Charts RIP: what was like workg at Bra’s biggt gay sna

Contents:

• HISTORIC GAY SNA CHARTS SPA ANNOUNC PERMANENT CLOSURE PROMPTG OUTPOURG OF STICKY MEMORI
• GAY SNAS LONDON
• INSI CHARTS, LONDON'S BIGGT GAY SNA
• THE FUTURE OF BRA’S GAY SNAS
• CHARTS VXHALL – LONDON, UK
• SNAS GAY AROUND THE WORLD
• CHARTS RIP: WHAT WAS LIKE WORKG AT BRA’S BIGGT GAY SNA
• VODA SPA & SNATHE MOST POPULAR GAY SNA MOSW.MOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXVODA SPA & SNA
• XL SPALATT ADDN TO THE MOSW GAY SNA SCENE.MOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXXL SPA
• MOSW GAY SNAS
• PODVAL SNAMOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXPODVAL SNA
• GAY SNA ETIQUETTE
• SNAS GAY AROUND THE WORLD

HISTORIC GAY SNA CHARTS SPA ANNOUNC PERMANENT CLOSURE PROMPTG OUTPOURG OF STICKY MEMORI

The legendary gay sna Charts Spa has gone to liquidatn, after sufferg fancially durg the ronavis panmic. Charts Health Clubs opened s first gay sna Shoredch, London, 1996.

Until now, the Vxhall branch of Charts Spa was the only survivg lotn, and brand self as Europe’s largt gay sna.

GAY SNAS LONDON

“I would like to take this opportuny to say thank you to all our ctomers and to the gay muny as a whole for supportg and makg the pany a succs for many years.

As some of you know, and mostly bee my endls postg about jobs, one of the most inic Gay Snas London I had the pleasure of workg wh sce September 2019 has unfortunately had to liquidate due to fance issu.

INSI CHARTS, LONDON'S BIGGT GAY SNA

— Stt (@GayNightStand) January 25, 2021. One former Charts Spa staff member wrote on Twter: “One of the most inic gay snas London I had the pleasure of workg wh sce September 2019 has unfortunately had to liquidate due to fance issu. “Snas such as Charts had provid a safe space for gay men pre-COVID for untls years.

Charts is a gay sna that’s somehow stood firm and risted the velopers for nearly 20 years.

THE FUTURE OF BRA’S GAY SNAS

Amidst a vastatg year for gay venu London, alarm bells were set off June when was reported that the se might make way for a luxury hotel, but thankfully for s patrons, there’s been very ltle follow-up. ‘It was found 1997, ’ says staff member Lewis, ‘when fdg a fy, welg place to be openly gay or explore your sexualy was perhaps tougher than is now.

For the uniated, a gay sna is, as our listg onle stat: ‘like a leisure centre, but wh sex’ – a place where men cise and hook up.

CHARTS VXHALL – LONDON, UK

‘That always ma me giggle – the last thg a gay du to a sna for is a mouthful of fish. ‘Some misnceptns are fuelled by homophobia’. Speakg of hair, you might image that wh that zty, naturel activy gog on, a gay sna would be ked lube and all manner of curly follicl.

There are still a lot of gay or bisexual guys who aren’t out.

SNAS GAY AROUND THE WORLD

Sadly, I fear some misnceptns are fuelled by homophobia. If was a straight swgers’ club, might be seen as cheeky, racy, darg, but bee ’s a gay spot, ’s more likely to be nsired sleazy and gross.

Before ronavis h, Charts Vxhall claimed to be ​“Europe’s largt gay sna” for men wantg steam, queer mararie and a potential subterranean hook-up. Charts Vxhall was the last survivg outpost of a gay sna cha which at s 2005 peak had six branch dotted across London.

Losg Charts is a major blow for London’s queer male muny, but gay snas across the UK have weathered an credibly ttg 12 months. “Gay snas n of the possibily of sex, but whether people actually have sex when they get here is a pletely different thg, ” says Stephen Gunn of Mantire Spa Plymouth. In 2021, gay snas are faced wh the same toxic cktail of threats as any other LGBTQ venue.

CHARTS RIP: WHAT WAS LIKE WORKG AT BRA’S BIGGT GAY SNA

But when we talk about savg our val queer spac, gay snas tend to be exclud om the nversatn. Nick Batt, owner of Pk Broadway Southampton, says a lol rad statn was terted hearg about his stggle to survive the panmic as a small bs owner until he said he ran a gay sna. Even wh the LGBTQ muny, gay snas have a lgerg image problem.

In 2016, gay magaze Attu published an op-ed tled: ​“Perhaps the time has e for gay snas to close – and that’s fe.

Pl Town, manager of The Locker Room South London, says is rctive to pigeonhole all gay snas as ​“expensive knockg shops”.

VODA SPA & SNATHE MOST POPULAR GAY SNA MOSW.MOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXVODA SPA & SNA

Clearly, gay snas exist so that men have n sex wh men a space that isn’t their home, a hotel or a cisg spot.

Sce I started visg gay snas a ago, I’ve seen steam room i, group jack-off ssns the showers and men wag expectantly large leather slgs.

XL SPALATT ADDN TO THE MOSW GAY SNA SCENE.MOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXXL SPA

In my experience, gay snas are sexy, sex-posive spac where not everyone ends up havg sex. “Nobody ever talks about the lonely olr gay man, ” says Pk Broadway’s Nick Batt.

​“Maybe their partner’s passed away and they want some pany, but they don’t feel like they belong the [gay] bars bee you’re visible those plac if you’re over 40. ” Batt also says his sna provis a safe space for gay and bi men who aren’t out. ​“I’d say up to 70 per cent of our ctomers don’t live what you’d ll a ​‘gay liftyle’, ” he says.

MOSW GAY SNAS

​“I’ve had ctomers e up to me and say: ​‘My mum died yterday and she never knew I was gay.

Gay snas like London’s Pleasuredrome, which pre-Covid opened 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, n also bee a refuge for vulnerable and homels young men.

PODVAL SNAMOSWMENUBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXPODVAL SNA

Dean, a 25-year-old queer man om London, says he ma his first viss to gay snas around seven years ago ​“out of sheer necsy”. Dean adms that gay snas were ​“ no way an idyllic sanctuary” and says he sometim felt sred sleepg such a sexualised environment. Other young gay and bi men vis snas bee they offer relatively hassle-ee hook-ups.

GAY SNA ETIQUETTE

Tom, a 23-year-old gay man om Edburgh, says that pre-Covid he popped to gay snas once every uple of months bee felt ​“slightly kky and different and excg”.

Whereas the mastream LGBTQ scene ​“favours cis, whe, affluent gay guys, you see a different si to the muny at snas – people you wouldn’t see bars”. Jack, a 25-year-old gay man om Plymouth, says he would normally vis his lol sna once a week simply to ​“chill out and have fun” while ​“meetg new and different people”. One of the bit gay snas town...

Cozy apartments, private rooms and amazg hom: be weled by the gay muny over 200 untri. Apartments, rooms, hom: be weled by the gay muny.

SNAS GAY AROUND THE WORLD

Long ago, let's say, the 1950s and before, the gay populatn of London created, unr unimagable durs, a remarkably rich subculture, volvg unique spac, ruals, and languag all visible (by necsy) to the society at large. Today, gay activi are advertised Time Out, Will & Grace is on every morng before we leave for work, and the gay club is where you take your gaggle of girliends for your hen party. Of urse, creased visibily, stigmatisatn and normalisatn of homosexuals are all good thgs.

But may e as a surprise to many straight Londoners how much of a exclive, hidn gay subculture still surviv. Some of the spac and practic we're thkg of are straightforward holdovers om the bad old days when homos still got forcibly lobotomised — for example, havg sex parks, which "good gays" are supposed to be embarrassed about, but for which Londonist's enthiasm is a matter of public rerd.