NISSAN x S

Othership popped up in Toronto in early 2022 and we needed it. It felt like a place the city had been craving: a bit hot, a bit cold, social and sober, good and good for you. It’s little wonder then that this unusual sauna and wellness brand is booming, with a second location in Toronto, one in NYC and more to come.

Co-founders Robbie and Emily Bent recently sat down with us, in partnership with Nissan, to walk through the creation of Othership, the intention behind their interior design philosophy, and how these busy entrepreneurs (and parents of a toddler) manage to find sanctuary—at home, at work, and even on the road.

Much like the Nissan Murano, which blends calming design with thoughtful detail, Othership is all about making everyday experiences feel extraordinary.

S: Othership can be a bit strange if you’re new to it—but once you’re in, it changes how you move through the day. Kind of like stepping into the Murano. What inspired you to create a space that transforms the everyday?

Robbie: “We lived in Toronto, and we really struggled with making friends. I’m sober, and my wife and I met, and we built this community in our backyard, and the goal was to help people connect in a healthy way, which is something we struggled with before. And so we’re so passionate about this. We saw people meeting, starting to date, become friends, quit drugs and alcohol for the first times in their lives, they were feeling connected in a hard and hustle culture city like Toronto.”

S: Clearly that idea has resonated not just with people in Toronto, but now also in New York with Othership’s first U.S. location. What’s the core idea behind Othership?

Emily: “Othership aims to create a container where nothing else exists except the present moment, a space where people can really step away from this hectic city life and reconnect with themselves.”

S: Yes! I really feel that stepping into the space. To pull that off though, the design, every detail has to be so meticulous. 

Robbie: “I’m really obsessed with building something special. We get so into the details. So in our space, you know, we’ve designed the towels from scratch. There are very particular custom size that wraps around your body to make you feel more safe and elegant. The lighting is designed with a very specific colour palette to make you feel and look your best. We tried more than 40 different styles of tile to find these, like river stones—that are actually pulled from the river—so when you’re barefoot on them, they have a certain feel and aesthetic. I believe in the pursuit of excellence as a value.”

S: Obviously, Nissan’s designers think about all these details of touch and texture too. And the lightning too, in the new Murano, was inspired by that amazing quality of light at golden hour. At Othership, all the light all has this warm glow. Why is light so important to a space?

Emily: “Lighting is such an important element that signals to our nervous system what state to be in. The warm amber glow in our spaces creates this feeling of safety and an immediate shift towards presence and relaxation, whereas blue light can help your body wake up and energize in the morning.”

S: For the Murano, Nissan’s designers also wanted to create a kind of sanctuary. Any notes or feedback for them?

Robbie: “I like to look at objects like this as almost having a human personality, and they make you feel a certain way. It’s really, for me, throughout my day, how do my clothes make me feel? How does my desk and my office make me feel? With cars, they almost are like a person or human entity — and the Murano is playful. You know, when I look at the front dash, it really looks like it’s smiling back at me. And so to start my day, I kind of go and feel like I’m with a companion. I think that’s something cool.”

S: With the Othership business booming and a toddler at home, how do you manage to find balance and carve out space for yourselves and family?

Emily: “For Robbie and I, with our lives being so overwhelming between the business and having a toddler, we really need to be intentional about creating these micro moments throughout the day to have the same effect. Working so hard to build spaces for others to find sanctuary means we need to be more intentional about finding our own.”

S: So what does your morning routine look like?

Robbie: “I think it’s having an hour in the morning before we get into work to just kind of putter around the house. My wife, Emily, and our son Onyx, we’ll go for a walk almost every morning, down Ossington and grab a coffee and a croissant. We’ll sit in the park at Trinity Bellwoods. And, at the end of the day, if I’m driving over to Othership, that might be my only time to relax. I turn on the massaging seats in the Murano, and it helps me to just kind of let go of all the stresses of the day.”

Emily: “For me, it’s about creating these small rituals at home, whether it’s just brewing a tea in complete silence or reading without my phone or any digital distractions, or connecting with Robbie on a drive. As simple as it sounds, sometimes just taking five minutes to connect and reset in a state of peace in the car makes all the difference.”

S: What have you learned through this journey, building Othership together?

Emily: “Robbie and I have found that finding the best path forward isn’t always about having perfect navigation from the start, it’s about being willing to explore together, and having the drive to overcome whatever is in store. And, given how much we’ve accomplished together, we’re just so excited to see what comes next.”

Director: Denis Lipman
Producer: Mike Falco
Production: PIQUE
Executive Producer: Imad Elsheikh
Groomer: Nate Palacios (P1M)
Camera Assist: John Murphy
Camera Assist: Anthony Lipman
Colourist: Denis Lipman
Sound: Dana Dorr
Editor: Gerald Lising
Production Assitant: Callum Fisher