Creating Coquitlam’s New Home for Wellness
ALNA is Coquitlam’s newest home for sauna and cold plunge, created so more people can feel the benefits of hot and cold without a long drive or complicated routine. Whether you’re local to Coquitlam, Port Moody, or Port Coquitlam, ALNA is designed to be an easy, everyday spot for heat, cold and everything in between. Doors are opening soon.
Something brand new is coming to Coquitlam: a 2,200‑square‑foot space that will soon be home to a 30‑person traditional Finnish sauna, three custom‑engineered cold plunge tubs built right here on Vancouver Island, and—if we have our way—a whole lot of people remembering how good it feels to take care of themselves.
This is ALNA, and this is the story of why it exists right here in the Tri‑Cities.
ALNA was born from two people who arrived at the same idea… from very different directions.
Nat Canonaco spent 37 years in martial arts, coming away with eleven professional kickboxing fights, three boxing bouts, and a body that eventually asked for something more than ice packs and rest. What started as ice baths after fights and saunas to cut weight slowly turned into a ritual he relied on as much for his focus as for his physical recovery, especially alongside a demanding career in global IT sales.
For a while, that meant winter drives to a local lake with a buddy, chasing the same three minutes of frigid-water clarity each time. It worked. But it wasn’t exactly convenient.
Alex Pesusich came to it differently. Thirty‑five years as a professional dancer and over a decade coaching kickboxing had taken their own toll, but it wasn’t until a few days at a contrast therapy retreat in Whistler that something really clicked for him.
“I went in thinking about my body,” Alex says. “I came out thinking about everything: the noise I didn’t realize I was carrying, and how quiet my mind got without a phone in my hand for three days.”
Back home in the Lower Mainland, he realized the closest place offering anything similar was clear across town in North Vancouver. When he and Nat compared notes, the picture became obvious: they’d both been chasing the same feeling, and their own community didn’t have anywhere nearby to find it.
Why Sauna and Cold Plunge Belong in Coquitlam
Wellness shouldn’t require a long drive, a plane ticket, or a garage full of equipment. So Nat and Alex set out to build the thing they wished had existed years earlier, right here, for the people around them.
That meant designing a space from the ground up instead of retrofitting one. The saunas are being built by Vancouver Sauna, a Vancouver‑based company dedicated to bespoke, high‑quality sauna spaces (and Canada’s top sauna manufacturer). The three cold tubs are being custom‑engineered for consistent temperature, real cleanliness and a smooth experience whether you are brand‑new or a seasoned regular.
Part of what makes ALNA feel different is who it’s for. It’s not a space reserved for elite athletes, and it’s not intimidating to someone who’s never tried a cold plunge in their life.
It is built for the lacrosse team looking for a shared ritual before playoffs, the parent who hasn’t had ten quiet minutes to themselves in longer than they’d like to admit, and the curious neighbour who has heard about cold plunging from every corner of the internet and just wants someone patient to walk them through their first three minutes.
What You’ll Find at ALNA
Inside ALNA, you will find a traditional Finnish‑style sauna designed for up to 30 people, cold plunge tubs held at consistent temperatures, and space to rest in between rounds of heat and cold. A typical visit gives you time for several cycles of sauna, rest (including filtered water and a custom blend tea), cold, and back to rest again. It’s an experience designed to help you to feel the shift from “on” all day to genuinely grounded.
Every part of the ALNA experience is grounded in research on the benefits of contrast therapy, from circulation and recovery to mental clarity and stress resilience. Just as importantly, it is designed to be simple and repeatable, so taking care of yourself can become part of your week, not a once‑a‑year treat.
Construction is underway, and we are just a few months out from opening the doors. We can’t wait to welcome you.
If you would like to be the first to know when it is time to step inside—along with opening details, launch offers, and simple ways to build heat and cold into your week—just sign up for our newsletter.