Korean Mist Room at Century Spa is an A+++

The redesign of the facilities at Century Spa are overall a 1000% improvement of what they were before. They spared no expense in this effort. You can read the details in an earlier entry, but what you need to know right now is that the Korean Mist Room is finally open, and that room alone is worth the $20 and fairly heavy presence of looky-loo gay dudes.

It's a rock room - small egg sized rocks sank into mortar - and it's heated with a sauna oven. And it's relatively small. It's about half the size of the weird, towel lined dry sauna they have there, room enough for 8 gentlemen max, I'd say. There's an unnecessary feature mounted on the ceiling: this weird, three nozzled mister which sends out hot mist. Weird, but not a detriment in any way. This room is HOT.

It's effectively a turkish sauna: radiant heat with high humidity. There aren't any faucets, but there is a cold shower.

Added plus: The cruisey gay dudes don't like this room so much. Too hot for them. I know because I asked them. Loudly.

It's my new tactic with dudes at Century. I talk really loud about how I like a really hot heat, how I like the Russian style heat, how I'm serious about this shit. For the furtive cruisey dude, volume and calling direct attention goes against their looky-loo code of creepiness.

Amazing siting at the Russian Baths

It should be first stated that every man deserves privacy and sanctuary at the Russian baths. The whole point of the venture is to get away from it all, to relax, unwind and enjoy.

But a couple weeks ago at a much needed trip to one of the Russian baths in the area, I couldn't help but get excited when I heard a familiar voice a locker row over. Kind of nasal, pitched kind of high, slightly neurotic but definitely lovable.

"Ahhhh, I feel clean. I feel like a man."

"Yeah," Familiar Voice's friend said.

"You know what? I feel free for the first time in my life."

I walked over to get my towels and took a peek and sitting on a bench putting on his shoes was Oscar winning actor Paul Giamatti.

I went back to my locker and listen as he extolled the virtues of the Russian bath, and talked about smoking pot with some guy in DC.

I was sorry that I didn't get a chance to schvitz with Mr. Giamatti. Not because I would have liked to gawk or trouble him, but because it was all Russians when I got in there and that was infinitely more boring than Paul Giamatti could ever have been.

But none-the-less, I was glad to know that Paul and I share a love for the crisp, searing heat of the Russian baths. And he pretty much summed up how I feel every time I leave there, and I'm fairly sure that from now on, his weird voice will ring in my head as I change.

I feel clean. I feel like a man. I feel free for the first time in my life.

Kit vs Custom

As we continue to move towards the home sauna, I now face a dilemma: so I throw down a slab of concrete and order a sauna kit and slap it up, or do I have a custom sauna designed and built by some Joe?

With the kit, you know what you're getting - a quality rig both inside and out. Everything will work and it will be what you need it to be -- hot.

But a sauna is just a room, right? A room with cedar walls and a sauna oven in it. Won't it be cheaper and better to just build that room myself, slap some cedar on the walls, throw and oven in the corner and start to sweat? Also, what about the possibility of building the sauna into the landscape? You can't do that with a kit.

We're meeting with the landscape architect next week, and I intend to see how far I can stretch the architect part of that. Wish me luck, dear internet.

Eucalyptus brooms

I did indeed start the shoot with a nice long stay in the Finnish Baths (which I will no longer hesitate to say is my go-to spot for heat. $10? Can't be beat! Especially considering that the Century Spa is now up to $25, and that City Spa seems to be down to $25...more on this in a second).

And indeed, after wrapping the shoot, I planned an excursion to City Spa, where I and fellow sweatsmen Chris Hansen enjoyed a few good, long hours in the best heat in town. Man! They are not kidding around in there. What a good heat!

Could I resist buying a new shopka? No, I couldn't. (Picture to follow.)

Was I shocked and amazed that the entry price at 4pm was $25? Yes. I was. It's been my understanding that at the City Spa, after 1pm, you pay $35. But we were both asked if we'd been there before (we had), though I thought this had something to do with the waiver they make you sign. Who knows? All I know is that when we left, it was $25, and I was happy.

But, here's the new thing: I've been making brooms (or whisks) out of eucalyptus leaves for a little while now, and the results are...interesting. I bought an oak broom when I was in Chicago and after that I thought, "Hell, I can make something like this." And why not use eucalyptus? It's my favorite tree, it's abundant, and the medicinal properties of its oils are well understood and appreciated.

For the broom, I've tried a couple different types of eucalyptus leaves. I first tried the "silver dollar" leaves. We have one of those trees growing in our yard. I cut some small branches and made a couple nice thick brooms and took them to the City Spa on my last visit.

Learned my most important lesson very quickly:

Use fresh.

When you buy a broom, it comes dried out and in a weird netting thing to keep the leaves from falling off. When I'd talked to some guys at the Division Street baths about it those many years ago, they claimed there was a curing process that needed to happen to a broom. Turns out, they were wrong. After rehydrating my broom in hot water (as only makes sense), it became very clear that I would have been better off using fresh leaves. This has been reinforced by internet searches. Use fresh.

But I get the things rehydrated and I'm giving myself a whip or two and as I'm bringing the super-heated leaves down from the sauna ceiling on to my skin, I find that they're sticking. And that it hurts when they stick.

A week or so later I go to the Finnish Baths and with me I take a few fresh branches from the tree. The fewer leaves and the softer heat made for less sticking, but it was still a factor.

On top of this, the long thin branches made the brooms more like a cat-o-nine-tails. They had a little too much give, a little too much play, as it were. The oak broom I used was much fuller and shorter and acted more like a large, loose loofa than a torture device.

So yesterday, I tried using the other kind of eucalyptus leaves -- the longer, thinner ones. I like these because they have a stronger euc smell and I figured they'd be less sticky on the back.

It was better. Much better. But there was still more sticking than I would have liked. But in the end, I felt great. Almost like I'd gotten a massage. Shoulders, legs, chest, all the places I beat on were radiating heat and relaxation long after the heat.

All said and done, the broom I got in Chicago is still the best. I think the size of the leaves and the thickness of the broom made all the difference.

So I'm off to find as many oak trees with low-hanging branches as I can. We have more black walnut trees in my neighborhood, but there's got to be some oaks somewhere I can get to...

Big day? Heat required.

So it's a big day for me today. Off-topic, but I'm directing a music video for HBO tonight, and I'm in charge of a lot of people at a sketchy location. The pressure is on, but I'm feeling good about it.

Needless to say, I'm going to find a heat today. No question about it. Luckily, we're shooting near the oft-touted Finnish Baths in Sherman Oaks (they aren't paying me to plug them all the time on this blog...yet). So trust that I'm going to find a heat before the shoot. And probably five or six after we wrap. Next week is going to be all about heat.

But there are big events in ones life before which a heat MUST be scheduled. A brief list:

Wedding

Quite obvious, but very necessary. Before my wedding, my groomsmen and I hit the now defunct Division Street Baths in Chicago. A memory I'll never loose.

Birth O'Child

For men only, of course. And while our first child is still about four months away, I know that in the week or so before it's due to arrive, I'm going to take my last heat as a solely independent man of the world. And after that kid comes, it will look forward to a lifetime of heat.

Loss/Gain of a Job

Troubled times in the economy, out there. A lot of folks transitioning what they're doing for dough. But all good sweatsmen know it's not what you do for a living that defines who you are. This becomes ever more clear as all the liquid in you body comes out through your skin. So if you find you're losing touch with that reality, I'll meet you in the schvitz.

Death in the Family

I think I might have already written about this, but I can't tell you what a relief it was to see Tony D when I went back earlier in the year to clean out my old man's apartment after his sudden death. I took the train down to the city, the snow was coming down as though it wanted to white out the world and never see it again. I felt like a jazz man in 1933 heading to Kansas City in the middle of winter to play a gig for $5. And I get off the train, just emotionally exhausted and beaten, and there's Tony D with a cup of joe and a jazz cigarette and wheels to take us to the Chicago Sweat Lodge. Two hours in that hot heaven and all was right with the world again.

So today, I think I'm going in on the Gain of a Job reason. Because directing is the gain of a job, and I need a clear head for it, and where else am I going to find a clear head but in the heat.

See you there. I'll be the guy in the shopka.

I Learned Three Things About Saunas from a Fin

I stole a quick heat at the Finnish Baths the other day and met a Finnish gentlemen there. It's kind of like meeting a porn star in Van Nuys -- you know they're there somewhere, but you never expect to see one.

Anyway, I picked his brain about saunas and schvitsmenship and he gave to me these lessons three:

1. A sauna oven needs its rocks changed regularly or else they loose their ability to hold heat effectively. 

I asked a follow up: How often? He said, "A place like this? Every three months."

Now, I've been in a lot of heat houses and I don't see them changing their rocks but hardly ever, and by hardly ever, I mean never. Especially in the Russian furnaces. Granted, those tend to be bigger rocks, but if this guy is right and rocks loose their ability to hold heat after a while, this would apply to these rocks as well.

But I wonder what exactly changes in the composition of a rock? It's not like something's burning off...is it? 

Here's an internet opinion:

Each heating of a sauna rock equals thousands of years of natural erosion. Only the strongest rocks can survive constant heating and cooling, and even they will eventually crack and crumble. When this occurs, they lose their capacity to hold heat and in time they disintegrate and clog the [oven].

But every three months? Just on principal? Sans crumblage? Finnish or no, I doubt this one.

2. All modern apartment complexes in Finland are being outfitted with saunas.

This, indeed, is something to boast about. But is it true? Seems to be, at least, according to the internet I get at my house.

3. If you build your own sauna, you need a sealant on the back of the wood to protect the surrounding concrete or whatever from moisture.

That I believe without need of an internet search.

Thanks, my new Finnish friend!

I Need a Heat

To the two people who have taken the time to say, "Yes, I like saunas and I will tolerate this gentlemen as he talks about them," I offer my apologies for the gap in posting. It's been too long. But I've been up to my ass in rattlesnakes over here with some other projects and there's just been no time whatsoever.

And you know what that means: it's time for a heat! I need to melt my stress away and return to the world refreshed and rejuvenated.

But how does one squeeze in a trip to the sauna when one has zero time? It isn't easy. These simple tricks may help us all:

Use the sauna at the gym

I don't go to a gym that has a sauna, but if I did, I would be sure to skip a workout and head straight for the sauna with my cap and broom. The sideways glances from the gym rats? Bah. I need a heat, I said!

Get up early and go before work

I have to be at work at 8am, but really that's no excuse. There are more than a few Korean baths that either open early or stay open all night. The Koreans know that when you need a heat, you need a heat!

Be satisfied with the 30 minute sauna

Once you go through the trouble of getting your gear together and going to a schvitz house, you want to stay for a couple hours. That's how you get your heat. But if you find a place like the Finland Baths where it only costs $10 to get in, taking a 20 minute heat and a shower will do the trick.

Have a sauna in your backyard

The dream is alive. I need to keep it alive, anyway. Goddamnit I want my own sauna so bad! Stupid not having money and the stupid economy and still have to pay my taxes and shoot these videos.... (did I mention that I need a heat?)

Apologize to everyone and everything and just go

Alright, I'll do it! Thanks, me! Maybe I can even go tonight! (My wife will kill me. It's Friday. Date-night.) Or tomorrow! (My mom's in town. Gotta hang with my mom. Love my mom.) Or Sunday? (See previous.) Monday, then. (When are you going to scout that location for the video you're shooting two weeks from today?) 

Piggy-back a heat onto something else

That location that I need to scout? Turns out it just might be somewhere near the Finland Baths... Oh Monday. I've never wanted you to come so soon!