About

A Message From Our Founder

One morning in 2003, I stood in front of the mirror and noticed I was looking even pastier than usual. Since I had a tanning salon literally 100 yards away from my residence, I figured, what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. 

The front desk clerk couldn’t have been nicer, explaining the salon ins and outs to this wide-eyed neophyte. When I inquired as to how often people tan, she asked, “Do you work out?” That really wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but I answered truthfully. “No.” 

She looked at me, smirking, and replied “Well, as we say in the tanning industry—if you can’t tone it, tan it. Come in at least once a week.” I’ve since upped my workout game, but from that moment on, I was hooked: once a week to keep a nice base tan going—and that’s been my routine for over two decades. 

While loving everything about the tanning experience—the meditative properties, the soothing warmth, and of course, the end result—the one thing I didn’t love was that my feet, especially my heels, would ache during and after a session. 

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem: Heels + Acrylic = Discomfort (for those unfamiliar, acrylic is a fancy industry term for hard plastic). 

One day after a tanning session, disoriented from walking into direct sunlight after having my eyes closed for 20 minutes (yes, the post-tan zombie walk is a real thing), I had an epiphany: When you’re lounging watching TV, do you rest your bare feet on your hard coffee table? Of course not—you put a pillow down first. And this same logic should be applied to a tanning bed. 

Bingo. Problem solved. 

Since my salon wasn’t handing out comfy foot pillows at check-in, I came up with a solution—I'll ask for an extra hand towel and will rest my heels on them—genius! 

I grinned from ear to ear—no one can match my superior intellect.

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Granted, towels do provide a barrier—but it wasn't comfortable and even the slightest movement made the towel slip and slide. Terry cloth was not the answer.

Tanning Bed: 1
Superior Intellect: 0

On to the next solution—I'll just raise my heels an inch off the acrylic. No touch = no discomfort. My superior intellect had become even more superior.

Not so much. Two minutes in, I learned your quads will burn like a five alarm fire at that angle. Not good. Mission aborted.

Tanning Bed: 2
Superior Intellect: 0

With two strikes against me, and my excitement for tanning waning due to the ever-present possibility of heal ache, I was contemplating calling it quits and hanging up my tanning goggles for good (but we had come so far—I just couldn’t let my base tan down). All online inquiries and searches for a tanning bed foot cushion came up empty—so, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

After a solid year—and 5 prototypes later—the Tanshon was born.

The first time I tried the Tanshon, I felt the difference immediately. Gone was the pressure of my heels on the hard acrylic. Gone was the shuffling around trying to find a comfortable position for my feet. It was just…relaxation.

I could finally claim victory.

From one indoor tanning aficionado to another, I truly hope you enjoy your Tanshon as much as I do. And as with anything new, it may take some getting used to—but your tanning experience will improve considerably in no time, and your feet will thank you.

Happy Tanning!

Chief Tanning Officer

P.S. Any questions you may have should be covered in our FAQ—but if they’re not—please don't hesitate to reach out.