Cassandra Cavanah is moved to tears (and also a little nervous)
as she joins hundreds of near-naked heat enthusiasts attending
this year’s Aufguss World Championships in The Netherlands
Up to 160 competitors take part in the Aufguss World Championships / photo: Ryszard Rak
Attending your first-ever Aufguss World Championships (Aufguss WM) can be intimidating, especially coming from the US, where sauna culture is only just taking off. Very recently, new bathhouses featuring large-format event saunas for aufguss rituals have opened in New York (Othership and Bathhouse) and Las Vegas (Resorts World and Fontainebleau), with more to come.
Yet here I am at Thermen Bussloo, a stunning wellness and sauna centre close to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands (see p74). I’m surrounded by hundreds of partially clothed bathing enthusiasts who’ve paid €100 (US$109, £84) for a daily ticket to be taken on an emotion-driven journey of artistry and heat.
Bare necessities The word ‘aufguss’ is the first thing a newbie must get their head around. This German word translates as “steam infusion”, but the word has become an umbrella term to describe the 15 to 20-minute experience that an aufguss or sauna master leads you through.
Aufguss comes in many different forms. Classic sessions, that’ve been practised for decades across Europe, see a sauna master’s role as raising the temperature and controlling the wafting of the steam, heat and aromas via creative towel waving. Ritual (or zen) aufguss sessions take guests on an inward journey, including meditation, yoga, sound bathing or breathwork. While full-on theatrical or show aufguss sessions – the focus of Aufguss WM – are best described as an emotion-driven journey of pure-performance art.
The ‘stage’ for the shows is Thermen Bussloo’s new €2 million (US$2.2 million, £1.7 million) Sauna Theatre that’s been purpose-built to stimulate the senses with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems and an LED screen over 4.5m wide. With 160 participants, the championships attract the best aufguss masters worldwide and I can confirm that a 15-minute stint in an 80°C sauna has never been so engaging.
The next thing to get my head around is the near-total co-ed nudity in the sauna, save for the actual performer and those of us with judiciously placed towels. Nudity makes sense when you’re in the moment (sweat and clothing don’t go well together), but this (mostly European) practice is initially off-putting. However, I take it as an opportunity to celebrate cultural differences and embrace body positivity.
Competition time Over the five days of Aufguss WM, 16 sessions are performed daily, featuring qualifiers from the 16 participating countries in the singles and teams competition. A jury meticulously marks each round, whittling qualifiers down to 16 finalists to compete for the world championship title on the last day.
Aufguss masters are judged on multiple fronts – from professionalism to the ability to increase and distribute the heat, towel-waving techniques (complete with deductions for dropping a towel), theme and implementation (does the theme make sense? Is the audience engaged?), atmosphere and overall feeling and team coordination (including performance set up, which is kept to a strict 15 minutes).
The championships have been held since 2015 and next year, there will be even more competitors as three new countries – Canada, Iceland and the US – launch national qualifying events.
Attending the final sessions as sauna masters vied for the top spot, I was blown away by the level of detail and performance. A newcomer from Team Japan, Itsuki Minotani, brought us into his VR world as he fell in love with a virtual girlfriend, taking us on a journey of first dates and kisses with exceptional towel waving. Barbora Brozova, a trained dancer from The Czech Republic, swept beautifully around the sauna as she told the story of loss and the power of following her dream.
This year’s winner, Italy’s Michael Niedermair, moved me nearly to tears as he beautifully explored the struggle many of today’s youth are experiencing with depression and mental illness. It was his fourth time in the finals, but his first win. “My aim with an aufguss is always to send a message,” he exclaims. “When you fall down, accept this, accept yourself and move forward.”
photo: Cassandra Cavanagh
"I was blown away by the level of detail and performances" – Cassandra Cavanagh
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 4
Editor's letter: Pleasure time
It’s time to make ‘pleasure health’ the new ‘play’ to realise the true value of the wellness sector, says Katie Barnes
Spa people: Luuk Melisse
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Interview: Dean Kowarski
Virgin Active is transforming its gym business with 230 sites and 1.2 million members into a social wellness brand. The CEO reveals more details to Liz Terry
First person: Steamy situation
Cassandra Cavanah is moved to tears (and also a little nervous) as she joins hundreds of near-naked heat enthusiasts at this year's Aufguss World Championships
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Sara Brenninger talks
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Interview: Fabian Dolman
How can operators make a successful business out of aufguss programmes? Thermen Resort's CEO gives some tips
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Cassandra Cavanah is moved to tears (and also a little nervous)
as she joins hundreds of near-naked heat enthusiasts attending
this year’s Aufguss World Championships in The Netherlands
Up to 160 competitors take part in the Aufguss World Championships / photo: Ryszard Rak
Attending your first-ever Aufguss World Championships (Aufguss WM) can be intimidating, especially coming from the US, where sauna culture is only just taking off. Very recently, new bathhouses featuring large-format event saunas for aufguss rituals have opened in New York (Othership and Bathhouse) and Las Vegas (Resorts World and Fontainebleau), with more to come.
Yet here I am at Thermen Bussloo, a stunning wellness and sauna centre close to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands (see p74). I’m surrounded by hundreds of partially clothed bathing enthusiasts who’ve paid €100 (US$109, £84) for a daily ticket to be taken on an emotion-driven journey of artistry and heat.
Bare necessities The word ‘aufguss’ is the first thing a newbie must get their head around. This German word translates as “steam infusion”, but the word has become an umbrella term to describe the 15 to 20-minute experience that an aufguss or sauna master leads you through.
Aufguss comes in many different forms. Classic sessions, that’ve been practised for decades across Europe, see a sauna master’s role as raising the temperature and controlling the wafting of the steam, heat and aromas via creative towel waving. Ritual (or zen) aufguss sessions take guests on an inward journey, including meditation, yoga, sound bathing or breathwork. While full-on theatrical or show aufguss sessions – the focus of Aufguss WM – are best described as an emotion-driven journey of pure-performance art.
The ‘stage’ for the shows is Thermen Bussloo’s new €2 million (US$2.2 million, £1.7 million) Sauna Theatre that’s been purpose-built to stimulate the senses with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems and an LED screen over 4.5m wide. With 160 participants, the championships attract the best aufguss masters worldwide and I can confirm that a 15-minute stint in an 80°C sauna has never been so engaging.
The next thing to get my head around is the near-total co-ed nudity in the sauna, save for the actual performer and those of us with judiciously placed towels. Nudity makes sense when you’re in the moment (sweat and clothing don’t go well together), but this (mostly European) practice is initially off-putting. However, I take it as an opportunity to celebrate cultural differences and embrace body positivity.
Competition time Over the five days of Aufguss WM, 16 sessions are performed daily, featuring qualifiers from the 16 participating countries in the singles and teams competition. A jury meticulously marks each round, whittling qualifiers down to 16 finalists to compete for the world championship title on the last day.
Aufguss masters are judged on multiple fronts – from professionalism to the ability to increase and distribute the heat, towel-waving techniques (complete with deductions for dropping a towel), theme and implementation (does the theme make sense? Is the audience engaged?), atmosphere and overall feeling and team coordination (including performance set up, which is kept to a strict 15 minutes).
The championships have been held since 2015 and next year, there will be even more competitors as three new countries – Canada, Iceland and the US – launch national qualifying events.
Attending the final sessions as sauna masters vied for the top spot, I was blown away by the level of detail and performance. A newcomer from Team Japan, Itsuki Minotani, brought us into his VR world as he fell in love with a virtual girlfriend, taking us on a journey of first dates and kisses with exceptional towel waving. Barbora Brozova, a trained dancer from The Czech Republic, swept beautifully around the sauna as she told the story of loss and the power of following her dream.
This year’s winner, Italy’s Michael Niedermair, moved me nearly to tears as he beautifully explored the struggle many of today’s youth are experiencing with depression and mental illness. It was his fourth time in the finals, but his first win. “My aim with an aufguss is always to send a message,” he exclaims. “When you fall down, accept this, accept yourself and move forward.”
photo: Cassandra Cavanagh
"I was blown away by the level of detail and performances" – Cassandra Cavanagh
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 4
Editor's letter: Pleasure time
It’s time to make ‘pleasure health’ the new ‘play’ to realise the true value of the wellness sector, says Katie Barnes
Spa people: Luuk Melisse
Sanctum's co-founder Luuk Melisse on going global with the unique, spiritual workout that originated in Amsterdam
Interview: Dean Kowarski
Virgin Active is transforming its gym business with 230 sites and 1.2 million members into a social wellness brand. The CEO reveals more details to Liz Terry
First person: Steamy situation
Cassandra Cavanah is moved to tears (and also a little nervous) as she joins hundreds of near-naked heat enthusiasts at this year's Aufguss World Championships
Promotion: TechnoAlpin: In touch
Sara Brenninger talks
to wellness expert
Alina Hernandez
about the power of
real snow to create
immersive touchless
wellness experiences
Interview: Fabian Dolman
How can operators make a successful business out of aufguss programmes? Thermen Resort's CEO gives some tips
Sponsored: Best of both
Alina Hernandez, Gharieni Group advisory board member, explains how Metawell – its portfolio of tech-forward mind/body technologies – is right on time for the next era of wellness
Sponsored: Elevate your business with EGYM
Transform your business with fully connected, personalised and data-powered solutions that drive results
for members, trainers and businesses
Sponsored: Outstanding in its field
RKF Luxury Linen has had a stellar year in 2024, hitting new standards of excellence with a raft of certifications
Promotion: Rest and repeat
Starpool is drawing on science, innovation and equilibrium to offer the industry’s leading recovery solutions
Sponsored: Iyashi Dôme's Oteire
Modern consumers demand solutions that blend cutting-edge technology with proven results, and Iyashi Dôme is rising to the challenge by redefining industry standards
First person: Sparkling Water
Mary Bemis is one of the first to visit the stunning new Sacred River Spa at Four Seasons Bali at Sayan
Aditya Saluja, an industry leader in luxury wellness hospitality, has been
appointed as
commercial director of spa and wellness for the spa management division of
Minor Hotels,
MSpa International.
Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort, a destination resort and spa in Naturno, South Tyrol in Italy,
will reveal a new spa in February 2027, which has been designed by wellness expert and
consultant Patrizia Bortolin.
Private hotel owner and developer HVL Hotels will open a new luxury resort and tourism
destination called Laval Hunter Valley in the second half of 2027 in Pokolbin, Australia.
The annual wellness festival dedicated to wellbeing, culture, longevity and human connection,
called Alma, will be hosted by Rocco Forte hotel, Verdura Resort in Sicily, Italy.
Capella Hotel Group has appointed Feisal Jaffer as chief development officer as the company
ramps up its global expansion of both its Capella and Patina brands.
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
The MSpa Oslo series is a perennial bestseller in global markets. With innovative
engineering and premium performance, this completely portable spa line-up is expertly
designed to meet the needs of customers worldwide. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Aromatherapy Associates Aromatherapy Associates is a world-leading British wellness brand, harnessing the power of essential [more...]
