RISE OF THE BATHHOUSE
For centuries, the bathhouse has been a global ritual - Finland's saunas, Japan's onsen, Turkey's hammam. This winter, Toowoomba gets its own. Savannah Clark talks to Ben and Will, the duo behind Vikasati, about heat, cold and the quiet art of slowing down.
Published 14 May 2026
Written By:
Savannah Clark
As a former Melbourne girl, each year I make the all-so-familiar pilgrimage back to visit friends and family, eat my way through Lygon Street, and catch up properly with the people I miss. In fact, there’s a standing joke that I fly south for the winter (which never fully made sense as it’s arguably colder than here). But whenever I do, there’s one thing we almost always make time for.
Somewhere between dinner plans and wandering the city, someone will suggest the bathhouse. Towels over shoulders, a quiet hour or two moving between the sauna, magnesium pools and conversation.
It’s become a small ritual of those trips. A favourite way to catch up properly - the kind where time loosens a little and no one is checking their phone. It’s cathartic.
Each time I leave I’m reminded how much I love the experience. And each time I come home, I find myself thinking the same thing: it’s a shame we don’t really have anything like it here.
The concept isn’t new; for centuries much of the world has had its own version of the bathhouse.
In Finland, the sauna. In Japan, the onsen. In Turkey, the hammam.
Each built around a simple rhythm: heat, cold, rest, repeat - with surprisingly powerful health benefits.
The Nordic countries have long been admired for their health, resilience and longevity, with these rituals built into everyday life - time in the sauna followed by a plunge into icy water: a lake, the sea, or a hole cut straight into the ice - before returning again to the warmth.
And in recent years, those practices have begun to re-emerge more broadly in modern life.
You can see it in the rise of contrast therapy studios and communal saunas, the quiet popularity of float tanks and a broader shift in how we think about health - less about intensity or quick fixes, and more about recovery, rhythm and restoration.
For Ben and Will, Brissy-based boys and the faces behind Vikasati - a bathhouse-style wellness space already under construction and opening in the coming months (cue my excitement!) - the idea has been years in the making.
The pair first met in 2015 while working as gym trainers, both drawn to the physical challenge of training and performance. But alongside the push for strength and endurance, they began experimenting with the opposite side of the equation - recovery. Ice baths in backyard tubs, sweat lodges, long sauna sessions, magnesium soaks and time spent exploring how the body responded to extremes of heat and cold.
“The difference it made - physically and mentally - was huge,” they say. “We realised pretty quickly how powerful those simple practices could be, not just for athletes but for everyday life.”
“We wanted to create a place that felt welcoming and easy to return to,” they say. “Somewhere people could slow down, reset, and just feel better when they walk back out the door.”
“The whole space is designed to feel natural and grounded. We wanted it to feel connected to the outdoors, to nature - but definitely with Toowoomba’s cooler winters in mind,” Ben adds.
The idea sits somewhere between a day spa and a sports recovery space, but intentionally avoids feeling like either.
“It’s definitely a mix,” they explain. “Some people come on their own and treat it as quiet, reflective time - almost like a moving meditation between the sauna and pools. Others come with friends and spend the time connecting in a distraction-free environment.”
Often, the two overlap.
“It’s really common for people to meet new people while they’re there,” they say. “Everyone is there for a similar reason - to look after their health and feel better - and that shared intention tends to make conversations happen naturally.”
Phones tend to stay away. The pace slows. Conversations stretch a little longer than they normally would.
There’s something appealingly simple about it: an hour moving between magnesium pools, the warmth of the sauna and cooler water, easing gently between heat and cool as the body unwinds and recalibrates.
And if experience has taught me anything, it’s that places like this tend to become rituals - the kind your body thanks you for (and friends quietly look forward to whenever they visit).
Soon, it seems, we’ll have one of our own.
Vikasati will open in Toowoomba this August. Memberships are currently available on their website.
www.vikasati.com.au | @vikasati_
