I caught up with Jameson Farn for a behind-the-scenes look at his new book Bathhouse Babylon.

It’s rammed full of untold tales from working in a gay sauna – the good, the bad, and the horny.

Why did you decide to write about your bathhouse experiences and share them with the world?


Although my work has thankfully kept me busy during the pandemic, there was still a lot of restrictions on many aspects of life in France. So, to keep myself occupied – and under the suggestion of many friends – I thought it was time to pull out the diaries I kept from when I used to work at the bathhouses in North America.

I wanted to see what I could make of it all.

It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on, even with all the varied emotional elements involved.

The book includes some really vivid anecdotes about some of the characters you encountered and dramas you had to navigate – does working in a bathhouse make you almost unshockable?



I always loved the job, no matter what was happening – there was a thrill to it all.

At the time, I just moved forward as best as possible with everything as it came about, and tried to evolve with it all.

I also prefer that edgier side of life – I’m easily bored with predictability, so I accepted the best and worst of every situation.

Working in a bathhouse seemed to bring all of that in a very in-your-face type of way – literally.

I wouldn’t say that I’ve seen it all, but I have definitely seen a lot from another side other than a customer – it was my place of work every day of the week.

Is a bathhouse a good place to work?

I loved working at a bathhouse and never hid the fact that it was what I did for a living.

You don’t make big money, but you meet everyone, from every walk of life. It’s an opportunity – especially if you’re young – to learn how to have a rapport with all kinds of men.

All types of people work in a bathhouse – no matter their educational or financial backgrounds. Some are happy and proud to let people know they work in one. Others – depending on how they live and their situation – may prefer to tell people they work at a fitness center or nightclub.

Being in that business for over a decade, you do experience almost everything imaginable. On a daily basis, you see a side of life that not many get to experience, and it can take a toll and leave you very jaded if you don’t have a proper life balance set in place.

I failed at that sometimes, but I’ve also learned a lot from it. It’s actually been beneficial in how I live now.

Having worked in a bathhouse, do you still enjoy visiting bathhouses as a customer?

After I left the bathhouse world, I stayed away from those businesses for quite some time. I’d been so attached to them for so long that I wanted to form a new way of living.

Plus, the city that I lived in only had two bathhouse options. From what I heard, there was a lot of drug use and they didn’t seem safe or appealing.

I then moved to France, started a new relationship – that was monogamous – and then came the pandemic. So, I haven’t really been back.

If someone hadn’t been to a bathhouse before but was interested in exploring that kind of experience, what advice or guidance would you give them?

We used to say it was almost like a rite of passage for any man to experience a bathhouse – some end up loving it, some hate it.

If you’ve never been, there’s no harm in trying.

You’re not forced to do anything, and people of every nationality and body-type go to bathhouses.



Many men tend to worry that they will run into someone they know in a bathhouse. If you’re hesitant about going to one where you live, the next time you are on a business trip or holiday, make it part of your entertainment plan – it could end up being the highlight of your trip.



If you’re unsure what kind of crowd a particular bathhouse caters to, you can check online for reviews but take those with a grain of salt.

When you get to the bathhouse, the employees can help point out what their facility is about – we’re used to people showing up for their first visit.

If it’s your first time, you’ll probably have an idea of what a bathhouse will be like, but try to be realistic – so many first-time visitors arrive with the grandest of fantasies of what will take place for them, only to be disappointed. Just be yourself and all the fun stuff will happen

These are places where men also come to just relax from the outside world, so keep your expectations on an even level.

Men in bathhouses also seem to become more intuitive and get straight to the point, so if you give off a vibe like you are vulnerable and scared, or have a big ego, it will dictate what kind of men come your way and what you end up doing.

What do you hope that people feel when reading Bathhouse Babylon?

Everything written in the book was based on my personal experiences – I’m not some sort of bathhouse guru.

I’m a very observational person and wanted to take people on a journey. As in life, there are plenty of ups and downs in the bathhouse world.

As part of the LGBTQ community – no matter what we do – we should make note of it in whatever form possible so that the generations after us can look back upon what we’ve experienced. Hopefully, it can be a form of life-skills guide for them.

I want to show that no matter what type of work you do – even if you don’t think it might lead to much now – the people you work with and cater to can teach you lessons that can come in handy for your future.

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Images courtesy of Pleasuredrome, London