WOULD YOU NETWORK IN THE SAUNA?
Nick Fancher/Death to Stock
By Grace Cook
6 Minute Read
Contrast therapy clubs are the new way to catch up. They’re also a smart place to conduct business.
Last year, I attended a business meeting in the sauna. It was a one-on-one breakfast slot with Celine Ivari, the founder of WholyMe—a London wellbeing brand whose primary product is a topical recovery balm made using natural ingredients. Ivari’s aim was to acquaint me with the brand’s philosophy, so the sauna as a location made sense: WholyMe’s ethos is “gentle care that brings powerful relief to your muscles and joints.”
The sauna has become a regular fixture in current self-care schedules, as contrast therapy is touted as an aid to everything from muscle recovery to inflammation, circulation, stiffness, and brain fog. For women, it also offers relief from hormonal discomfort. In this optimization era, when we’re stacking our fitness and wellness with playtime, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. and UK’s sauna culture caught on. As sober-curiosity has increased, the sauna has become a go-to spot to catch up with friends—a cozy, winter equivalent to a run club.
Could they also be a smart place to conduct business? Ivari certainly thinks so. She’s found the sauna to be a far more productive place to get to know people, building trust in a way that a traditional breakfast meeting might not. Breakfasts or corporate meeting rooms, she said, come with an inherent sense of formality.
With roots in Finland over 2000 years ago, the sauna in Scandinavia is considered the home of the community, where, during particularly harsh and dark winters, people congregate to keep warm and chat. Millennials in major cities and business owners are now taking cues—and supersize saunas like Othership in New York, Remedy Place in Boston, and Arc in London are making it more accessible than ever to communally sweat.
And it’s true that taking a business meeting in the sauna requires a level of trust not as easily earned over a white tablecloth; wearing a swimsuit is intimate, and the environment of a sauna forces you to be very present. The headspace demanded is entirely different, and it's harder to come by in an office or restaurant environment. Boardrooms come with their own baggage that can be anxiety-inducing to some, while restaurants during the pre-work rush hour can also be stressful. Suits and briefcases and handshakes—oh my.
“Breakfasts or corporate boardrooms, she said, come with an inherent sense of formality.”
The sauna has become more relevant to the workplace and work-related conversations thanks to the unfortunate rise of burnout, especially among corporate circles. A 2025 study by Moodle, conducted by researchers at Censuswide, found that 66 percent of American employees were experiencing it. The primary driver? Work. Some 24 percent of those surveyed reported having too much work to do and not enough time to complete it. The study also found that 60 percent of Americans don’t utilize their PTO allowance, which only fuels the fire: time off, according to Kimberly Marshall, chief HR officer at Travel + Leisure Company, helps reduce stress and improves mental clarity and productivity.
Many businesses are now incorporating wellbeing benefits into workplace perks. Valentyn's in Cologne and WSA in New York are both trendy office buildings with significant workplace amenities, including a sauna. Meanwhile, Huel—the protein drink company valued at $560 million during a 2022 funding round—now has a sauna in the office. James McMaster, the company’s chief executive, announced the move on LinkedIn. “The healthier the team, the better we are,” he wrote. “Is anyone else tempted?” The post got over 3,000 likes, with others praising the thoughtfulness. “This will become a mainstay of the future workplace,” wrote one business leader. That Arc, in London, opened its 65-seat sauna in Canary Wharf, right in the heart of the city’s banking district, is no coincidence.
Courtesy Othership
Arc’s proximity to financiers with high-stress jobs allows the business to capitalize on the demand for optimization in well-being. C-suites are the new athletes—this mindset appeals to Type A financiers and tech bros who were among the earliest adopters of gadgets like the Oura ring. Personal well-being statistics are a key metric alongside workplace KPIs, and the sauna is a more holistic part of that package. Think of it as the new location for a company retreat: businesses would once go offsite for a team-bonding day, but could the sauna now become the location to reduce workplace hierarchy and foster conversation? It would certainly cut down on business expenses.
I overheard two women bankers dissecting and strategizing around a workplace problem at Third Space recently—the London equivalent of Equinox. It was 8 p.m. on a Thursday night, and we were in the Canary Wharf branch. In recent years, I have no doubt that this conversation would have taken place in a bar. Instead, the sauna as a social spot is an easy way to avoid alcohol and late-night work dinners; it offers the opportunity not just to wake up fresh, but to go home decompressed.
The sauna is also a way for us to disconnect from technology. Ivari told me the idea behind our sauna meeting was that it removed the distractions of a restaurant, allowing us to focus on conversation and connection. The process of getting undressed prior to a meeting was oddly cathartic; by the time I stepped into the sauna in my swimsuit, wrapped in a towel, I’d sidestepped the stress of my commute. Being handed an herbal tea on arrival only fostered that feeling of quiet. Instead of arriving at a meeting feeling flustered with my cortisol spiking, I opened the door feeling centered and present, as if this meeting was an act of self-care as well as a calendar obligation.
In this smartphone era, it’s rare that we have time or headspace during the working day to be phone-free. We can’t escape the email notifications, missed calls, or Slack prompts in meeting rooms; the deskside lunch is more common than ever. Taking 40 minutes in the morning to sweat and socialize feels soothing. For businesses and business leaders, fostering a sense of calm is one way to achieve the most from your meetings or your employees. Calmness in a contrast therapy suite could be the unlock for clarity, creativity, critical thinking, and conflict resolution. The question now is, are you ready to network in a bathing suit?
