Marcel Winatschek

Wet, Half-Naked, and Eventually Escorted Out

The footage exists. Somewhere in the turnschuh.tv archives there is a video of me, shirtless and belly-forward, sweating in a London hotel sauna—first in real time, then, God help us all, in slow motion, the whole mass of me registering each towel throw like a slow-motion seismic event. Simon, Hikmet, and Dominik shot it for the legendary 43einhalb Handtuchparty, a towel-throwing event that is exactly as gloriously stupid as it sounds: semi-naked people hurling white hotel towels at each other across an overheated sauna while the camera captures every wobbling detail with loving precision. Leni, Christiane, Willy, and I were the talent. The whole production ended when a hotel employee materialized in the doorway with the expression of someone who has seen too much and gets paid too little. We were asked to leave. Of course we were. Still worth it.