It has been almost two months since we set off on a quest to understand what makes a “heavenly” bathroom experience. Just why in heaven would we do that? Let me explain.
During a business trip to New York City last fall we got to experience a grueling sport that many city dwellers consider a way of life; door to door bathroom hunting.
It goes something like this. You’re walking down Broadway when you receive nature’s call. If you’re lucky there might be some time before the urge gets real bad. You walk into the nearest Starbucks and see there’s a line up outside the restroom door. Nope — can’t wait. You’ll take a chance elsewhere. There are “Customers Only” signs in every third door and in the midst of all the sketchy diners and pizza shops, you finally spot a Jugo Juice. You go in, ask the cashier what the bathroom code is and promise you’ll buy something after you do your business. Lucky for you, she reluctantly agrees.
After fumbling through the combination lock, you open the door only to be greeted by a stinky, messy and generally filthy restroom. It’ll take a lot to convince you not to walk right out — but nothing overcomes the growing urge to go.
On the whole, it’s quite a shitty experience (pardon the pun) and you refuse to think more about it. Until it happens again. And again.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers experience this when they need a restroom. Imagine that! Real estate agents, taxi drivers, freelancers, tourists — these are people who spend the majority of their days out and about. Finding a restroom makes their lives really tough. It affects their movements, limits their choices of where to eat (or grab coffee), where to meet their clients and when to go home. Above all, it affects their health.
Then there are old people, families with young children, people with limited mobility and those with bowel-related conditions — these people plan their days around access to restrooms. Their meetings, outings and day trips are designed with restroom access in mind. It’s a critical part of everyday life.
After months of research and investigation into why one of the largest, wealthiest and most advanced cities in the world lacked a public restroom system, we decided to do something about it.
It might be naive to believe that a small group of individuals can solve a problem that decades of government dollars, municipal initiatives and fancy politically-driven schemes have failed to address. But naivete is part and parcel of ingenuity. Without it, how would we even dare to try?
So, go ahead and meet Looie — your key to freedom. This is not about public restrooms. It’s about the freedom to go about your day without interruption, it’s about staying out as long as you want, it’s about not asking for anyone’s permission to do your damn business. And when you need to go, it’s about doing it in a space that’s nothing short of heavenly.
That’s right — no stink, no filth, spotless everything, with flowers on top and an amazing smell that doesn’t go away. Forever! An experience as reliable as your Starbucks Coffee.
Just relax and refresh. All the time. On the go. That’s our future.
Let’s make it happen.
