Othership
Building community one ice bath at a time, Othership is scaling up.
Expansion mode. Othership, a wellness studio known for hot and cold therapies as well as guided breathwork, raised $8M in a Series A round led by Vine Ventures.
With a growing omnichannel community led by its Toronto flagship, digital app, and forthcoming NYC studio, Othership expects to add 20 North American locations over the next five years.
“Peak” wellness. Beginning with ice baths in founder Robbie Bent’s backyard, Othership has evolved into a gathering place for holistic wellness seekers.
Gaining a cult-like following, the brand’s sauna, ice bath, and mindfulness classes center around emotional health and mental well-being — what Robbie Bent has dubbed “peak experiences”:
“People loved sharing and connecting in a place that felt inspiring, cool, and safe, and we realized there was a huge opportunity to make teaching people about their emotions fun, social, and accessible in the same way SoulCycle created a real community experience around fitness.”
Come together. Tapping the social wellness trend, Othership hopes to break from convention, creating an accessible and affordable “house of transformation.” From anxiety to burnout to addiction, its protocols aim to serve the millions left behind by the traditional healthcare system.
But, more than trendy classes, Othership’s ability to foster a sense of belonging sets it apart, helping drive retention while fueling growth.
For example, last November, a candlelit breathwork event in Toronto attracted 850 attendees, while a record 1,800+ took the plunge together during an outdoor session in Lake Ontario.
Looking ahead: Not the only studio approach to group therapy, Peoplehood—a relational fitness concept from the founders of SoulCycle—opens this February. But, at the intersection between physical recovery, mindfulness, and spiritual meaning-making, Othership’s adoption will be less about wellness and more about way of life.
