Building an organisation based on the principle: in the sauna, everyone is equal.
The British Sauna Society was founded in 2014, at the 2014 World Sauna Congress. Over the following years, pioneering sauna projects started popping up, like Bethany Wells’s first horsebox sauna that became the template for hundreds more, and the Rooftop Sauna at the Southbank Centre that showcased authentic rituals.
The BSS began to gather pace as a coming together of like-minded people who knew what authentic sauna really was, and wanted to see more of it in the UK. In 2020, it established itself as an unincorporated organisation that was to be charitable in nature, elected its first trustees and launched membership.
Now, with even larger-scale events and a need to offer specialised support to a rapidly growing UK sauna industry, the British Sauna Society needs to evolve once again. With intentions to launch business memberships and headline industry events like the Sauna Summit, an application to become a charity was rejected on the grounds that explicitly supporting and nurturing such an industry means that it cannot fundamentally be charitable in nature.
Despite the rejection, the trustees still agreed that the main aims of the British Sauna Society should have bathers as the focus – getting more people across the UK to benefit from the physical, mental and social health benefits of sauna. But we couldn’t do that if we didn’t also support the sauna operators, practitioners and suppliers who are vital in bringing high-quality sauna to the UK, meaning that bathers can actually access well-designed, well-made and well-operated experiences that deliver on that promise.
To ensure we kept a balance between prioritising purpose while building revenue, we sought the help of Patrick Andrews, a former M&A lawyer and expert in social enterprises and not-for-profit governance. Having also had experience of running sweat lodges and holding a particular interest in democratic decentralised organisations, he immediately understood our brief to create an organisation which reflected the sauna ethos of equality in its own operations and decision-making.
The result of the consultation was a British Sauna Society with three main bodies of governance. Overseeing the whole organisation will now be a Council – akin to the role of shareholders in a for-profit company - that is tasked with representing the wider sauna community, advocating for them and making sure the BSS stays on course to achieve its mission. An operational team, run by a board of Directors, will be nominated by the Council and will report to them on progress made toward their goals and targets. A third body plays a diplomatic role, raising awareness of sauna across the UK and internationally.
BSS Members can read the full report, see the proposed new org chart and watch a deeper explanation of the project in the Members’ Portal.
The first Council members will be the outgoing trustees to keep previous knowledge and experience in the organisation. There will also be new members nominated to represent the diversity of the sauna community at a senior level. The first Directors of the BSS have been appointed by this Council, who will also join to represent the interests of the operational body. The Council will increase in number to 13, and may increase to as many as 20-25 as the organisation grows. Council members and Directors will serve for up to five years, where they will have to run for nomination again and can be re-elected.
The Council will be:
Mika Meskanen
Wendy Liu
Katie Bracher
Nik Torrens
Deborah Carr
Gabrielle Reason
Mark Lamb
The Directors will be:
Deborah Carr
Gabrielle Reason
Mark Lamb
The remaining 6 places in the Council will be nominated by 1st April 2025.
