WORK • Tuesday Routine
ROBERT HAMMOND • president and chief strategy officer • Therme Group US
Neighborhood you work in: Soho
Neighborhood you live in: West Village
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Unpopular opinion: I’m pro-office. Luckily, ours is in Soho, so I enjoy a walking commute from the West Village. I’m usually the first in taking morning calls as the team trickles in around 930a. We’re the U.S. outpost of Therme Group, a global company bringing Roman-style, large-scale bathing culture to American cities. Imagine Yankee Stadium as a botanical garden, filled with thermal pools, saunas, swim-up bars, and a sprawling family section of waterslides and pools.
What’s on the agenda for today?
My day starts with a walk-and-talk with our European team during my commute, followed by a string of calls:
Design review with the architects of our Therme Dallas project
Strategy session for our Therme DC project
Catch up with a friend from the High Line (I’m the co-founder and former executive director)
Programming chat with the Little Island team (I’m vice chair of the board)
A conversation with a culture of bathing advocate in my network who’s launching a bathhouse — my favorite kind of call. These kinds of conversations are so rewarding to me, and let me step outside my work to help others who also share my passion for thermal bathing.
From 4-420p, I meditate. I started Vedic meditation in 2008 thinking it would make me a better person by 50%. It didn’t. Today I’m about 5% better, but I sleep deeper and I’m a nicer person, so I’ll take it. If I can shuffle things around, I like to trade post-work drinks for a hot/cold class at Othership or Elani. Bathhouses are ideal for meetings: no phones, no distractions, and everyone leaves feeling better than when they walked in, which is great for building relationships and community.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My favorite restaurants are all within walking distance of my home. They’re all delicious neighborhood spots, perfect for meals with my partner and our children.
Kubeh for great Middle Eastern food
Travelers Poets & Friends for imported Italian delicacies
O Cafe for unfussy perfection
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
Every Saturday I start by reading our Substack, Culture of Bathing. The comment section is my favorite to read. Most weekends, you’ll find me at open studio hours at Greenwich House Pottery. My husband gifted me a hand-building class two years ago, and I’ve kept going ever since. Besides rotating between my favorite bathhouses, I also love walking The High Line and seeing the new art installations. Cecilia Alemani is a brilliant curator. I’m obsessed with the Dinosaur piece, and based on the response, the rest of the city is too.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
My fantasy is a new couch, since with young children a high end couch is a risk. Right now, we still have an Ikea one. I’m trying to find something at auction, so I always have a tab open to Showplace.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
Eva Joan Repair: I stock up on button-downs at Uniqlo, then bring them here for custom embroidery. It’s my favorite shop. They always create something special.
Goods for the Study: I’m proudly analog — obsessed with notebooks, pens, and proper paper.
Casey Rubber Stamps: One of the rare and wonderful oddities still left in New York. I had a custom stamp made for holiday cards, and I continue to invent reasons to go back.
Where are you donating your time or money?
The Light Inside: A friend started this nonprofit to offer meditation programs at Rikers Island. The program supports incarcerated people, returning citizens, and Corrections Officers alike.
Sauna Aid: Founded by Mikkel Aaland (the godfather of sweat), this group builds movable saunas for communities recovering from disaster.
The High Line: Did you know that the High Line is one of the most visited attractions in NYC? Almost as many annual visitors as the Met, but it doesn’t charge admission. While the High Line is a park, the city doesn’t contribute any money to its $20 million operating budget. If you enjoy the High Line or pleasant strolls in general, consider donating!
Greenwich House Pottery: It’s magical, and so much more than a ceramics class studio. It’s an important third space — founded in 1902, as a settlement house to help New York’s immigrants adjust to life here — that now offers arts and education programming, and social services providing thousands of New Yorkers with personal enrichment and cultural experiences.