Sydney gay sauna 357’s owners launch tell-all podcast

The duo behind Sydney’s long-running gay sauna 357 have launched a podcast to share the untold stories of their two decades running the gay sex-on-premises venue.

Ty Dovans and Luke Frappell co-owned 357 on Sussex Street in Sydney until the sauna closed its doors for good on May 6, 2024.

When 357 opened on December 26, 2001, Ty and Luke welcomed almost 400 punters on opening day. They say more than 3 million clients passed through the doors over the next 22 years.

357’s final party was on May 5, 2024, with big crowds wrapping around the city block trying to get in.

Exactly two years on, Ty and Luke and their friend Richard Farr have launched retrospective podcast Sex in the City to share some of the most unbelievable, hilarious and poignant – but all true – stories from inside 357.

In episode one, which is out now, the pair recall where it all began: spotting an opportunity to give the men who were frequenting Sydney’s gay beats a sex-on-premises venue in the inner city.

But it wasn’t easy. Banks wouldn’t touch them. Landlord after landlord knocked them back. The council didn’t approve.

Ty said they both “worked and worked and worked” and used all of their connections to get finance, secure an inner-city space and convince council to give them the green light.

“When we set up 357, we had no money left. We honestly gambled everything,” Luke recalled.

For their council inspection, the 357’s “suckatorium” became an “activities room”. After they passed the inspection, Ty and Luke installed the glory holes on Christmas night, just hours before doors opened.

“My straight friend, he’s a builder [and] had come in to cut all the glory holes,” Ty said.

“His wife rang and goes, ‘Could you please send my husband home? Why do you have to cut these penis holes on Christmas evening?’”

Luke recalled on opening day “the walls, the ceiling and some of the cubicles in the Suckatorium were still wet.”

“This guy got paint on his penis. He had like a ring around it. We had only just finished painting the glory holes,” he said.

Ty recalled privately hoping 70 clients would show up on day one, but he would’ve been happy with 35. In total, 380 men came through the doors on 357’s first day.

But their landlord believed 357 would fold within months, Luke recalled, and had cut corners on the building work.

“The waterproofing just didn’t waterproof. The water used to drip into the cafe and restaurant underneath us,” he said.

“The more people that showered, the more the water just filled up… It was everywhere. Their ceiling was collapsing.”

But 357 took off. Over the next 22 years, Ty and Luke say they watched the entire world change. They reflect on the evolution of queer culture over the course of the podcast.

The arrival of hookup apps like Grindr threatened to shut down 357 and venues like it all over the world. But Ty and Luke recount how they turned the tables and increased their business by reinventing their sauna.

In other episodes, the duo reflect on evolving attitudes towards safe sex, from condoms to STI testing and innovations like PrEP.

But through it all, the pair say they wanted 357 to have a different attitude than some gay saunas they’d worked at before.

“People like us weren’t welcome at Bodyline at the time… We didn’t have the six-pack, we didn’t have the big muscly arms,” Luke recalled.

“We never wanted to have a place like that, because we wanted to welcome everybody and make people feel comfortable.”

Ty added, “We kept that going right until the very end. That was a very important part of the business.”

The couple tell Richard Farr the podcast is a celebration of 357’s legacy, as well as a conversation starter about sex.

“Having owned a sex on premises venue, Australia’s largest gay male sex on premises venue, it was an incredible insight on sex,” Luke said.

“I think it’s important to talk about sex. Ninety-nine percent of the planet is having sex, and we don’t talk about it.”

New episodes of Ty and Luke’s podcast Sex in the City drop every two weeks. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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