How this banya happened
Victor and Vera’s daughter stayed with us in Georgia during her Rotary Scholarship program. Later, I went to Siberia to spend time with Victor and his family—and Victor made sure it wasn’t a “quiet little visit.”
We skydived from an old Soviet helicopter. We hiked, camped, and paraglided off the Altai mountains. We trekked to a beekeeper’s home to harvest Altai Mountain honey. And yes… we drank way more vodka than we should have.
To cap the trip, we visited the dacha (family summer house) of Victor’s friend Volodya. We smoked fish, ate like kings, and enjoyed Volodya’s banya—where I experienced my first venik massage. That was the moment the whole “Backyard Banya” idea clicked.
The goal now is simple: recreate that authentic banya feeling for people here—real heat, real ritual, real reset— but with a cleaner, safer vibe. Authentic Russian banya… minus the vodka.
