About
NATURAL MATTRESS
Meet Shane Coker
Founder and CEO
Shane Coker grabbed his guitar and hit the road when he finished school. By the time he got to Austin, Texas in 1999, his musical adventure ended and a new one began. There he met a pretty woman; it was time to settle down. He opened a mattress store in Austin. It did well, but over time a new awareness began to dawn on him.
The mattresses he was selling were a nightmare!
Coker’s love of science led to these facts: ordinary mattresses outgas a multitude of harmful chemicals. Some of these dissipate, but some never do. They put the owner at risk of discomfort, disease, and a poor night’s sleep.
He changed the name of his first store to “Austin Natural Mattress” and started carrying the organic and natural brands that were available at the time. From then on, he vowed to only carry natural products in his stores. His products are made in America with many from Texas. Some are made to order so they don’t sit around in hot warehouses wrapped in harmful plastics until a buyer comes along. Today, his team of owners and managers keeps the organization running smoothly while he takes care of steering the company and bringing in the fresh ideas that help the business grow. They remain dedicated to getting the beds our grandparents slept on into as many homes as possible, with the lowest prices guaranteed, 0% financing, and great shipping options, both online and in several stores.
Our Partners, Owners, Managers
Our sleep gurus go to great lengths to help you create a healthy sleep environment for the 33% of your life you spend sleeping. We listen to your needs and use our expertise to get you the best products. With all the different comfort options, price points, and mattress configurations in our stores, we welcome the opportunity to fit you with the best mattress for you.
Bert Cantu was a chef for thirty years before going into business with Shane Coker. That’s three decades of precise work, immaculate customer service, and incomparable time management. Those are the skills he brings to his customers.
There’s a reason why he sees so many return customers and referrals. Each person that walks in the door gets an education in the dangers of sleeping on ordinary mattresses with their powerful chemical fire retardants, glues and adhesives, polyurethane foams, synthetic perfumes, and deodorizers—otherwise known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Then he points out that you won’t find toxic materials anywhere in the store.
Cantu appreciates the laid-back environment at Natural Mattress. Being on his feet as a chef brought lots of issues with back pain. When someone comes in the door, he excels at pinpointing their needs, whether they have allergies or back pain, or are just looking to upgrade to a safe, clean, long-lasting mattress. With dozens of choices to pick from, he knows he can find the perfect fit for each customer.
He takes the company motto seriously: Do no harm to the environment or to our customers. “Without good health, what else do we have?” he says.
If you are selling mattresses, you want Steve Chandler on your team. He’s a true sleep expert and a sales guru. These are the skills he brings to the company. If you combine that with the healthful components found at Natural Mattress stores, you get a perfect shopping experience.
Chandler started out making mattresses in high school. After that, he moved to a sales position, but not before he was thoroughly trained. He was fully educated in sales technique and an inside-out understanding of every product sold. From there, he advanced to a training role which took him all over the United States. This ultimately led to a store in Austin, coincidentally right across the street from Austin Natural Mattress where he met Shane Coker.
A health crisis in his family opened his eyes to the value of a healthy night’s sleep on a natural mattress. He dove deep into the science of sleep and learned that ordinary mattresses use toxic chemical flame retardants that cause a host of health problems. Natural mattresses are protected just as well by organic cotton, organic wool, and all-natural latex.
Chandler’s best sales technique is knowledge. He considers himself to be a sleep geek, always digging for more information to share with his clients. He knows he’s telling the truth when he says, “We have the best mattresses with the best ingredients. We help you sleep better and sleep cooler on mattresses that last longer.”
You can contact him at steve@dallasnaturalmattress.com
Nathan Novosad has one management tip that boosts performance at every level of the organization: Teamwork Is Dreamwork. A good communication pipeline helps ideas flow throughout the organization. Sales staff are more effective when they are kept informed about products and company initiatives. They provide valuable ideas from their experience on the sales floor. Owner/managers shoulder different responsibilities in support of the CEO, leaving him to handle the broader tasks of running the business.
Novosad has a history of building up businesses and selling them. After he sold a moving and delivery company, he was ready to invest in a new enterprise. A friend introduced him to Shane Coker. He bought into Natural Mattress as an owner/manager. He’s happy in this role where he’s able to put all his management and idea development skills to work.
Customers come into the store because they need help with back pain or chemical sensitivities. Maybe their doctor has referred them. He enjoys helping them get a good night’s sleep by providing them with a top-quality, long-lasting mattress with good back support and no harmful chemicals.
You can contact him at nathan@dallasnaturalmattress.com
Charles Roberts met Shane Coker at a party in 2007, before Austin Natural Mattress was even going by that name. The two hit it off right away. By the end of the evening, Coker had invited him to come to work with him. Roberts was ready for bigger and better challenges, so he happily said yes.
He is good with people, and loves talking with them when they walk through the door. He has an honest, no-pressure sales approach that customers appreciate.
In his spare time, Roberts focuses his efforts on the environment. He created a recycling program for the Austin City Limits Music Festival and served as recycling manager for several years. He managed recycling at Stubb’s Barbecue during concerts. Plus, he planned and threw benefit concerts to raise money for a downtown recycling initiative called Ecology Action.
He shares Coker’s love of music, having served as a DJ on KAOS Radio Austin for fourteen years. While there, he planned various shows and benefits for the station. He’s also recorded live music at his house and at the Old Settler’s Music Festival and Utopiafest for many years.
Roberts enjoys knowing he’s selling a natural product that helps people live a healthier life. He says, “At the end of the day, I can sleep peacefully because I’m selling a awesome product to great people. That just feels good.”
You can contact him at charles@austinnaturalmattress.com
Looking for the finest possible mattress? Houston Natural Mattress is the place to go.
Dustin Reiter has been selling furniture and mattresses for his entire career. He met Shane Coker who discussed his passion for an emerging concept—natural mattresses. What he said made sense and Reiter got on board right away.
Reiter loves providing his customers with a good night’s sleep that’s safe and clean. He also loves making available the top-of-the-line, heirloom quality Hästens mattresses which just happen to be an all-natural product. Made with the fewest and finest materials, these mattresses have served European royalty for over 200 years. They can turn your home into a castle!
When his head hits the pillow at night, he’s proud he provided his customers with a top-quality, comfortable, and long-lasting product without the toxins and poisons that damage people and the environment.
Walt Adair is a clinical researcher—a biostatistician to be precise. Most of his career has been focused on oncology. He currently oversees many clinical trials for biostatistics and programming spanning many therapeutic indications.
He and Shane Coker have been friends since childhood. He watched Coker open his first store and had a front row seat as his business steadily grew over the years. It took some time, but he finally decided he wanted to be a part of this business.
Clinical research is a heavily regulated industry and Adair manages a large book of business for a very large multinational corporation. Here he brings bring organizational, management, and analytical skills to foster growth in a challenging and constantly evolving retail market.
At Natural Mattress, he set up a system for data collection of daily sales by store against cost of goods and expenses. These are ultimately reconciled with bank deposit data. This tool is valuable in assessing—in real time—how each store is managing costs and pricing, and how effective ad spend is for each location. Longer term, this tool gives us insight into how we manage across stores and helps guide our strategic thinking as we look to the future.
But setting all the data aside, he loves his partnership with Natural Mattress for two good reasons: he gets to collaborate with his friend, and business meetings are never boring.
