In addition, the CDC has determined that these statistics disproportionately affect men who have sex with men, since the reported incidence of many STDs is higher among this group than among women or men who have sex with women only.Īccording to STI/HIV data published by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the state of Colorado saw similar upward trends in reported incidences of STDs. The data showed that from 2013 to 2017, “increases in STD cases have continued for four consecutive years syphilis cases nearly doubled, gonorrhea cases increased by 67 percent, and chlamydia remained at record highs.” In August, at the biennial National STD Prevention Conference, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presented preliminary data from 2013 to 2017 showing trends in STDs. I don’t feel judgment from the person testing me I don’t feel judgment from the staff, and I feel safer when I leave the testing room.” “Everyone who walks in knows what they are walking into. “There’s no judgement in the atmosphere there,” Alex said. After visiting both Midtowne and Denver Swim Club multiple times, Alex decided to make his regular spot Midtowne while still visiting DSC occasionally. After moving to Denver from Chicago, Alex was looking for a bathhouse to replace the Windy City’s Steamworks Baths.
The spa also offers testing opportunities for its customers weekly as well as at special events.įor Alex*, a regular at Midtowne, it’s one of the few places in town where he feels comfortable getting tested. If they are caught a second time, they are banned for life-from all three locations. Anyone caught in the throws of unprotected sex is banned for a length of time. Condoms are scattered throughout the maze of public and private rooms.
Midtowne Spa has a zero-tolerance policy for bareback sex. “That’s a really, really big deal to us.” “We work really hard to make sure that our guests are having safe sex and have the resources to get privately tested on-site,” Clarke said. Today, even with new drugs that prevent the spread of HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEp), and the knowledge that those with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus, Midtowne is still riddled with the association of being a place where diseases are spread. That stigma and shame intensified as the AIDS epidemic grew, forcing many bathhouses to close their doors. Bathhouses were a source of contention-to some they were integral to gay culture for others they were dangerous. As long as gay bathhouses have been around, they have been filled with gay and bisexual men looking to get laid and fueled the stigma that surrounds gay sex. He then began noticing some regular customers, and even staff members, selling drugs out of certain rooms. “We had two people who had completely moved in,” he said. Right from the beginning, Clarke noticed some things that needed to be changed. In the late 90s, when Clarke first started working, Midtowne was one of three bathhouses in Denver alongside the now-closed Triple C and still-standing Denver Swim Club. “A lot of time and energy has gone into making Midtowne what it is today.” It’s through leadership and eye for detail that Midtowne Spa has outlasted most of its brethren. Although his workforce changes came to a halt in 1996, Clarke was now in charge of something bigger-changing with the always-evolving culture that exists within the LGBTQ community. Again, after sleeping on the decision, he decided it was too good of money to pass up. After decades of operation and nine locations around the country, Midtowne Spa has only three locations still in business: Denver Los Angeles and Wilmington, California.Īfter Denver Midtowne’s general manager left the chain, Clarke was offered the position. That was 22 years ago.”ĭenver’s Midtowne Spa is one of the few gay bathhouses left that share the same name. That day, he hired me as assistant manager. “When he told me to meet him at Midtowne Spa on Monday, I had to do a lot of soul searching before walking through those front doors. “I had no idea what this man did, and I told him I’d come in for an interview one Sunday,” Clarke said.
His time bartending there was short, and it wasn’t long before a regular customer offered him a job outside of the bar. Not long after moving here, he made a career jump from the food industry to LGBTQ nightlife, landing a job at the now-closed gay bar The Fox Hole Lounge. After his time in the Army, he transitioned to the food industry, which eventually forced him into the Mile High City.