Meow Wolf’s co-founder is opening a wildly trippy immersive bathhouse in Texas

Forget sipping cucumber water in a robe. One of the minds behind Meow Wolf is building what may be the weirdest wellness destination in America: a massive immersive art bathhouse where you can soak in thermal pools while wandering through neuroscience-inspired dreamscapes.

The project is called Submersive and it’s set to open its first flagship location in Austin next summer. According to the company, the 20,000-square-foot experience will blend ancient bathing rituals with immersive installations, biometric experiments and what founder Corvas Brinkerhoff repeatedly describes as a “portal.”

Brinkerhoff, who co-founded Meow Wolf before launching this new venture, says the idea grew out of a lifelong fascination with water and years spent visiting Japanese-style bathhouses in Santa Fe. “I want to create spaces that heal, enliven, inspire, and transform others,” he said in a statement. “I naturally began to dream of bringing these worlds together, wondering ‘could immersive art be therapeutic?’”

The answer, apparently, involves hot baths, cold plunges, projection art, neuroaesthetics and wearable heart monitors.

Guests at Submersive will move through 12 different indoor and outdoor environments, each designed around a distinct sensory mood. Some spaces will reportedly feature mirrored infinity effects and galaxy-like ceilings, while others lean more into lush outdoor soaking pools and cabana-style lounging inspired by Austin’s climate and nearby Barton Springs.

Unlike a typical luxury spa, Submersive wants to turn visitors into research subjects, too. The company says it plans to study how immersive environments affect the body and brain using wearable technology like mobile EKG monitors, HRV sensors and EEG devices. The resulting biometric feedback will then be used to refine future experiences.

The company is also working with neuroaesthetics researchers, including advisors affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, to help shape the environments that shape how sensory experiences influence mood and cognition.

Austin was intentionally selected, according to the company, for its “creative spirit” and obsession with all things wellness-adjacent. The facility is expected to eventually draw around 200,000 visitors annually, with day passes starting around $88.

So yes, the future may, in fact, involve sitting in a psychedelic sauna while wearing a biometric tracker and staring into an LED infinity void. But honestly? Austin feels ready for it.