Today, I'm joined by Robert Hammond, president & CSO of Therme Group US.
After co-founding New York's High Line, Robert is now helping Therme bring thermal bathing to America through large-scale wellness destinations.
In this episode, we discuss reimagining social bathing culture across US urban centers.
We also cover:
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Creating affordable wellness spaces for the masses
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The social and spiritual benefits of communal bathing
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Building destinations that generate tax revenue and jobs
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Website: https://www.thermegroup.com/therme-group-us
Therme Group IG: https://www.instagram.com/thermegroup Robert’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehighlineguy/
The Culture of Bathing Newsletter: https://cultureofbathing.substack.com/
The Culture of Bathing IG: https://www.instagram.com/cultureofbathing
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Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:15) Robert's background and Therme's scale
(03:00) How Therme's model differs from American wellness concepts
(05:00) The three main areas: Play, Relax, and Restore
(07:15) Creating an indoor tropical experience year-round
(08:45) Bathing as a universal cultural experience
(10:45) The social aspect as the "sticky" part of the bathing business
(12:30) Using scale to keep prices accessible
(14:15) Working with cities to develop urban locations
(16:30) Creating new downtown destinations and tax revenue
(18:30) The Peter Attia effect on wellness adoption
(21:15) How different bathing businesses serve different needs
(24:15) Making bathing inclusive and body-positive
(27:00) Marketing wellness vs. marketing fun
(29:45) The social value of bathing experiences
(31:30) The meditation-like quality of bathing
(33:30) The beginning of a bathing movement
(35:15) Democratizing wellbeing through scale
(37:00) Conclusion
