# Wellness Has a New Sport, and It's Very, Very Hot

> Aufguss, a European sauna ritual, is becoming a competitive sport in America with towel choreography, scented steam, and theatrical performances.
- Title: Wellness Has a New Sport, and It's Very, Very Hot | Shortify
- Summary: Aufguss, a European sauna ritual, is becoming a competitive sport in America with towel choreography, scented steam, and theatrical performances. Aufguss is…
- Keywords: aufguss, sauna, bathhouse williamsburg, celestial sisters, joli irvine, alexi irvine, aufguss world championships, germany, wellness, contrast therapy, travis talmadge, competitive sauna
- Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/story/aufguss-sauna
- Author: Liz Baker Plosser
- Published: 2026-09-16T18:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: aufguss, sauna, bathhouse williamsburg, celestial sisters, joli irvine, alexi irvine, aufguss world championships, germany, wellness, contrast therapy, travis talmadge, competitive sauna
## The Celestial Sisters perform
Joli and Alexi Irvine, former Cirque du Soleil stars, smash sage-infused ice onto hot rocks and whip towels overhead in a 120-seat Brooklyn sauna.
## Heading to the world stage
The sisters compete at Aufguss World Championships in Germany this week. Last year they finished 13th among 40 teams at their debut.
## What is Aufguss exactly
A European sauna ritual where a master pours scented water or ice over hot stones and uses towels to circulate steam. It's now daily at US bathhouses.
## Show Aufguss is athletic theater
Competitors perform with costumes, lighting, music, and choreography in 175-degree heat. They drill towel grips, snaps, and throws for months.
## Heat physics meets performance art
Athletes must understand air circulation to move heat without roasting people on the highest benches. Each row up is 10 degrees hotter.
## Fifteen minutes of immersive heat
As your heart rate climbs and core temperature rises, Aufguss transforms the ordeal into an experience of music, scent, movement, and steam.
## Judges score like figure skating
They scrutinize towel choreography, heat distribution, and storytelling. A dropped towel costs points, and competitors must look effortless throughout.

> Just like figure skating, every detail counts. One dropped towel or one unsafe moment is like falling on a jump.
## The towel technique lexicon
The helicopter loops overhead like a lasso. The parachute whips air onto spectators. The pizza launches fabric upward to catch rising heat.
## Americans bring theatrical flair
At Nationals, performers staged a hockey romance novel adaptation and a three-act dragon battle. A professional dancer won the solo title.
## The audience is all in
Spectators paid around $80 to sweat on wooden benches. They sway to the beat, smile as towels snap heat onto their bodies, and talk about ritual.
## From baby deer to world class
Bathhouse brought a Belgian sauna master to train staff in 2022. Four years later, American performers are qualifying for world championships.

> We were like baby deer on ice. The quality of U.S. aufguss now isn't 'kind of getting good.' It's really good.
## A uniquely American style emerges
Performers with real stage backgrounds are bringing timing, presence, and professionalism. They're close enough to feel the audience breathing with them.

> You can feel the audience breathing with you, reacting to the heat, scents, movement, and emotion in real time.
## Key takeaway

Aufguss is transforming from a European wellness ritual into a competitive American sport that combines athletic skill, theatrical performance, and extreme heat endurance.