Sauna Talk #112: Norway’s Badstuprat from London

It was the morning after the recent British Sauna Summit in London. Stig Arild Pettersen Secretary General of the Norwegian Sauna Association and I meet up at London’s Hackney Baths, which is a perfect backdrop for us to discuss the “Badstu Boom” taking place in Norway and the US. As part of his Secretary General role, Stig heads up the Norweigen version of Sauna Talk – Badstuprat, a title gently borrowed from yours truly and this program.

From Britain and beyond

Britain, having their own “brilliant” bathing renaissance, drew both Stig from the East and me from the West for the Sauna Summit. Our Sauna Talk podcast on the bench dives into the comparing and contrasting of sauna culture in each of our countries. And within hours of this recording, I flung my backpack over my shoulder to fly from London to Oslo to experience the Badstu boom myself. And, there’s something wonderful about talking about a countries sauna boom, then touching down within hours and hitting the bench with some fellow sauna nuts in their native land.

Stig and I are kindred spirits on several levels. Proponents of good heat, and positive vibrations of a culture reinventing and rediscovering itself. As example, there are pockets in North America where sauna has been woven into the tapestry for generations – places like the Upper Peninsula Michigan, Northern Minnesota, Thunder Bay Ontario – all places where “the big three” 1. ethnic migration, four distinct seasons, natural cold water elements abound.

Norwegian Sauna Association

But back to Norway. Stig and I discuss how sauna, badstu is in the DNA of all Norweigens. Like in Finland, a hop skip and jump over Sweden to the East, sauna action can be anthropologically documented back thousands of years.

One look at the photos of Norweigen Sauna Association board members – young smiling healthy faces – and you get a flavor of who is helping bolster the Badstu boom. And for me, these are the kind of people I am very comfortable with sharing the sauna bench, and beyond. Lasse Eriksen, with a full page sauna resume and two time guest to Sauna Talk, Ragna Marie Fjeld, Secretary General Oslo Sauna Association, Knut Lerhol – if beers weren’t $12 a piece in Norway, and a rental car the equivalent of a monthly salary, well, Norway would be a place to spend a month between 180f. and cold water fjord cold plunges.

The Sauna Talk Global series continues.. Good heat knows no borders. And on the bench from London, let’s welcome Stig from Norway, special guest hello with Mark from Great Britain, and yours truly from the United States.