Eric Kokko's upbringing in northern Michigan led to the creation of his newest side business.

The New Hudson resident and his wife, Katie, recently launched a new business perfect for those looking to heat up during the cold Michigan winters. Called Michigan Mobile Sauna, it allows users to rent a portable sauna for special events or just for a weekend of relaxation.

Kokko grew up in a Finnish family with roots in Rudyard in the eastern Upper Peninsula, a place where sauna usage is the norm. Kokko grew up using saunas on a regular basis.

Launching such a business gives him a connection back to his family and specifically his grandfather, who had a sauna on their property up north.

"Every time I sit in this thing, it reminds me of him," he said. "And that's just what I love about it."

The idea for the mobile sauna came after he and his wife took a trip up north last summer and saw a similar structure.

"I was just born and raised with saunas, and the wife and I went up to Traverse City this summer and I saw a log cabin on wheels," he said. "I rolled around there and it's a sauna. And I'm like, 'A mobile sauna. I love it.'"

After working with a Minnesota company to construct the portable hot spot, he picked it up and has set it up in a handful of places.

The structure has space for a handful of people to fit. Users can step inside into the changing room area and and then change the temperature before entering the sauna space. Powered by a wood burning stove, the sauna can reach temperatures of nearly 200 degrees.

It has wooden benches inside that can be removed for those looking for more active activities like hot yoga. It can fit as many as five adults with the benches installed.

Kokko said he has tried it out and says it feels just like a sauna one would find in the U.P., though with one small exception.

"With the cedar and everything, it is right on point," he said. "With the smells and the atmosphere — the only thing more traditional is that most saunas don't have windows."

Those windows are high in the sauna, which allows users privacy. 

In addition to renting the mobile sauna to individuals and groups, Kokko said he hopes to partner with area gyms and yoga studios potentially to park it outside their facilities. He also hopes to bring it to charity events, including possibly Polar Plunge events this winter. 

They plan to test it out with family and friends first before opening it up for reservations. Once open, the couple plans to try and keep it fairly close to metro Detroit. Exact time frames for how long customers can rent the sauna vary and can be negotiated.

 More information, including booking rates, can be found at michiganmobilesauna.com.

Contact reporter David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.