THE SEX CLUB – RETOOLED
Venues around the country are reinventing themselves as vibrant social hubs. Perth Steam Works is leading the way.
Perth Steam Works is a prime example of this transformation and now more closely resembles the 1970s bathhouses where Bette Midler once entertained the boys.
Saunas, steam rooms and bathhouses have been a necessary part of our culture since… forever! Last month, Joseph Brennan’s feature, Steamy Sex revealed their fascinating history. This month, we look to the future. Venues around the country are reinventing themselves as the vibrant social hubs they once were. Leading the way is Perth Steam Works.
In the ’70s, when Bette Midler entertained gay men in the old bathhouses in New York City, they loved her so much she earned the nickname Bathhouse Betty. Serving part of our community forever and a day, bathhouses eventually became saunas, and they have survived through thick and thin since.
This includes the last 15 years when apps like Grindr and Scruff have become so popular and have been partially blamed for the decline of traditional meeting places like pubs and clubs.
Saunas and sex-on-premises venues have had to reinvent their wheel to stay relevant. Once upon a time, a few darkened rooms with vinylcovered mattresses and some porn playing on a small TV were sufficient for the clientele, but things have changed.
Modern day saunas have risen to the challenge are there has been something of a renaissance.
Perth Steam Works, in the busy Northbridge nightclub district of the WA capital, is a prime example of this transformation and now more closely resembles the 1970s bathhouses where Bette Midler once entertained the boys.
There’s still sex-on-site at Perth Steam Works, but the venue now offers one-stop mingling, partying, entertainment options – there’s even a place to get the laptop out and work.
Steam Works was originally opened by a man named Mike Chester 25 years ago, but when local Perth businessman Mike Drummond saw that it was about to close last year, he was having none of it.
“I was aware the venue was for sale, and that the current owner could not sell it and was going to just close it,” Drummond tells DNA. “I didn’t think that it would happen, and I heard it had, and that’s when I knew we needed to step in.
“I had always been very fond of the venue and did not want to see it close, so I spoke to Mike and within hours of him announcing the closure, we’d sealed the deal and I drove in and took down the closed sign,” says Drummond. Mike bought Perth Steam Works with his partner Jamie, and since then they have renovated the premises and changed the way it does business.
“We have completely changed the venue, from a physical build perspective all the
A sauna offers a very safe space for gay, bisexual and trans men.
>> way through to operations,” he says. “Our key focus has been on the customer, and we have reverse engineered from there. The building had great bones, it just needed a fresh set of eyes and a new vision.
“A great example of this is that you can now buy food and drink using your locker tab and simply settle the bill as you leave rather than having to carry a wallet,” says Mike.
Mike and the team wanted to continue Perth Steam Works’ legacy and bring the venue back to its former glory. And local guys have given it a big thumbs up. Their recent XXX-Mas In July party pre-sale tickets sold out in just two hours.
Perth Steam Works has long been a ground-breaking venue, securing the first liquor license for a sex-on-site premises 23 years ago, a precedent for other venues like it across Australia.
Saunas like Perth Steam Works, Wet On Wellington in Melbourne and Sydney Sauna, along with other sex venues, are reinventing themselves and getting busier than ever. What’s driving this social trend?
One theory is that the community is growing tired, and increasingly suspicious of, hookup apps and the behaviours they encourage. Many men say they’re getting sick of having to rely on apps to meet people, and they want to go back to the old-fashioned way. To the next generation in our community, this actually provides a refreshingly new and authentic way of meeting others. They can meet someone in person, without the hours and hours of scrolling, and just get straight to it, in a safe and social way.
“Yes, I think with the apps there is a lot of time wasting,” says Mike. “People are just into chatting, and it can be dangerous to meet up with someone you don’t really know. At Perth Steam Works, we can always host. The customers know they will always be safe and we have strict policies outlining consent and we take them very seriously.”
With gay clubs becoming very popular within the mainstream, a sauna offers a very safe haven for gay, bisexual and trans men.
Mike says the feedback from