We’re back in the States for the second episode in our USA series. Today’s episode features Ryan Linner, founder of Hideout, Connecticut’s first sauna village, providing outdoor contrast therapy in a laid-back, fun, and social environment. All to the rhythm of good music, good people, and a good vibe.

We sit down with Ryan to explore his journey from marketing and tech to building a social wellness community. We dive into sauna culture in the US, the rise of contrast therapy, and what it takes to create meaningful, community-driven wellness spaces.

If you’re a sauna enthusiast, aspiring sauna founder, or curious about the growing sauna movement, this episode is for you.

We discuss…

- Ryan’s journey to sauna and entrepreneurship

- Building a sauna culture in Connecticut

- Sauna as a means to create informal, neighborhood hangouts (third places)

- Bringing sauna rituals (like Aufguss) to Connecticut

- The rise of American sauna culture

- Contrast therapy and tips for having a transformative cold plunge

- Ryan’s advice for aspiring sauna-preneurs

Follow Hideout on Instagram.

Book your social sauna session at Hideout.

🔥 Catch me hosting an Aufguss ritual at Hideout on April 28th.

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

Sources: 

⁠Sauna culture improves physical and mental wellbeing in the UK through social connection and ritual⁠, Published February 2026

⁠Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events⁠, Published April 2015

Have you seen those funny wool hats in the sauna? Want to get in on the fun? And also protect your hair from the heat? Please please please skip Amazon. And instead I encourage you to check out Nordi. Nordi offers 100% wool sauna hats with no synthetic fibers or artificial dyes and they are handcrafted in the US. Badii Talk listeners can get free shipping with the code BADII. 

At the time of this post, Nordi is sold out! You can join their waitlist to be notified when the hats are back in stock. If that’s not proof enough for Nordi, I don’t know what is.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast. The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first few episodes of Badii Talk season two. We’ve taken you on a cultural sauna tour of Finland with guests like Finnish moon follower Meri Mort and Finnish-American sauna entrepreneur Justin Juntenen. We’ve explored the public saunas of Helsinki and even created our own sauna spell together. 

So where are we off to next? We’re making a stopover back home and exploring the nascent but quickly growing sauna and bathing culture in America. Don’t let me hear you say America doesn’t have a sauna culture. It might be new and still very moldable, but the community sauna operators, ritual practitioners, and other American bathing voices are actively shaping what’s next for American bathing culture. And we’re diving in!

Today I’m so excited to host my friend and fellow Woman in STEAM, Courtney Wittich. Courtney is the writer and cultural correspondent behind S.P.A. (Salus Per Aquam ~ Health Through Water), a newsletter dedicated to distilling all things wet pleasure for the post-iPhone leisure world. Drawing on a career in fashion and lifestyle PR plus extensive event production, she examines the trends, rituals, and culture surrounding how we bathe — building online and offline spaces where sauna devotees, bathhouse operators, cold plunge converts, and anyone who's ever sunk into a hot tub after a long week can find common ground. She hosts regular bathing club meetups in Los Angeles (sometimes New York and hopefully beyond), bringing together curious minds and seasoned soakers alike to experience the full spectrum of bathing culture firsthand. 

We discuss…

• Leisure and culture (and Josef Pieper’s Leisure: the Basis of Culture)

• Courtney’s own sweat and soaking rituals (lots of great inspiration)

• Recent events and recs in the sauna and bathing community today

• How Courtney built her S.P.A. Substack community and what’s next

Some of the spots mentioned in today’s episode include: The Hotel Chelsea, Shibui Spa, The Culture of Bathe-ing’s Domino Park Sauna Village in NYC, Sojo Spa Club (check out our full review episode on this NJ spa), Superior Sauna’s Great Northern Festival in MN, among many others. 

At the end of the day, we all bathe. Whether your water is ocean, thermal spring, steam room, drinking mineral water, or your own tub with the door locked, S.P.A. is sure to have something for you. Find Courtney’s newsletter at salusperaquam.substack.com, shop at spasalusperaquam.myshopify.com, explore her city bathing guides at spaaaaaaaaah.recleague.com, and follow along at @spaaaaaaaaah on Instagram for bathing club updates, reviews, and more.

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast. The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

Celebrate the Spring (Vernal) Equinox with a simple sauna ritual inspired by Nordic sauna traditions.

In this episode, I share a sauna spell ritual inspired by my conversation with Finnish moon follower Meri Mort. In Finland, sauna rituals use natural elements like herbs, branches, fruit, and water to bring intention and presence to a sauna practice.

You’ll learn how to make a Spring Equinox sauna infusion that can be used as löyly water (poured over sauna stones to create steam) or as a simmer pot ritual at home if you don’t have access to a sauna. The ritual is a small way to welcome spring and release the heaviness of winter.

One quick ritual disclaimer: this infusion is for the steam, not your stomach. Please don’t drink it, and always practice sauna safely.

In this episode, we share:

• An overview of the Spring Equinox and what it can represent in your practice
• A sauna ritual recipe-- for both use in the sauna and at home as a simmer pot
• The science behind ritual practice (it’s not just woo-woo)

Let’s make some sauna magic.

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast.The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

Over a three-day trip to Helsinki, Finland, I experienced floating urban saunas, sea-fed cold plunges in the Baltic Sea, architectural temples to sauna culture, spiritual moments of löyly, and lots and lots of cardamom buns.

This episode is both a travel guide with practical tips on where to go and what to know before you book as well as a culture reflection.

In this podcast episode, we share:

• Public saunas to visit in Helsinki

• What to know before you book

• The difference between public versus private saunas

• Navigating Finnish sauna etiquette

• The understated magic of Helsinki

  
  

If you’re planning a trip to Helsinki, my hope is this episode will guide you to having a sauna-filled adventure.

And if you’re building or participating in sauna culture outside of Finland, my hope is that this episode offers some insight and perspective into Finnish sauna culture and tradition.

A detailed travel itinerary will be available soon for paid Badii Talk subscribers.

Okay, zäme, let’s go to Helsinki!

Other Badii Talk episodes mentioned include:

• Nordic Magic: Sauna Rituals, Wild Nature, and Finnish Culture with Moon Follower & Author, Meri Mort

• Bathing Naked: Reflections & Cultural Observations

• New England Spa & Sauna Road Trip, Part 2 (Reviews & Travel Tips)

• What is a Finnish Sauna? Badii Talk Shorts Bonus Episode

Have you seen those funny wool hats in the sauna? Want to get in on fun? And also protect your hair from the heat? Please please please skip Amazon. And instead I encourage you to check out Nordi. Nordi offers 100% wool sauna hats with no synthetic fibers or artificial dyes and they are handcrafted in the US. Badii Talk listeners can get free shipping with the code BADII.

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast.The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

At Badii Talk, we often talk about bathing not just as a wellness practice, but as a cultural practice—one that reflects a culture and a place’s history and values.  As sauna culture rapidly expands in the US and UK, a big question that we keep asking is: how do we grow without losing the heart and soul of the practice?

Today, I’m joined by someone who has thought deeply about this — not only philosophically, but practically — through the systems, spaces, and communities he’s built. 

Equal parts modern designer, sauna snob, and business owner, Justin Juntunen has nearly four decades of practicing and building saunas. Justin is the co-founder and Chief of Growth at Cedar & Stone Nordic Sauna, a leader in the North American sauna industry. His team designs, builds, and creates beautiful thermic bathing experiences throughout North America. Over the next decade Justin is committed to hosting one million people to sauna so that we can build more resilient lives. 

Together, we explore:

• Sauna as ritual: the full thermic cycle of hot, cold, rest, and rehydration

• How thermic practices can live both in public spaces and in-home—and why each serves a different purpose

• What it means to winter well and embrace the cold

• The future of the sauna industry, and how to scale without sacrificing soul, culture, or integrity

• Justin’s tips for founders in the sauna world

This conversation is an invitation to reflect on how bathing traditions are living cultures that deserve care and intention as they evolve.

Follow Justin on Instagram. Learn more about Cedar and Stone.

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast. The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠
Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

What can sauna, darkness, and the wild Nordic landscape teach us about embodiment, ritual, and presence?

In this episode of Badii Talk, I’m joined by Meri Mort — moon follower, author of Nordic Magic, yoga teacher trainer, and ritual practitioner — for a beautiful conversation on Finnish culture, sauna traditions, witchcraft, and living in rhythm with the cycles of nature.

Together, we explore what “Nordic magic” can mean: a way of relating to the land, honoring cycles of light and dark, and reclaiming intuitive, ancestral knowledge through everyday rituals. Meri shares how Nordic nature has shaped her witchcraft practice, her approach to yoga, and her deeply personal relationship with sauna as a somatic, feminine, and communal space.

As sauna culture grows globally, we explore what it looks like to share these traditions responsibly and how to honor their roots.

In this conversation, we cover:

• The meaning of Nordic magic and ritual culture

• Finnish sauna traditions as somatic and spiritual practice

• Nature, witchcraft, and ancestral wisdom

• Embracing darkness, rest, and seasonal cycles

• The feminine, gathering, and embodied ritual

• Honoring sauna culture

• Simple Nordic-inspired rituals you can practice anywhere

This episode is an invitation to embrace mystery and reconnect with the body, the seasons, and the spirits.

Meri’s publications:

• Nordic Magic

• Magical Knits From The North: 19 enchanting knitting patterns inspired by magic and mysticism

Follow Meri on Instagram.

Sources from today’s episode:

• Sauna by Viola Minerva Virtamo

• The Book of Nordic Self-Care by Elisabeth Carlsson

Where to experience whisking in the US and UK

• Northern Kin Sauna Co. in Vermont

• The Schvitz in Detroit

• Soul Water Sauna in Edinburgh, Scotland

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

💙⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠ today and support an independently produced and funded podcast. The sauna and bathing industry in the US and UK is growing fast. Where there’s growth, money and big companies will follow. If you want to see a bathing culture that isn’t just led by the folks with the most cash, support a platform that is run from a grassroots level. A platform that can authentically prioritize a respect for culture, science, and community. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

In the Season One finale, we return to the heart of Badii Talk: global bathing culture. And why ritual, community, and cultural roots give sauna and bathing their soul.

This special episode is a reflection on the traditions, stories, and global rituals we’ve explored this season. Thermal bathing is more than a wellness trend. It is an ancient practice shared across the globe, and as we enter another bathing renaissance, we explore how to keep the soul and heart of bathing alive through a respect for its cultural origins. 

Join us as we reflect on Season One… and tease what’s coming next in Season Two!

What you’ll hear in the episode:

-How the journey began in Switzerland: discovering Aufguss and community thermal bathing in nature.

-A tour through the bathing traditions we explored across the world: Switzerland, Finland, Scotland, the United States, and beyond. 

-Some philosophical musing on why honoring cultural roots matters as sauna and thermal bathing enter a new renaissance in the US and UK.

-A sneak peek of what’s next for Season Two: new cultural stories, travel recommendations, “sauna essentials” education, magic, women’s voices, and more.

Featured Season 1 episodes include:

-Naked Bathing: Reflections and Cultural Observations

-Between Worlds: The Sauna Spirits of Finnish Folklore with Folklorist Dr. Victoria Stewart

-Scottish Wild Saunas: Adventures from the Isles and Beyond

-Aufguss Comes to America: Inside the First-Ever U.S. National Championship at Bathhhouse Williamsburg

-Somatic Aufguss with Denver’s First Sauna Master

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

What to shape our episodes for Season Two? Take our listener survey for a chance to win Badii merch. 

Support Badii this holiday season! Merch is now available in our new online sauna shop.💧

🎁 Give the gift of a Badii Talk Substack subscription. Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

Today’s episode was sponsored by Saint Lucie Sauna Serum. Shop the serum on Badii’s online sauna shop. 

Connect with us to learn more about our ad and media packages via our website. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. 

Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

Today’s episode is a special one: I recently joined The Truth Is podcast with Kathryn Flaschner—an inspiring show all about honesty, clarity, and finding your way forward. Kathryn, who has also been a guest host on Badii Talk, creates a powerful space for deep conversation, self-awareness, and personal transformation.

We’re sharing this episode here because we think you’ll love it. If you enjoy mindful storytelling, Kathryn’s podcast is full of insightful episodes and relatable guests who explore change, connection, and living more authentically.

Listen to more of the Truth Is. 

What you’ll hear in the episode

- The origins of “Badii” and the the Swiss thermal bathing culture that inspired Sarah, our founder, to bring it to America

- How to embrace anger and channel it for change

- How Sarah made the pivot from corporate to entrepreneurship and the resources she put in place to feel ready for the big transition

The intro and outro of this episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

Support Badii this holiday season! Merch is now available in our new online sauna shop.💧

🎁Give the gift of a Badii Talk Substack subscription. Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture.

Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

Our guest today is Glasgow-based, Charlotte Belle. A freelance content creator and adventurer, Charlotte has experienced wild saunas all across Scotland, from Edinburgh to Glasgow to the Isle of Aran. I’m so happy to have her join us today to talk about the Scottish wild sauna scene, what makes a sauna a “wild sauna,” and share her most memorable Scottish sauna experiences.

Follow along with Charlotte’s “mini adventures” into wild swimming and wild sauna on Instagram @chartlottescotland. 

What you’ll hear in the episode

• Defining “wild sauna” and “wild swimming” and what makes it a unique wellness experience

• Some special Scottish wild sauna locales

• Scotland’s growing wild sauna culture and scene

• How sauna rituals fit into a holistic wellbeing routine —one that cultivates novelty, presence, and community 

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk now has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

📍⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠ today for access to our wellness travel guides, packed with wellness destination recommendations, restaurants, hotels, and routes.

Today’s episode was sponsored by Saint Lucie Sauna Serum. Shop the serum on Badii’s online sauna shop. 

Connect with us to learn more about our ad and media packages via our website. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture.

Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life

Today I’m joined by Jessica Spoto, the founder of Frugal Portland Maine—an Instagram community whose mission is to provide low-cost and free resources for the residents of Portland, Maine and nearby towns. Jessica shares budget-friendly adventures, hidden gems and useful resources to make Portland more fun, affordable, and accessible for all.

What you’ll hear in the episode

-Affordable wellness experiences in Portland and the Midcoast of Maine

-The importance of community in bridging divides, combating loneliness, and sparking hope.

- Practical resources for folks in Maine to experience enriching wellness experiences, no matter your budget.

Follow Frugal Portland Maine and Frugal Midcoast Maine on Instagram. 

Mentioned in this episode

One Longfellow Square

Mama Mia Making 

Portland Public Library 

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 

First Friday Art Walk 

Mt. Joy Orchard 

Lasagna Love 

Scrappy Rat 

This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge.

💧Badii Talk now has a Substack! Join us where wellness meets travel. We explore global bathing traditions, sauna rituals, and spa culture through the lens of place and community.

📍⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠ today for access to our wellness travel guides, packed with wellness destination recommendations, restaurants, hotels, and routes.

Today’s episode was sponsored by Saint Lucie Sauna Serum. Shop the serum on Badii’s online sauna shop. 

Connect with us to learn more about our ad and media packages via our website. 

Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. We share all this across many platforms, including: 

Explore more bathing culture:

Website:⁠ www.badii.life⁠

Blog: ⁠Badii Talk on Substack⁠

Instagram:⁠ @badii.life