A new wellness business is seeking a permanent home in Bermagui. Photo: Luke Axisa.
Luke Axisa wants to bring “the magic of sauna” to his coastal town on a more permanent basis.
“It [sauna] is what happens when people sit in a hot space together – everyone’s equal,” the carpenter and founder of Good Sauna Australia told Region.
He made the request after Bega Council sought to hear from commercial operators for the use of council-owned and managed reserves, and after organising several pop-up sauna events.
During a recent council meeting, Bega Valley Shire councillors gave him the green light to operate in Dickinsons Recreation Reserve (near Horseshoe Bay) with a one-year licence.
For Mr Axisa, bringing a traditional sauna experience to Bermagui combines its natural beauty with his dreams of accessible wellness.
“The truth is, Horseshoe Bay is probably the most idyllic beach on the East Coast.
“From someone who’s been surfing for 26 years, I don’t think there’s a better beach I’ve been to [that would be better to] have a communal sauna.
“What’s really inspired me is bringing a space of wellness to the community that is accessible and affordable and connected to nature.”
He hand-built a sauna, avoiding as many chemicals and synthetic products as possible (and without the blue lights used in some more high-tech saunas).
Once the sessions begin, Mr Axisa said people will be able to book online or turn up (provided the space isn’t too busy).
“People flow in and out of the sauna, between the sauna and the ocean,” he said of the business model.
“It’s a traditional Finnish sauna. It’s a communal sauna; you may be sitting in there with strangers, or coming in with friends, or even luck out and get it to yourself. ”
He said a sauna brought more than sweat to South Coast residents and visitors – it was a community-building exercise.
“Science is unequivocal on the benefits of sauna.
“We’ve adopted this very, very Americanised version of sauna, which is usually a dark room [where people have a] solitary experience.
“I’m really harkening back to the traditions of sauna, which are communal, affordable and public.
“I really feel like the wellness industry has become very exclusive and unaffordable for a lot of people.”
Mr Axisa is also considering expanding into the neighbouring Eurobodalla Shire.
“My vision is that Good Sauna would expand into a series of saunas … I would love to have three or four saunas operating on the Far South Coast, all providing that same kind of accessible and genuine communal experience.”
It doesn’t matter to Mr Axisa where the sauna is – it’s about wellness and connection.
“Sauna space is a very insular environment, but the connection to the outdoors is imminent.
“You’re sitting in the sauna, looking at the sea … It’s not taking wellness and putting it in an artificially lit, sterile environment.”
People can see available sessions and book a sauna spot by visiting Good Sauna Australia’s website.
