Not the first darkroom
The darkroom is not a new phenomenon in Utrecht. Feibe Zweers owns the Utrecht LGBT+ bar Bodytalk and he had a darkroom ’10 to 15 years ago’, or darkroom in the basement as Zweers calls it. “I must say that was always a great success, we also held foam parties there.”
When the dating sites and apps took off, things started to wane. Not only the darkroom in the basement, it also became quieter in the bar upstairs. Zweers decided to change course and turned Bodytalk into a bar where everyone feels at home, not just men. The dark room in the basement no longer suited that either.
Zweers wonders whether there is a large market in the city for parties with a darkroom. “But what Utrecht does miss is a gay sauna, that would be an addition, a good and professional one. Such a sauna is quite an experience.”