Jad Maalouf doesn’t hesitate when he talks about Aufgusshow 2025.
“It was a moment that was just so pure,” he says. “And there was just so much love around, especially the last day.”
Almost a year later, the Ritual Artisan from Nordik Spa Village Chelsea is returning to the stage—once again at Thermea Spa Village Whitby—for Aufgusshow 2026, ready to tell a new story in the sauna and invite guests a little closer to themselves.
Maalouf’s journey with Aufguss began humbly. He started working at the spa in August 2024, originally in the boutique, and began using his staff access to visit the spa almost every week. Over time, he gravitated toward the saunas and the Aufguss team, drawn in by the heat, the atmosphere, and a connection he describes as a “calling”.
When a spot opened on the Ritual Artisan team, a colleague encouraged him to apply. Even though he struggled with insecurities about being in front of people and performing publicly, he took the leap. That decision set him on the path that would eventually lead to his first Aufgusshow win and an international debut representing Canada.
At Aufgusshow 2025, Maalouf won first place in the Show Aufguss solo category—the only style featured that year. The moment that stays with him most isn’t the trophy, but the energy inside the sauna.
“The cheering I got was like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” he recalls.
That win earned him the honour of being one of the first Canadians to represent the country internationally, competing in Italy. Surrounded by highly experienced artisans and elaborate concepts, the pressure was intense, but transformative.
The experience also deepened his appreciation for the global Aufguss community, exposing him to a wide range of healing rituals, herbal infusions, and performance styles, as well as reinforcing how quickly the practice is evolving worldwide.
Jad holding the first place trophy
Jad's Aufgusshow 2025 performance
Jad's Aufgusshow 2025 performance
Jad's Aufgusshow 2025 performance
Jad crying
Maalouf’s victory earned him the chance to be one of the first to represent Canada on the international stage in Italy. It was exhilarating and nerve‑wracking all at once. He arrived to find an incredibly talented field—artisans with years of experience, elaborate concepts, and technical mastery in both Show and Classic forms of Aufguss.
The intensity could be overwhelming, but performing his show in that environment became a turning point.
“I had a lot of, ‘Oh, I’m good at this, I just want people to see me,’” he admits. “Then when I did the competition and when I prepared for it, I kind of had this revelation of like, why are you doing this? You’re not only doing this for yourself. I learned that it’s all for the people.”
Competing abroad also gave him a new appreciation for how much the practice is growing. He describes seeing a huge variety of healing and herbal rituals and countless sauna concepts, and says it gave him hope for the future of the Aufguss community.
Travelling abroad showed Maalouf how deeply sauna culture is woven into daily life in Europe, and how different the energy can be compared to Canada.
“I feel like abroad, it was very engraved in the society,” he explains. “But then you come here, and for most people, it’s new. And so, the energy is just so different. It just feels like more of a performance than anything else.”
That sense of “newness” changes the way guests experience Aufguss at Thermea Spa Village Whitby. For many, it’s not just a ritual; it’s a first encounter with something intense, sensory, and emotional. He says it’s a newer experience for most people and that makes their reactions, and the atmosphere in the sauna, feel special.
This year’s Aufgusshow at Whitby will take place from May 26 to 28, 2026 and will feature both Show and Modern Classic. Daily rituals at the spa are closer to the Modern Classic style, but Maalouf chose, once again, to compete in the Show category, solo.
“I appreciate Modern Classic so much,” he says. “But theatre and Aufguss are just something that I hold so dearly to my heart. Acting and showing people emotion and making people feel things … it’s more intense during a show.”
He loves that Show Aufguss allows him to tell a story.
“In the show, you’re telling people a whole story with it. And there’s more show techniques, there are more tricks. And I think that’s more of my thing.”
While his competition work is theatrical and intense, Maalouf’s day‑to‑day rituals at the spa are closer to the Modern Classic style practised in the Village. He uses those daily sessions to maintain and refine his fundamentals: clean towel movements, rhythm, and control.
Elements of his show training still slip into his everyday practice. He also focuses heavily on facial expressions and presence, which matter in both Modern Classic and Show judging. In his view, Ritual Artisans are constantly practising, because they’re constantly waving.
“You have to really sit and do it,” he says of competition prep. “Just sit down and you write your story and then you start your music. Then you gather throughout the month some props and you start practising. It’s a whole package, but you really have to be structured for it.”
Maalouf’s 2026 performance at Thermea Spa Village Whitby is built around a deeply personal theme: being yourself. The idea came to him when a particular piece of music triggered an emotional reaction in him.
That song — “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga—became the heart of his new show.
“It was just like an affirmation that this is what I’m supposed to do, like about being yourself,” he says.
The show represents him and speaks to the experience of embracing who you are. He’s using a mix of instrumental and pop music, with more pronounced beats that he can hit with the towel to show his connection to the soundtrack. He also edited in custom sound effects to mark key moments of the story. This year, he’s focusing primarily on essential oils, with the possibility of using resin on charcoal to create a smoke infusion, adding another sensory layer to the performance.
When guests leave his show, he hopes they walk away feeling like they can let go and be themselves.
Despite being last year’s champion, Maalouf isn’t obsessed with defending his title.
“Honestly, it doesn’t mean as much,” he admits. “I’m not a very competitive person and I’m still like that. When I went to the competition last year, I wasn’t going there to win. I was going there to offer an experience and just have fun and learn.”
As he returns to Whitby, Maalouf’s goal is simple: offer an experience, meet new people in the Aufguss world, reconnect with the Whitby team, and deepen the sense of community. If guests leave feeling moved, and a little more like themselves, that will mean more to him than any trophy.
“It’s all for the people,” he says. “It’s all love and sweat.”
Written by Shayna Wiwierski, @shayna_apopofcolour
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