I'm obsessed with water + heat + people and I have been involved in the efforts to bring back bathhouse culture in the United States for many years. Quite possibly this all began when I turned 21 and I had my first wild-soak in the ruggedly cold landscape of Lolo Hot Springs during the middle of a long road trip  with friends. One thing is certain. Passing out in the Neukölln Bathhouse in Berlin after a wonderful sauna was strangely the most erotic and most embarrassing moment of a decade. But the most sublime experience has been visiting Therme Vals, re-designed by Peter Zumthor, in the Vals region of Switzerland. Looking onto the capacious face of the Alps as hot water laps at your back and no moment has been unconsidered produces a sense of total completeness. I have helped activate the discourse on water+heat+people through soak parties, healthy hedonist gatherings, panel talks, and fireside chats. These places - bathhouses, badens, banyas - need to exist here in the U.S. and deserve champions at the policy level to bring them forward.

Nell Waters (yes, waters is my last name)