A conversation with Piotr Przybylski, the professional sailor turned wellness pioneer who is redefining what it means to embrace the cold
By Ged Brown, Founder and CEO of Low Season Traveller
The evening air is crisp as I stand in the grounds of Limitless by Autopay, fairy lights twinkling overhead, casting a warm glow over what can only be described as a wellness paradise. Located just 80 metres from the Baltic Sea in a coastal forest in Sopot, this is exactly the kind of place I dream about when I travel. As someone who has taken a sauna twice a day for the past 15 years, I know what I’m looking for, and this place has it in spades.
There’s just one problem: Piotr Przybylski, the founder and visionary behind Limitless, isn’t here. The professional racing sailor and 16-time World Champion is currently in Malta, doing what he does best: racing boats. But that doesn’t stop us from having a conversation. As I prepare to experience what Piotr has created, we connect by phone, and his enthusiasm for cold water immersion and sauna culture is immediately infectious.
From Cold Water Swimmer to Wellness Pioneer
Piotr’s journey to creating Limitless began 16 years ago when he started cold water swimming. “The idea came from cold water swimming, which I’ve been doing for 16 years now,” he tells me. “After eight years, I decided not to go anywhere else to warm up, so I built a sauna on the beach. That’s what we did.”
The original SaunSpot, as it was known, opened eight years ago on another part of Sopot beach. It was born not from business ambition, but from personal passion. “It was born from a dream. It was never a business in the beginning. It was built for me and my girlfriend, from our dreams. That’s why it looks like it does. It’s not perfectly finished because I’m still a professional racing sailor, racing boats. As you can see, I’m in Malta now, not with you. I have a busy season during summer and winter. During winter I spend more time at this place, but mostly I’m racing. There’s still a lot to do, but we’ve created the place we always wanted.”
A year ago, they moved to the current location on Hestia Street, expanding the facilities and, crucially, opening all year round. “On the beach we could only open for a few months during winter. Now we’re open all year round and we’re much bigger.”
The COVID Cold Water Boom
The timing of Limitless’s evolution coincided with an unexpected surge in interest in cold water immersion. “During COVID, cold water swimming went from something a few people did occasionally to almost a national sport in Poland,” Piotr explains. “We could only go swimming in cold water during COVID, nothing else. That’s why it became really popular in Poland.”
This cultural shift has shaped the clientele at Limitless. “In winter it’s mostly locals because of this cold water swimming trend. But we’re seeing more and more people from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, because there are direct flights from Gdańsk to these destinations. We have a lot of guests from Nordic countries, but the core is still locals, with growing numbers from abroad.”
The seasonal split is interesting. “I think, and I hope, that it will be 70-30. I mean 30% of clients come during summer, because Polish people tend to stop cold water swimming during summer because the water isn’t cold anymore. But they also stop thinking about sauna during summer. That’s our challenge, because we’re trying to teach people that sauna is good for your health all year round. But Polish people still need time to understand this. That’s why probably 70% of our clients come during winter, because of the cold water in the sea.”
To address this, Limitless provides ice for the cold plunge tubs during summer. “We’re trying to make this an ice bath destination all year round. This needs time and marketing. This year it worked well, but we still don’t have enough visitors to make it 50-50. But I hope next year, when we promote throughout winter that we’re not closing, that we continue with the ice and cold water, they’ll keep coming.”
A Generational Shift
What strikes me most about our conversation is Piotr’s observation about younger generations and wellness. I share my own thoughts: at 55, I’ve noticed that when I was in my twenties and thirties, fitness wasn’t as much a priority in the UK and Ireland. It was all about having a good time and having a drink. Now, younger people are taking their fitness and mental health far more seriously.
“Yes, exactly,” Piotr agrees enthusiastically. “We were pushed by the young generation to offer zero-alcohol options like beer and other drinks, because they started asking for them. They don’t want to drink alcohol anymore, which is great for me because I never drink alcohol either. That was the original idea, not having alcohol at this place. Many people are asking for zero-alcohol beer or other zero-alcohol options. This is surprising for me because it’s really changing. They’re more educated now about how recovery after fitness or the gym is helped by cold water. When they go into cold water, they naturally want to go to the sauna afterwards. I think going to the sauna helps a lot of people start cold water swimming. That’s how I started going to the sauna, because of cold water. I think many people are doing the same. Not the opposite, where they knew that the sauna is healthy and then decided to try it. No, it starts from the cold water, which is also good.”
The Ice Bath Challenge
As our conversation draws to a close, I confess my nervousness. I’ve been taking saunas for years, but I’ve never done a proper cold plunge. We usually just have a cold shower afterwards in the UK and Ireland because we don’t have the facilities.
“What’s your recommendation for me?” I ask. “How long should I stay in the cold plunge?”
“Definitely not shorter than two minutes,” Piotr says firmly.
“Two minutes?! That seems like quite a long time!”
“Mrs Agnieszka will provide you with ice. I hope we have it today. She’ll put some ice in the barrel and she’ll coach you a little bit. Please stay more than two minutes, because after one and a half to two minutes, depending on your body, dopamine is released into your body. This completely changes your thinking and your feeling. After two minutes in the ice, you’ll actually want to stay. For you, it won’t matter whether you leave or stay, and you’ll be happy to stay for three or four minutes. You don’t have to stay longer, but you should try to experience that shift. If you’re healthy, if you have no disease or problems with blood circulation or anything like that, you should aim for two to three minutes. Let’s set a timer and you’ll see that after two minutes you’ll feel that you can stay longer and it doesn’t matter anymore. You should experience this feeling today.”
He offers one more crucial piece of advice. “What I do with guests is I push them to go to the barrel before the sauna. Yes, really, because from the sauna you’re going from 100 degrees Celsius to two degrees or zero degrees, whatever the water temperature is. That’s a 100-degree difference. In the beginning, going from the sauna to the barrel is easy, but staying is more difficult. But when you go in now, your body temperature is 36 degrees and outside is probably about 15 degrees in Poland. So you only have a 15-degree difference. It’s much better, much easier for the body. Not for the head, not for the mind, but easier for the body. So you should go to the barrel first. Survive it. Don’t think about being cold. Think about something nice. The body will react and give you signals: ‘What am I doing here? Let’s get out.’ But try to push through this and think about something pleasant. Your arms and legs will be painful, but this is normal because the blood isn’t flowing to your legs and arms. The body wants to survive, it wants to warm up, so it keeps the blood circulation in the core, not in the extremities. That’s why you’ll feel pain in your legs and arms, especially in your feet. But push through this. This is normal, nothing unusual. I still experience this pain even after 16 years. Just stay for two or three minutes and then call me later and tell me how it was.”
The Experience
After we finish our conversation, I steel myself for what’s ahead. Following Piotr’s advice, I approach the ice bath first. The barrel sits there, innocuous-looking in the soft glow of the fairy lights, but I know what awaits. Mrs Agnieszka, the instructor, has prepared it with ice, and as I lower myself in, the shock is immediate and total.
The first 30 seconds are brutal. Every nerve ending screams at me to get out. But I focus on my breathing, on staying calm, on thinking about something pleasant. The pain in my feet and hands is exactly as Piotr described. At one minute, I’m not sure I can make it. At 90 seconds, something shifts. The panic subsides. At two minutes, I understand what Piotr meant. The dopamine kicks in, and suddenly I’m not fighting the cold anymore. I’m in it, with it, part of it. I stay for over three minutes, and when I finally emerge, I feel electrified, alive in a way I’ve never experienced before.
The sauna that follows is transcendent. The sauna master, a skilled practitioner of the ancient Finnish tradition, takes the experience to another level. He ritualistically wafts towels to disperse the intense heat throughout the cabin, creating waves of warmth that wash over me. Essential oils fill the air with calming scents, and relaxing mood music creates an atmosphere that is almost meditative. By the third sauna session, interspersed with cold plunges, I’m in a state that can only be described as euphoric. I’m almost hallucinating slightly, floating in a space between wakefulness and dreams.
When I finally emerge after my third and final sauna session, I feel unbelievably relaxed, refreshed, and rejuvenated. I feel like a new man. This isn’t hyperbole. Something fundamental has shifted. The combination of extreme cold and extreme heat, the dopamine rush, the endorphins, the skilled guidance of the sauna master, all of it has combined to create an experience that transcends mere relaxation. This is transformation.
A Place Born from Dreams
What Piotr has created at Limitless by Autopay is more than just a wellness facility. It’s a manifestation of a philosophy, a way of life that embraces the natural power of heat and cold to unlock human potential. The tagline on their website says it all: “We have everything you need to train your happiness.”
The facilities reflect this holistic approach. Two Finnish saunas provide the heat. Two ice bath tubs offer the cold. A functional indoor gym and an outdoor gym (available in spring and summer) allow for physical training. Exercise and relaxation rooms host hot yoga, breathing technique classes, and core and spine exercises. The Food & Chill zone provides nourishment and social space. And through it all, the Baltic Sea is just 80 metres away, offering the ultimate cold water experience for those brave enough to take the plunge.
Piotr himself embodies the philosophy. A professional racing sailor who has competed in the America’s Cup and won 16 World Championships, he understands the importance of recovery, of pushing limits, of finding harmony with natural elements. When he’s not racing boats around the world, he’s here in Sopot, or rather, he’s created a place that can run without him, staffed by people like Adam, described on the website as “professional, competent, always smiling, bursting with energy,” and the skilled instructors who guide guests through their cold water and sauna journeys.
The location itself is perfect. Nestled in a coastal forest at Hestia Street 5, just off entrance number 42 to the beach, Limitless offers tranquillity and nature whilst remaining accessible in the heart of the Tri-City. The sound of the Baltic waves provides a constant soundtrack, and the fresh sea air mingles with the scent of pine and sauna smoke.
The Future of Wellness Tourism
As I reflect on my experience, still feeling the afterglow hours later, I realise that places like Limitless represent the future of wellness tourism. This isn’t about luxury spa treatments or pampering (though there’s nothing wrong with those). This is about something more primal, more powerful. It’s about reconnecting with our bodies’ natural responses to extreme conditions. It’s about pushing through discomfort to find euphoria on the other side. It’s about understanding that true wellness comes not from avoiding stress, but from learning to embrace and recover from it.
For Sopot, Limitless is another jewel in the crown of its low-season appeal. When the summer tourists have gone and the beach is quiet, this is when Limitless truly comes alive. The cold water in the Baltic is at its most invigorating. The contrast between the freezing sea and the hot sauna is at its most extreme. And the sense of accomplishment from completing a cold water swim or ice bath in October, November, or February is immense.
Piotr’s vision of making Limitless a year-round destination is well on its way to being realised. The challenge of educating Polish visitors that sauna is beneficial in summer too is being met with ice-filled plunge tubs and a growing understanding that recovery and wellness don’t take a holiday. The influx of Nordic visitors, already accustomed to sauna culture and cold water swimming, is helping to build a year-round community of wellness enthusiasts.
As I prepare to leave, still glowing from my experience, I think about Piotr’s parting words: “Please call me later and tell me how it was.” Well Piotr, I’ll tell you this: what you’ve created here is extraordinary. It’s a place where dreams become reality, where cold becomes warmth, where discomfort becomes joy, and where visitors become converts to a way of life that honours the body, challenges the mind, and trains happiness.
Limitless by Autopay
Hestia Street 5, Sopot (entrance no. 42)
80 metres from the Baltic Sea
Tel: +48 780 759 894
- Facilities: Two Finnish saunas, two ice bath tubs, functional indoor gym, outdoor gym (seasonal), exercise and relaxation rooms, Food & Chill zone
- Services: Winter swimming with instructor, breathing techniques classes, hot yoga, core & spine exercises, group and corporate events, sauna events
- Operating Hours: Open all year round, Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM
- Bookings: Via Booksy.com or phone: +48 780 759 894
