# Mikkel Aaland: Sauna Aid, Sustainability & The Future of Bathing | Sauna Talk #123

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sauna-talk-323379/mikkel-aaland-sauna-aid-sustainability-the-future-of-bathing-sauna-talk-123
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sauna-talk-323379/mikkel-aaland-sauna-aid-sustainability-the-future-of-bathing-sauna-talk-123.md
Podcast: [Sauna Talk](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sauna-talk-323379)
Published: 2026-02-03T16:32:00+00:00
Episode link: https://saunatimes.libsyn.com/sauna-talk-123-mikkel-aaland-30
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/saunatimes/Sauna_Talk_Episode_123-Mikkel_Aaland_3.0.mp3?dest-id=374776
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sauna-talk-323379/episodes/mikkel-aaland-sauna-aid-sustainability-the-future-of-bathing-sauna-talk-123
Duration seconds: 2233

## Resource

Today's episode comes to you from the recent West Coast Sauna Summit, outside Vancouver BC Canada, where I had the honour of interviewing Mikkel Aaland, the Godfather of Sweat, live in front of a packed room of thermal enthusiasts. It's no secret that Mikkel has been a mentor to me, in sweat, in sauna, and in life. What I've always admired is his refusal to stay inside the box. Instead, he works the edges of it, where things are more interesting, more impactful, and where real change actually happens. In this conversation, we dig into three ideas that are front and center for him right now: Sauna Aid, A different operating model for bathhouse owners and aspiring saunapreneurs, And sustainability through his three-pillar approach to the sweat bathing ecosystem —physical, social, and spiritual. Mikkel may be ten years my senior, but he can hang, and party, with people half his age. Timeless, ageless, and endlessly curious. I'm proud to present my conversation with Mikkel Aaland. For more with Mikkel Aaland, please check out my 2020 interview with Mikkel here . And my 2016 interview here .

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## Transcript

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