From Emergency Rooms to Ocean Views: Tom Riva's Maine Spa Club at Fortune's Rocks
Updated: 2 days ago
By Cy Cyr | Brick+Tides
On a chilly October morning at Fortunes Rocks Beach in Biddeford, two women arrived separately for a little warmth. Neither knew the other, but both had come for the same reason: a wood-fired sauna overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Sherri had traveled from Old Orchard Beach and quite literally jumped for joy when she learned she could enjoy the sauna for 90 minutes. The other, Courtney, from Arundel, was greeted by name and soon began offering pointers to the newcomer.
Nearby, Maine Spa Club founder Tom Riva watched another small connection unfold. For the 39-year-old father of three, moments like these are exactly what he hoped to create when he began building his business.
"It's really cool seeing people that would have never met come together and like have a good time in a healthy way here," he said.
The temperature outside was approximately 52 degrees that morning. Inside Riva's custom-built sauna, it was closer to 170. Just beyond the rocks, the Atlantic Ocean offered a refreshing alternative for anyone brave enough to take the plunge.
And according to Riva, nearly 90 percent of his customers do.
A Life in Medicine and a Return to New England
Riva grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, surrounded by a family with strong connections to healthcare. His father was a physician, his mother a dietitian, and several other relatives pursued careers in medicine. After graduating from high school in 2005, he took a less conventional path. He worked with animals, completed veterinary technician training, and eventually returned to school after the 2008 financial crisis exposed the vulnerability of the veterinary industry.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012 and moved to Boston, where he worked in international sales. His colleagues nicknamed him "Guten Tag Tom" because he was responsible for German customers despite not speaking the language.
The work provided opportunities to travel, but he eventually realized that spending his days making sales calls wasn't particularly fulfilling.
Wanting to help people, Riva enrolled in nursing school at the University of Connecticut. After graduation, he headed to Savannah, Georgia, eager to work in a demanding emergency department.
Two years later, he was ready to come home to New England. Riva had spent childhood summers visiting Old Orchard Beach and always felt a connection to Maine. When a hospital opportunity brought him north, he discovered that a longtime friend had also moved to Portland.
Maine quickly became home, and he has no plans to leave.
A Family and a Reason to Build Something
Today, Riva and his wife, Mullyna, are raising three young children. Their oldest son is four and a half, their daughter is one and a half, and their youngest son is just four months old.
Riva speaks warmly about Mullyna, a Maine native whose family has its own entrepreneurial history in Portland. Watching her parents build a successful family business from the ground up helped inspire his own ambitions.
But it was becoming a father that changed his perspective on work and what he hoped to accomplish.
For years, Riva had considered starting a business. Although he valued helping people as a nurse, he sometimes felt like a small part of a much larger medical system.
After his first son was born, the idea of building something independent became more important. He wanted his children to see that pursuing an idea, taking risks, and working toward something meaningful were possibilities available to them.
"I really got to do something that can show him that if he puts his mind to it, he can do anything that he wants," Riva recalled thinking.
Starting Maine Spa Club required financial sacrifices, but Riva believes the opportunity to create something lasting for his family will ultimately make those early struggles worthwhile.
A Broken Leg, a Blizzard, and a Burning Sauna
Riva's affection for saunas began when he was about seven years old, when his uncle introduced him to the sauna and steam room at their local YMCA.
Decades later, after suffering a devastating leg injury that shattered part of his tibial plateau near the knee, he found himself returning to that childhood interest. Unable to exercise normally during his recovery, he began using sauna bathing as part of his personal wellness routine.
He purchased a portable sauna tent and decided to set it up during a January 2024 blizzard.
The experiment was short-lived.
The tent blew over and caught fire.
Rather than abandon the idea, Riva decided he needed something considerably sturdier. He had already spent time researching mobile saunas, searching for inexpensive trailers, and considered building one himself.
Eventually, he hired a company to construct the basic structure. When the finished sauna arrived, however, he wasn't satisfied with the interior and tore much of it apart to rebuild it himself.
He improved the ventilation, customized the woodwork, and added the finishing touches that would make the sauna his own. The interior is predominantly white cedar, with some red cedar, while a wood stove burning kiln-dried hardwood heats the space.
Rocks positioned above the stove retain heat and produce bursts of steam when water is poured over them, increasing the humidity and intensity of the experience.
Perhaps the most important feature is the large window overlooking the coastline.
Riva designed it specifically with Fortunes Rocks in mind, long before he knew whether Biddeford would ever allow him to operate there.
Finding a Home at Fortunes Rocks Beach
Turning that vision into reality required patience.
Riva visited municipal offices throughout southern Maine, searching for waterfront locations and explaining his concept to officials unfamiliar with mobile sauna businesses. With few established regulations for such operations, many communities were hesitant.
He continued approaching Biddeford officials, submitting safety plans, meeting with code enforcement, and exploring potential locations including Rotary Park and areas along Pool Street.
In the meantime, Maine Spa Club began operating along the Saco River in Baldwin, on property owned by a friend. The beautiful riverside setting attracted customers, but spring mud season eventually made access nearly impossible.
Riva returned to nursing part-time, working occasional shifts at the veterans home in Scarborough, while continuing to pursue his dream of operating along the coast.
His persistence eventually led to an arrangement with Biddeford Recreation, allowing Maine Spa Club to operate at Fortunes Rocks through a revenue-sharing partnership.
"I'm so grateful to the city that we were able to work something out with Biddeford Recreation to be able to be here," Riva said. The partnership allows him to manage his bookings and marketing while providing a new recreational experience for the community.
Riva hopes the relationship continues for years, eventually making the sauna a familiar part of the beach during Maine's colder months.
"Hopefully it becomes an institution here at Fortunes Rocks."
More Than Just a Sauna
Maine Spa Club attracts a remarkably diverse group of customers, from young adults and University of New England athletes to residents in their seventies. Some discover the sauna while walking along the beach, while others return regularly, sometimes traveling considerable distances.
Riva has watched strangers discover shared connections, exchange phone numbers, and leave as friends. He recalled two customers who realized during a conversation that they had attended the same wedding years earlier without ever meeting.
For him, those moments are as important as the sauna itself.
"It's a highlight of a lot of people's week," he said, explaining that customers regularly tell him how much they look forward to their visits.
And the enthusiasm was impossible to miss during our Monday morning interview.
The two women who arrived separately were soon sharing the experience, with the returning customer helping the newcomer get comfortable. What began as two individual visits had already become something social.
Riva smiled as he watched his customers settle in.
"It's good seeing the clients come back time after time for sure," he said. For someone who spent years working in healthcare, the satisfaction of helping people hasn't disappeared.
Building a Future for Maine Spa Club
Riva currently operates primarily on weekends at Fortunes Rocks, with occasional Friday sessions and additional dates around holidays, full moons, and customer demand.
Eventually, he hopes to establish a second coastal location and expand the original riverside operation in Baldwin. His long-term vision includes three operating locations, better infrastructure, and perhaps a business his children could someday inherit.
He has also considered organizing a wellness festival at Biddeford's Rotary Park, bringing together mobile sauna operators for a community celebration of the changing seasons.
For now, those ideas remain dreams. But Riva knows that the sauna sitting beside the Atlantic was once just a dream, too.
On this October morning, a flock of geese passed overhead as we talked, heading south toward warmer weather. The ocean stretched out beyond the rocks, and two happy customers were preparing to enjoy the sweat.
Riva had arrived early to prepare everything, something that occasionally requires waking at four in the morning. He doesn't seem to mind.
"I feel truly blessed," he said. "I get to pull the sauna here in the morning and help people feel good and have this as my office space."
After years in emergency rooms, difficult career decisions, a serious injury, and the challenges of starting a business, Tom Riva has found a different way to care for people.
And on a beautiful stretch of Biddeford coastline, he's building something that might keep his family, and his community, warm for generations to come.
Many thanks to Tom (our 50th interview!) on Monday, October 12 at sunrise for his time and energy.
Experience Maine Spa Club - Maine Spa Club offers wood-fired sauna experiences at Fortunes Rocks Beach in Biddeford, with sessions generally available on weekends and additional dates throughout the season.
For reservations, schedules, and more information, visit MaineSpaClub.com.
Visit Tom and Maine Spa Club on instagram at @mainespaclub
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