Summer time
and sauna action keeps happening
Before we jump into this month’s stories, I want your input.
SaunaTimes Summer Survey
I’m thinking about where SaunaTimes goes next: where you’d like us to lean more into.
To sort that out, I looked across the last 100 posts from the past 1,000 and grouped them into five categories. Now I’d like your help deciding which categories deserve more steam.
It’s a quick one-minute survey. You’ll rank the five categories (not just pick a favorite). The results will directly shape what shows up next in the writing, the podcast, and future features.
👉 Take the four question survey click here:
There’s also a small thank-you: three advance proof copies of the upcoming coffee table book Sauna Life: Heat Up to Cool Down will be given away to participants. Completing the simple survey… and you’re qualified!
Sauna Talk
Here’s a secret: authors make great guests for the Sauna Talk podcast. And here’s a triple play of breath, cold, and meaning as we head back up to Sauna Days, where I host a special live authors panel featuring Garrett Conover, Jesse Coomer, Harvey Martin. Check it here.
Heat Immersion: why good heat is more than hot air
Good sauna heat is an environment. Step into most any sauna and, sure, you’ll likely notice the thermometer on the wall. But in a good sauna, what we notice is the feeling of being surrounded. And in a good way, more is here.
Riverwalk Saunas: A Nordic escape beneath the skyscrapers
The wind whipping off the Chicago River usually signals a time to retreat indoors, but at the foot of the Magnificent Mile, a new kind of warmth is rising. Kev brings us right into front and center at Riverwalk Saunas. More is here.
The Dodson Dive
A couple years ago, I wrote about something that seemed almost too simple to matter: entering the lake butt-first instead of diving headfirst. I have some interesting rationale, evidence, naming rights, and a cool story behind (cough) this graceful entry point. Check it out here.
The Sweat-Soaked Heat Academy: How Six Mindsets Create the Magic of Sauna Days
After Dan Woods reviewed February’s Culture-of-Bathing Sauna Festival in Brooklyn, I asked him to cover Sauna Days held North of Duluth, Minnesota in early May. He is a heck of a writer and we’ll be seeing his articles in international newspapers soon. For now, we have him on our team. Anyone interested in attending a sauna festival will resonate with Dan here.
Portland Sauna Circuit
Have you ever seen Portlandia? Well, Sauna Circuit Scout “Thermal Terry” joins us from the land of PDX. Portland’s sauna scene has exploded in the past few years from the high-rise and high-end Ritz Carlton Spa and super-luxe Cascada Thermal Springs & Hotel to rootsy vibe sauna action. Check it out here.
Happy 4th to all you fellow sauna freaks in the U.S., and World Cup greetings to everyone else joining in from around the globe. (I am rooting for Norway, and yet one of the survey questions isn’t “do you like Erling Haaland’s haircut?)
Survey is here.
Good heat knows no borders.
See you next month!