It was a hot, dusty High Sierra Music Festival that introduced us to the foamy delights of Dr. Bronner's All One Ark. The trailer-sized bathtub that houses the communal foam shower is heading to Tahoe's Wanderlust this weekend, so we thought it was high time that we let you all in on its exhilarating secrets. Partake of the glorious foam photo shoot above, and read on for the history of this fantastical festie tub.<!--break-->
Perhaps you've delved into the lore behind everyone's favorite hippie soap: Dr. Bronner's is a generations-old product. Emil Bronner was already the third wave of Bronner soapmakers when he perfected the current formula of the liquid lather, which the family still packages with Emil's amazingly verbose labels. He was big on natural ingredients and loving everybody, which maybe explains the All One scene we found at High Sierra.
The Ark has a sign hanging by its entrance that says "we are all brothers and sisters and we should take care of each other and spaceship Earth." The area by the tub has changing areas and DJ Scuzzy spinning dance music. The two combined equal a naked dance party. (You love it, take your clothes off.) At High Sierra there was usually a lengthy line of nude bodies waiting for their "interblastive foam experience."
Emil developed the soap, but his son made the foam. Jim Bronner developed formulas originally to fight fires and create fake Hollywood snow, but as his son David explains, he also used it to pump up the party. "We would foam the kids, foam everything... it was awesome," he remembers in this video explaining the history of the foam that includes shots of a foamed-up camel.
David tapped Tim Clark to build a venue to take the foam show on the road. Clark, who moonlights as a skateboard ramp designer, had the idea to create a "human carwash." He and assistant Raje (one name only -- he also helped build the bathtub) travel up and down the West Coast, going from festival to festival, spending entire days foaming up naked people.
And man, do they foam. You strap on some goggles, grab you one of the foam tubes hanging from the sides of the tub, and when the power is turned on, spray the thick white bubbles all over your tubmates. The Ark was pumping almond soap the day we visited -- Raje said the peppermint and eucalyptus Dr. Broner's varieties can be a little too intense for people, though he's a fan. "I love the junk burn," he reflected.
Afterwards, you grab the shower nozzle next to the foam nozzle and rinse off. But not without loving your bathing buddies first "There's nothing better than a foam hug," Clark told us before extracting a sopping wet All One Ark businesscard from his swim trunks.
We asked Raje what it was like imparting so much good, clean fun at festivals. "It's very rewarding," he told us. "People appreciate my job, they're thankful for it." They appreciate it a lot, in fact. "It can be an energy overload sometimes. Honestly, the good vibes can be a lot to handle after awhile."
Not to mention all those foam hugs. In the words of SFBG model Turner Bazan: "I've never felt so dirty, but been so clean."
Photographers Allen David and Erik Anderson were having too much fun with the foam -- we posted the rest of the pictures on our Facebook page.