The Crossroads’ newest health studio is like nothing else in the city — in addition to hot yoga, Sweatheory has infrared saunas, elixirs that claim to burn fat and cure hangovers, mystical card readings and electrolyte-infused tap water.
Brandon Presley, owner of Kansas City’s Sweatheory, fell in love with the studio in 2017 when he was on a business trip in Los Angeles. He found the studio on Instagram and booked time in an infrared sauna.
“I walked in and the atmosphere just grabbed me,” he says. “I sweat a ton, took a shower and felt like a new guy.”
Presley concluded Kansas City would be a good fit for a Sweatheory studio — the first expansion from the LA original, which has been featured in Goop, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. Sweatheory opened in June in an old brick building in the Crossroads neighborhood and is selling monthly memberships for $150.
“I want customers to walk out feeling refreshed and like a new person,” Presley says. “I want it to be a place where you can walk in when you’re in a bad mood and sit in the sauna and get your mind right and leave feeling better than you did when you came in.”
Here are some of the offerings at this wildly unique studio.
Infrared sauna booths
Sweatheory’s biggest selling point is its infrared saunas, which employ electromagnetic radiation to warm your body. The saunas are preheated to 170 degrees but are adjustable.
Each sauna is equipped with speakers and a private shower to wash up afterward — a session can take as long as an hour.
“That’s one of the benefits of the infrared,” says Presley. “It’s easier on your body so you can be in there longer. You wouldn’t be able to get in a regular sauna and stay there that long.”
Fitness classes
Sweatheory also offers hot yoga and deep stretching sessions from certified instructors in the cedar- and bamboo-fabricated infrared studio, which fits about 20 people. That studio also includes a wall mural made of pure Himalayan salt and crystals in the shape of Sweatheory’s logo.
“Like every salt lamp you’ve seen, it’s supposed to help purify the air and bring a positive atmosphere,” says Presley. “We megafied that.”
Vitamin injections and IVs
Achy joints? Hungover? Menstrual cramps? There’s a vitamin for that, according to Sweatheory. The vitamin injections include Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, magnesium and folic acid and are administered by a registered nurse.
Crystal sessions and angel card readings
Reiki healers are on staff to give crystal sessions they say help with relaxation and mental clarity. They also do angel card readings, which are similar to tarot.
Body sculpting and wraps
A staffer uses powerful sound waves and infrared light to allegedly break down fat cells and firm skin. Wraps are pieces of cloth infused with vitamins and minerals that are supposed to tighten and rejuvenate skin.
GO: 170 E. 19th St., Kansas City, Mo. 816-255-2307, sweatheory.com.
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