Most people walking down Martin Street that day were headed for frozen yogurt at culture club. They left as members of Pauly Shore's sweat cult. Let's just say there are worse ways to join a cult than Pauly Shore yelling at you from the sidewalk.
"These are my cult followers," Shore says, waving at a line of red-faced, dripping strangers. "They call me the Sauna King."
Nobody on this Nashville sidewalk planned to sit in a sauna with a comedian. Most of them were just walking by. Shore stopped them anyway, pointed at a mobile wood-fired sauna parked on the street, and asked a question few people expect from a stranger: want to sweat it out?
A surprising number said yes.
From the sidewalk to the sauna
The sauna belongs to Bathhouse, the wellness company known for its thermal pools, saunas and recovery spaces in New York. This summer it brought a mobile sauna and cold plunge to Wedgewood-Houston for a pop-up with Culture Club, the Nashville frozen yogurt cafe, at 1209 Martin Street.
Shore worked the street like a carnival barker. He approached people at random, talked them inside, sat in the heat with them, then walked them to the cold plunge.
The reactions are the point. Some people laughed the whole way in. Some lasted a minute. Almost everyone made the same sound when they hit the cold water.
“YOU ASKED ME WHAT THE FUCKING BUCKET WAS FOR”
Why everyone is suddenly sweating
Hot-and-cold routines have gone from Nordic tradition to American trend. Nashville now has dedicated sauna and plunge studios, and pop-ups like this one bring it to people who would never book a session.
There is some science behind the sauna side. A Finnish study followed 2,315 middle-aged men for about 21 years. Men who used a sauna 4 to 7 times a week had a 63% lower risk of sudden cardiac death than men who went once a week, and a 40% lower risk of dying from any cause.
That study is observational. It shows a link, not proof that the sauna caused the difference, and it only included men.
The cold plunge deserves more caution. Sudden cold water triggers a gasp reflex and a fast spike in heart rate and blood pressure. People with heart conditions, high blood pressure or who are pregnant should talk to a doctor first.
The Sauna King's verdict
By the end of the day, Shore had a sidewalk full of new converts, flushed and laughing and dripping on Martin Street. One of the street pull in was quoted as saying, “When Pauly Shore asks you to get in the sauna, you say yes.”
Watch the full video above to see who made it out of the cold plunge with their dignity.
Sources
Bathhouse Brings Mobile Sauna and Cold Plunge Pop-Up to Nashville, Nashville Fit Magazine
Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events, JAMA Internal Medicine (2015)
Sauna use associated with reduced risk of cardiac, all-cause mortality, ScienceDaily
Images and cinematography by Katie Coffee Photo // Cindy Do // Brandon Coffee camera man