In the wellness world you hear it everyday: community, third place, third space. But what do these terms really mean? Both in theory and most importantly in practice. Is a luxury bathhouse that costs $80 to enter really a third place? How do we push back against the misuse of these terms in marketing messaging and why is it so important that we know their true meaning? I’m so happy to have an expert who has spent her career thinking about these questions more deeply and thoroughly than anyone I know join us today on Badii Talk. That expert is none other than the talented Becky Pelkonen. Becky is a doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland studying third spaces and the role public sauna can play in building relational wellbeing and regenerative economies. She believes sauna is where tradition meets possibility. On the ground in her community, Becky is a sustainable business educator and co-founded Kamu Sauna in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Through Kamu Sauna, she hosts community sauna experiences, helps grow community sauna culture, and, together with her team, builds saunas and consults nationally and internationally on culturally grounded experience design. With more than 20 years of experience in Indigenous and rural development, Becky brings together research, entrepreneurship, and lived practice to explore how culture and business can create lasting social impact. In this episode, Becky and I cover: What actually separates a third space from a third place and whether a bathhouse or sauna can honestly claim to be either We talk about the difference between building real community and just marketing the idea of community How we can push back with empathy on that gap without shaming the business owners who mean well Practical guidance for sauna and bathhouse owners who want to build real community and connection How brand consistency (your "why," shared consistently, with the right people) connects to building genuine community We also discuss a shift I've been witnessing in North American bathing culture. A shift away from performance and optimization, toward something more intentional and ritual-based. How Becky defines North American sauna culture today, and where she hopes it's headed You can find Becky on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Substack. If you want to learn more about the Global Public Sauna-Bathing Charter, head to saunaforall.org.. The website is officially launching mid-September right before the International Sauna Congress in Norway, so you’re here a little early. I encourage you to read the Charter, and if it lands with you, sign it. Signing is open wider than people expect. Operators and hosts, obviously, but also designers and builders, researchers, municipalities, industry partners, and bathers who simply believe public sauna should be safe, welcoming and held in the public interest. It's not a box-tick. You're committing to show how the principles turn up in your actual decisions, and the questionnaire takes about half an hour on purpose. I'm now planning Season 3 of Badii Talk, launching February 2027, and opening a handful of sponsorship spots. If you want your brand in front of a passionate, highly engaged sauna and thermal bathing audience, let's connect — I'm looking for quality over quantity, with flexible options for small brands too. Submit our collab form — inquiries open through the end of October. This episode was edited by Lila Woodbridge. 💙If you loved today’s episode, share it with someone you’d bring to a community sauna session. And if you haven't yet — subscribe to support an independently produced, grassroots platform dedicated to thermal bathing culture. Badii offers passionate and curious bathers and spa-goers access to news, education, and recommendations about global bathing culture. Explore more bathing culture: Website: www.badii.life Instagram: @badii.life Sauna, community, third place, third space, connection, sauna community, sauna culture
