Hey, I’m Tommy — and I’m really glad you’re here. Recess started as something deeply personal for me, and I want to tell you the story of how it came to life.

Anyone who knows me knows I love spontaneity, quality time, and play. But in today’s world of DMs, the latest outrage of the day, and calendars packed to the brim, those simple things are harder to find.

For years, the only places I could get them were nights out fueled by alcohol, on the basketball court, or through backpacking trips. After a major hip surgery, my body couldn’t keep up with any of them. Losing all three at once was gutting — it forced me to completely reset where I could find joy, and the search for connection was lonely at first.

Then I discovered saunas and cold plunges. What started as physical recovery became a reset for both body and mind — and a space where conversations with friends and strangers felt more real than any late-night bar talk.

I began to seek out saunas as often as I could, returning again and again not just for how they healed my body, but for how they made me feel fully present. There was something rare and refreshing about those spaces: no phones, no distractions, just presence and genuine connection. It was the kind of setting I had been searching for elsewhere and never quite found.

For years I’d wanted to create a community-oriented brick-and-mortar space, but I couldn’t see what it should truly center around. In saunas, I had finally found the heartbeat.

That discovery lit the spark, but it wasn’t until I crossed paths with Zach that it began to take shape as something real.

I met Zach at my apartment pool, and we quickly became friends. About a year later, the timing lined up — he sold his business just as I was starting Recess.

With our paths crossing at just the right moment, Recess took shape: a space designed for presence, play, and quality time — and a reminder that joy is easier to find when we step away from the noise of the modern world.