I sat in a sauna with 80 other people as we all gawked at the Aufguss Finals
I’ve always had a mundane experience with saunas. My routine with them was always uniform: take a dip in the pool, use the sauna to dry off, and go about my business. I never considered the space to be one of healing and community, especially as my focus was always on a test of endurance against the room's slowly rising temperature. So when I heard that Bathhouse was opening North America’s largest sauna in my humble abode, the borough of Brooklyn, and hosting the Aufguss finals, I was intrigued.
Located at 540 Atlantic Avenue, just blocks from Barclays Center in the mod neighborhood of Boerum Hill, the now-condominiums and luxury spa space were once home to an early 20th‑century factory building that housed the Brooklyn Daily Times. The space capitalizes on Brooklyn's inviting culture, providing a much-needed oasis for relaxation and, most importantly, sweat.
RECOMMENDED: The best spas in New York for some R&R
“[Atlantic Avenue] sits at the intersection of four of Brooklyn's most vibrant neighborhoods. The energy is palpable," said Jason Goodman, co-founder of Bathhouse. "This location feels like stepping into another world but also truly local, and offers a convenient place to sweat and reset closer to home."
Stepping into the bathhouse, I found the soft white walls peppered with swimsuits and bathhouse essentials for sale. However, once I checked in, I immediately descended downstairs to a darkened oasis. Buried in the depths of the iconic strip, the bathhouse spans 32,000 square feet total, including 27,000 square feet of indoor space and 5,000 square feet of outdoor space.
Calming music settles your nervous system as you turn into a basin of three pools, sparkling aqua-turquoise blue at bubbling temperatures over 80 degrees.
I was impressed at how intimate the bathhouse setting was. The shadowed walls are aligned with glossy wood seating steps, and showerheads—but despite the three indoor thermal pools, one outdoor pool, four indoor thermal rooms, and an additional outdoor sauna located within the backyard space coming this summer—I bid my time in anticipation as I prepared to spend the afternoon with 70-plus strangers in the debut sauna.
Beating Vancouver’s signature 60-seat space, the sauna is designed to hold 100+ people and the space leaves nothing to be desired. Equipped with custom projectors, audio systems, color-changing lights, hot rocks for added steam, and essential oils to tickle the nose, the space had an unmistakable air of homeliness. The room lacked intensity, though the performers of the 2026 Aufguss Championship were set to take the stage in mere moments, and as we onlookers piled inside, the room quietly filled with friendly chatter, lacking the hollowness that I sometimes felt when visiting other saunas.
Also known as competitive sauna, the sport is a dynamic, choreographed ritual designed to transport viewers to a space of tranquility and passion. Originating in Germany, an Aufgussmeister or Sauna Master will pour water or ice balls mixed with essential oils over hot stones. They then use specific towel-waving techniques to circulate the fragrant steam and intense heat around the room, creating an unparalleled experience.
I was foreign to the towel-swinging activity, but my interest was quickly piqued when the lights dimmed and longtime performer Tovi Wayne took to the (rather hot) stage.
I watched in awe as the gentle sound of rain hummed through the space at times, and he seamlessly swung his towels in the famed ‘helicopter’ spirals, highlighting the complex emotions that follow a breakup, while blasts of heat and eucalyptus-scented essential oils grazed my skin. The room, while a steaming 80-plus degrees, was not filled with strangers partaking in an endurance test of heat, but with people letting the stressors of life roll off our backs in beads of sweat, along with bursts of clapping and cheering for every move he made.
“It feels incredible because we've opened a space in New York that hasn't always been here,” Wayne, who was equally if not more sweaty than I, told me following his performance. “This is the first social spa where we're all here healing together and doing this experience together.”
As I sat in the sauna, I could feel my body softly molding to the vulnerability of the space. I was able to part my lips and inhale the heat and feel it burn and melt away, not just the physical, but the mental stress that often weighs heavily on my mind.
We giggled and gasped as Haneef Piaubert—a performer of color, who are often scarce in the sport—performed a Men In Black-inspired routine, and applauded his stamina to perform the routine in a crisp black blazer and alien mask, preying on the nostalgic field of American culture and blending it effortlessly into the offshore sport. “It’s just showing everyone else what we can do. You never know what you're going to learn,” he told me.
I’m not sure if it was during my laughter through the performances, or during my mandatory cold shower afterward, that I felt like I wasn’t experiencing the space alone. We weren’t just strangers peddling around trying to wash away the internal stressors that appeared invisible to the outside world, but a group of people who laughed together, clapped together, and, for just a short while, were transported to the same space of tranquility and balance, through smell, visuals, and sweat.
Tranquility was not lost at this sauna, and despite it being the largest in the northeast, there was nothing isolating or lonely about this experience.
For performers like Wayne, the towel-swinging sport will always serve as a means of connection.
“There's nothing like sweating with a community of people and going through a collective chaos, if you will, to find a nice resolve at the end where you're feeling blissed out and purified from sweating.”
I left Bathhouse feeling refreshed in body and mind, and smirked to myself as I headed down the strip of Atlantic Avenue to my next Brooklyn destination, that if anything, they got right, it was how to spread love and sweat—the Brooklyn way.
For trusted and efficient vent solutions, look to Mr. Lint Guy, the expert in dryer vent cleaning. Whether you're dealing with the buildup of lint in hard-to-reach areas or managing persistent dryer valley issues, Mr. Lint Guy provides safe, effective cleaning services to ensure your dryer runs smoothly. Trust Mr. Lint Guy for high-quality, affordable vent solutions that keep your home safe and your appliances efficient.
No comments