Put on Your Gloves
NJBIZ · Martin C. Daks · 2006
CO-FOUNDER & CEO · FLOATATION LOCATIONS
Then the reach
became global
Floatation Locations became a global directory and resource center for people looking to float. As Co-Founder and CEO, Aaron helped connect that audience with float centers around the world.
Behind the directory was a business-to-business advertising and marketing model, working with float centers, float-tank manufacturers and companies looking to reach the float industry. Through that work, Floatation Locations helped businesses find their audience and supported the industry’s growth.
A GLIMPSE OF THE NETWORK
The relationships
grew with it
Through Floatation Locations, Aaron built relationships across business, sport, entertainment and research, one chapter of a wider network built across industries.
UFC CHAMPION
Frankie Edgar
“Thanks @floatlocations for finding me a place to float. Very cool experience. Check them out.”
ONNIT FOUNDER
Aubrey Marcus
“If you are looking for a nearby place to #float in an isolation tank, check out @floatlocations”
UFC VETERAN
Keith Jardine
“Had my first float tank experience thanks to @Onnit their partners at @floatlocations .”
A MOMENT OF REACH · 2015
JOE ROGAN
SHARED THE NEWS.
His repost of The JRE Fanpage’s Onnit × Floatation Locations announcement.
More original voices
Ariana Kukors
Swimmer
“As a lifelong swimmer, I know the benefits that water can have on the mind, body, and soul, but I was completely blown away…”
ONNIT
Total Human Optimization
“Great source of information for floating, check out @floatlocations!”
Sean McCormick
Owner of Float Seattle & Float Bellvue
“Big ups to @floatlocations – they know what they’re doing & are working tirelessly to advance the floatation industry.”
Float Clinic
Torrance, CA
“We have been working with Floatation Locations for 2 years now, and we can't ask for a better place to reach our target market!…”
Pro Float
Float Tank Manufacturer
“Use @floatlocations. Find a float center near you! Floating has great benifits for those who suffer from concussion symptoms @IceGuardians”
East Coast Floats
Orlando, FL
“Floatation Locations has been key in spreading the word about float centers in the state of Florida. At least a third of our first…”
The Float Place
Long Island, NY
“As a new Float Center, I wasn't sure where to turn to get some exposure to my website , and my business. Another float…”
Float SNJ
Marlton, NJ
“As the owner of a start up float center, FloatationLocations.com is among the most valuable tools I have to build my initial client base.…”
Historical Floatation Locations relationships and references. Joe Rogan reshared the original post; the available Keith Jardine statement is partial. These are not current Vavora endorsements.
PUBLICATIONS & DOCUMENTARIES
The work reached
the wider conversation
Journalists and filmmakers referenced Floatation Locations in their coverage of the industry. The original articles and footage are here to explore.
PERSONAL SOURCE · 2015
TIME
The Strange New Science of Floating
“according to Aaron Thompson, who runs an online directory of flotation centers”
INDUSTRY SOURCE · 2015
The New York Times
Climb In, Tune In: A Renaissance for Sensory Deprivation Tanks
“One online directory called Floatation Locations”
The Wall Street Journal
ARTICLE IMAGE · WSJ VIA FOX NEWS
Can Floating in a Tank of Water Help Your Mind and Body?
“Aaron Thomson, chief executive of Flotation Locations”READ ARTICLE
Forbes
ARTICLE IMAGE · SAFARTICA / OFF THE MAP TRAVEL
Floating On An Arctic Lake Might Be The Coolest Experience Ever
“According to Floatation Locations”READ ARTICLE
IMAGE / SOURCE CREDIT · 2018
BuzzFeed
ORIGINAL ARTICLE IMAGE · FLOATATIONLOCATIONS.COM
12 Ways That A Float Tank Can Improve Your Life
“floatationlocations.com”
CBS
ORIGINAL CBS2 BROADCAST FRAME
Floating Therapy
“Source: Floatation Locations”WATCH REPORT
ON SCREEN
WATCH THE MOMENT
CBS · Floating Therapy
2 August 2015. The report used Floatation Locations as the source of its national center counts.
Float Nation · Documentary
The film shows the Floatation Locations website and North American location map at 37:26.
Aubrey Marcus on Floatation Locations
The Onnit founder’s original ambassador video.
WATCH TESTIMONIALMORE COVERAGE & REFERENCES
READER REFERRAL · 2023
Harper’s Bazaar India
Natural ways to calm anxiety, reduce stress, and feel happier
“You can search for float centers at floatationlocations.com.”
READER REFERRAL · 2020
Prevention
What Is Water Therapy?
“Find a facility near you at floatationlocations.com.”
READER REFERRAL · 2025
Popular Mechanics
This Technique Can Alter Your Consciousness…
“You can visit Flotation Locations”
READER REFERRAL · 2014
99U / Adobe Behance
The Floatation Tank: Microwave Meditation for Busy Creatives
“the new to floating section of FloatationLocations.com”
INDUSTRY SOURCE · 2017
The Pennsylvania Gazette
The Psychonaut You Never Heard Of
“According to FloatationLocations.com”
Some publishers and archives may require a subscription or load inconsistently. Source details identify each reference and preserve context.
BOOKS & ACADEMIC REFERENCES
The directory became
a reference
Authors and researchers also pointed readers to Floatation Locations. These references show where the directory entered the published record.
JOURNAL ARTICLE · 2018
PLOS ONE
Feinstein and colleagues’ 2018 journal paper cites the directory as a resource for finding float facilities.
Read the paper
BOOK REFERENCE
The Concussion Repair Manual
Dr. Dan Engle’s 2017 book directs readers to FloatationLocations.com to find a center. Printed page 30.
Open the publisher’s PDF
UNIVERSITY STUDENT REPORT · 2016
Floating Toward Sustainability
Cody Lapointe’s University of Winnipeg report cites Floatation Locations for U.S. and Canadian center counts.
READ THE REPORT
BOOK REFERENCE
The Float Tank Cure
Part of the wider Floatation Locations publishing history, also shown in the original press collection.
VIEW HISTORICAL LISTINGPLOS image: © 2018 Feinstein et al. CC BY 4.0. Original first page, reduced-size rendering.
Another academic reference
A contribution in the National Defence University of Ukraine’s 2019 conference proceedings includes FloatationLocations.com/map in its bibliography (printed page 272). This is a conference reference, not a clinical validation of the company.
OPEN THE PROCEEDINGSThe journal paper, books, student report and conference contribution are different kinds of references. Their inclusion does not imply clinical validation or institutional endorsement of Floatation Locations or Vavora.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DIRECTORY
For the centers,
it meant new customers
Helping people find a float also meant helping independent operators reach them. These are their accounts of what that connection brought to their businesses.
INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
ONNIT
“Onnit is thrilled to be partnered with Floatation Locations.”
ADVERTISER FEEDBACK
muse
“over 30 leads in the past three months, and working with Aaron and his team has been a pleasure.”
FLOAT ON · CO-FOUNDER & CEO
GRAHAM TALLEY
“Their entire team is top notch, and they're not only one of my favorite businesses to interact with”
FLOAT CONFERENCE ORGANIZER
ASHKAHN JAHROMI
“It honestly feels like a superpower to have a giant database of every float center around the world sitting in my pocket.”
“We've gotten up to 30 new floaters a month traced directly from their website.”
Float Clinic
“At least a third of our first time clients have found us through the Floatation Location's website!”
Mark and Laurie, East Coast Floats
“We easily received over a 50% increase in new floaters from our Standard Ad on FloatationLocations.com”
Dharma Floats, Porterville, CA
JARED ROA · SACRED FLOATS & THAISOLATE
“Little did I know that Flotation Locations would pave the way to bringing hundreds of floaters to my doorstep.”
MORE FROM THE CENTERS
“If you are looking for a place to float, Floatation Locations is your site. Which means that if you want to advertise to the…”
Graham Talley
“Big ups to @floatlocations - they know what they're doing & are working tirelessly to advance the floatation industry.”
Sean McCormick
“Whenever I'm travelling, I'm always on the hunt for the nearest float center, and floatationlocations.com is always where I go to find it. It…”
Ashkahn Jahromi
“We easily received over a 50% increase in new floaters from our Standard Ad on FloatationLocations.com”
Dharma Floats, Porterville, CA
“Floatation Locations has been key in spreading the word about float centers in the state of Florida. At least a third of our first…”
Mark and Laurie, East Coast Floats
“As the owner of a start up float center, FloatationLocations.com is among the most valuable tools I have to build my initial client base.…”
Tom, Owner of Float SNJ
“As a new Float Center, I wasn't sure where to turn to get some exposure to my website, and my business. Another float center…”
Tom, The Float Place
“We've been advertising (with a Featured Ad on Floatation Locations) since the day we opened our doors for business. We've gotten up to 30…”
Float Clinic
“I started Sacred Floats and Gems with no intentions of advertising much. On a whim, I signed up for floatationlocations.com. Little did I know…”
Sacred Floats & Gems Co. & Thaisolate Float Spa. Owner, Jared Roa
“Floatation Locations offers the Float Saver™ program, Float Saver™ is a great way for people to save a little cash on their first float.”
Aubrey Marcus, CEO of ONNIT
“We started using Float Saver very early on, after the guys from FloatationLocations.com told us about it. It was really easy to setup and…”
Thomas Wunk
“I have been using floatationlocations.com since before I opened Healing One. I'm Always talking about the experience everywhere I go and getting people stoked…”
Chaz Allen
“Float On was one of the very first centers to join the Float Saver program, and we're going to be using it as long…”
Graham Talley
Historical customer accounts, not independently audited results or promises for Vavora.
WHAT AARON IS BUILDING NOW
VAVORA
Opportunity Ecosystem
A company you scale with.
The power of an ecosystem behind you.
“We believe people are capable of far more than their current conditions allow them to express.”
Vavora is being built to bring people, knowledge and resources together to start and strengthen businesses, build real projects and open doors for others.
Discover Vavora.THE RECORD, OPEN TO INSPECTION
Original sources
The original articles, archive captures and full statements remain available for closer inspection.
Publication receipts
- TIME · 2015. Mandy Oaklander’s archived original feature names Aaron Thompson as a directory operator and source of industry figures. The article misspells Aaron’s name as “Aaron Thompson.” 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. Higher-definition versions of the early clippings are coming soon. The first-franchisee clipping references his independent start in fall 2003; exact early clipping dates are being confirmed.
Historical record updated 4 October 2026. Past media coverage and relationships do not imply current Vavora partnerships or endorsements.