A Two-Hour Sauna Comedy Show in New York Blends Heat, Ice, and Laughter for an Unusual Wellness Night

New York just hosted what might be the hottest comedy event of the year — literally. As part of the 2025 New York Comedy Festival, four comedians performed a full show inside the blazing-hot sauna at Othership’s Flatiron bathhouse, turning a typical Tuesday night into a mix of comedy, cold plunges, and communal wellness rituals.

Othership, a wellness-focused social bathhouse originally founded in Toronto, has built a strong following since emerging during the pandemic. Co-founder and CEO Robbie Bent first opened a homemade sauna, ice bath, and tea lounge in his garage, and the overwhelming interest eventually led to the creation of the full-scale brand Othership, now known for its curated, alcohol-free experiences that include live music, sober nightlife events, DJ sets, mixers, and now comedy.

Their Flatiron location is featured in outlets like Condé Nast Traveler, which highlights its tea lounge, cold-plunge room, and large cedar-lined sauna.

For this special comedy night, guests arrived around 9:30 p.m. and gathered in a cozy lounge centered around a fireplace. Everyone wore bathing suits and sipped chamomile tea before cycling between the cold-plunge room and the sauna. The evening began with three back-to-back 30-second cold plunges, ranging from 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, led by guides offering breathwork cues while drumming and using tuning forks to create vibrating soundscapes.

Cold plunging has become a rising wellness trend across the city, with several NYC spas promoting the practice for its reported benefits for circulation, metabolism, and stress reduction (source: NYC cold plunge roundup). Many attendees at the event noted feeling more alert and energized even before heading into the sauna.

The sauna itself was heated between 165 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit for the show.

Host Andrew Packer kicked things off before introducing the first comic, Mark Normand, who performed a sauna-themed set while wearing a towel over his swim trunks. The room, packed with festival-goers, buzzed with heat, humidity, and constant laughter. Normand performed for about ten minutes before handing off the stage to Juan Nicolón, followed later by Sienna Hubert-Ross and Gabe Rodriguez-Tossas.

The event was produced in partnership with the New York Comedy Club, whose owner Emilio Savone described the experience as the ideal blend of sweat, laughter, and energy. According to Othership’s event pages (see their official listings at othership.us), the goal is to provide nights that reimagine social connection without alcohol — relying instead on temperature extremes, guided breathing, sensory elements, and shared group experience.

After the sauna set, attendees returned for a second round of cold plunges before closing out the night with more comedy and a final half hour of open exploration. Some guests went for another plunge, while others relaxed in the tea room or stayed in the sauna to chat.

By the end of the two-hour event, many people reported feeling surprisingly calm, upbeat, and deeply connected with the room — a rare outcome for a weekday night show in New York. One attendee even noted falling asleep effortlessly afterward, calling it an unusual victory for a lifelong insomniac.

With the mix of contrast therapy, live comedy, and a surprisingly supportive crowd atmosphere, Othership’s sauna comedy night stands out as one of the city’s most unconventional and rejuvenating nightlife experiences.