2008 Woodie Awards
Students take breath of fresh air
By Andrew Carranza
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 12/9/05 Section: Life
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Binge drinking, consuming massive amounts of illegal drugs, and repressing homework and tests to the back of your mind until they no longer exist are all common ways to help fight the stress. But contrary to popular belief, there are also natural and healthy ways to relieve oneself of tension and SRU students discovered just that when they entered the Stress-Free Zone in the Union yesterday.
The Stress-Free Zone was held in the Union lobby from noon to 4 p.m., and included three massage therapists and an oxygen bar supplied by O2 Ozone. The bar included 16 flavored oxygens, ranging from "Cloud Lime" to "Strawberry Fields." Four machines were set up at the bar, each containing four separate tubes of flavored oxygen. Participants were given a cannula, a plastic tube that is placed into the nostrils for delivery of oxygen, which was then plugged into one of the machines.
"Generators underneath the bar reproduce the air into 90% oxygen," said Eric Gomberg, operator of the oxygen bars.
He, along with his father, Max, and business partner Sal Tomerallo, has set up oxygen bars at nightclubs in downtown Pittsburgh, as well as college campuses and private parties around the area.
"I was at Chatham College last week and Robert Morris University the week before," Gomberg said. "We also do nightclubs like the Matrix or Zoo. We usually charge a dollar a minute to use these machines."
Gomberg said the oxygen machines are therapeutic and very relaxing.
"It's like burning incense," Gomberg said. "It can help to clear headaches and can give a person energy. Women with migraines and those dealing with their monthly menstrual cycle can also alleviate pain by (using oxygen bars)."
The event was completely free and many students turned out in throngs, signing up for five-minute massage sessions and extended whiffs of flavored oxygen.
