[upbeat music] What's the concept of a sauna, for those people who may never have been into one, maybe never even heard of one?

It's very involved and very hard to explain because there's nothing else like it, and it's like our own little world, and there's only a couple in every state, and there's some that aren't in any country, and it's very private place, and w- you- there's just nothing else like a sauna, and it's very hard to explain because there's no paid-for sex.

You, you...

We just provide a space, and the, and the best space you can provide is one where there's no attitude, where you feel comfortable no matter what you look like, no matter how old you are, you feel comfortable to walk in there, and it's really clean, and you feel really safe, and I think that's very important.

When you meet people online, you don't have that safety aspect, and you know that if you're, if you're meeting somebody there and you don't like them, that you can disappear in the space, and there's no obligation for you to continue having fun with that person.

I think what we do is we provide a safe place for people who ca- because no one can host anymore.

Most people live in, you know, shared homes or with parents or with family members, but this is a place you can go and meet somebody safely, and it's a v- relatively inexpensive.

We are not a brothel.

How does cruising work in a sauna?

Yeah, touch a dick

... like, underneath the towel, 'cause all, all clients are wearing a, well, most clients are always wearing a towel o- o- like, around their waist.

So they might rub their, their, their crotch or whatever, and then they open a r- room door and walk in.

[laughs]

If you guys looking for somebody, you guys have autistic family, um, disabled family that have a adult daycare, my homegirl Talia, Dreamers and Believers.

Nigga's is, nigga's done laying on the dirt.

I know the truth.

When you know a nigga, it's like, you don't, you would not usually never do that.

You don't do that.

You living a single.

You don't even have the enough room for having homeboys over or none of that.

The only solution was some bashing.

We finally got to a lake, uh, where we did see ice.

Even though, in reality, we know ice is not out on a lot of lakes still, pa- after paddling all day, it was still kind of this...

It felt surprising [laughs] to come upon ice.

Just, it's a new experience, at least for me.

And so to figure out ways of trying to get around it, and then getting around it one way, and then 20 minutes later deciding to turn back to go to a different campsite, and all the ice had moved, and trying to get it around in a different way, and then realizing we had to bash through it.

I mean, that was a whole new experience for me, and it was, it was so real.

As dangerous as those conditions are, learning to play, to laugh and delight in the joy of breaking ice, which is such a primal feeling, and knowing that that is the only way to continue to move through the place, I'd say in the sun, on the water, there's a lot of joy.

What was your career path up to the point where you made that decision to start something like 357?

Uh, I was basically a personnel consultant, and I just left that and started working in a, a place that no one would remember in Bexley North, which is a very small suburb in, in New South Wales, and at the time it was called New Toy, I think, um, and they sold adult books and that sort of thing, and I thought, "Oh, this is exciting, I'll do this for three months till I decide what I wanna do," but I loved it.

I loved it, and I used to have to deliver see-through toilet seats to sex clubs and to...

Like, it was a bizarre sort of business, and I worked for two very friendly guys, um, who I remember were into fisting, and that's all they ever spoke about, [laughs] and I didn't know anything about that at all.

But I used to drive their, their, their panel van and deliver all this stuff around, and I really enjoyed it, and this lady, um, from the sauna in Oxford Street used to come and pick up lubricant, and then I started delivering the lubricant, and then one day out of the blue, um, she rang me on a Sunday, and she goes, "Oh, my barista hasn't turned up.

Will you come and work in the cafe at the sauna?" And I went, "Oh, okay." And I never used saunas, I only used beats, I didn't go to saunas.

So I went to the sauna and I worked at their bar, and I didn't know how to make coffee, she said she didn't care, and, and that was the, that was my first shift in a sauna, and I was there for years after that, and I ended up working full time at the door.

What, what's that wet area? What was it like at, at that opening time?

Yeah

... floor one and two with another staircase, not just the one staircase.

So we lost a whole lot of space and cut a floor in the t- which was also very expensive.

So we cut a huge floor and we built a wooden staircase in the, in the middle of it, and that took you up to the cruising areas, and later on we were actually really happy that that staircase was there.

Oh, we were gifted with that, 'cause it was actually a nice part of the venue, so-

Yes, as much as we hated it, it became a very cruisy kind of area-

[laughs] Anyway.

And the name of my, my, uh, landlord's company was engraved.

The doors opened up to a gyprock wall and not to the floor.

There was nothing.

It was sort of in between the floor and the basement.

And the name of my, the name of my builder's company was etched by someone who'd engraved it on the wall.

They said, "This company sucks."

So, so, so Ty and Wookie, um, how, how, how is the fishing down in LA right now? Windy.

I mean, this time of year always brings weather and wind, you know.

March was crazy windy and, I mean, it's just been really windy this spring, more so than usual.

But I mean, I think it's definitely, it's been better.

We've had worse springs, you know, in the last five or six years.

This one's been a little bit better.

Um, you know, I, I still think we're kinda playing catch up on purgatory from that freeze, but, uh, it's better, better than it was, you know, '21 through '23.

I know a g- I know a guy.

Yep.

... who, this past weekend, had quite the showing.

And look, I don't wanna, you know, over-dramatize a series in May, but you're taking on that, the team that knocked you out of the playoffs.

A- as a fan, you get up for it, you know, the players got up for it.

You take two of three in the hardest way possible by losing the first game, which you probably should have won, but that's something you celebrate, man.

Soto came through on Saturday night, you had Pete Alonso last night, so great w- great weekend for your New York Mets.

So-

So coming into that at bat on Saturday, just to rewind a bit, he had been one of twenty-f- one of his last last 24 with runners in scoring position.

And Ty, I'll start with you.

Um, so I guess I'll answer that, that last question first, you know, why some folks are involved in civic engagement, um, outside of the electoral framework.

And, you know, I mean, let's look at, uh, the Hillary Clinton election, right? Roughly 63 million votes for her, roughly 60 million for Donald Trump, roughly a little over 100 million who decided to stay home because they were disconnected from the systems that told them to go vote.

Um, when you talk about, uh, you know, the pandemic, the stimulus check that a lot of folks received, that represented the most direct interaction that folks have had with Washington around the country for a lot of folks.

The first time where they say, "You know, I can actually see what was reflected in Washington back here." But up until that point, they hadn't realized what we often emphasize as organizers is that it starts at home and you build your concentric circle out from there.

You're building your community.

You're going to your PTA meetings.

I'm curious to know what you all are seeing and hearing from your generation about that narrative.

So cute.

So we have these little heart-shaped cups.

And this one is gonna be called the Queen of Hearts, okay? We have our girls on the couch, Valentine's theme.

So this one we have, you can choose whichever spirit of choice you like.

We have our cranberry juice.

We have a little bit of strawberry puree inside.

Mm.

Some agave, a little bit of lemon juice.