‘Affordable, approachable’ Nordic pursuits Sauna, cold plunge business Saunic expands to second Winnipeg location in early 2026 By: Aaron Epp Posted: 5:40 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/12/2025 (254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sauna, cold plunge and community.

That’s what an entrepreneurial Winnipeg couple says their business offers. Saunic co-founders Kyle Silva and Dani Boily say they were inspired by their travels through Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

They fell in love with how Nordic countries approach sauna culture as a communal pursuit, unlike North America, where many view it as a quiet, personal activity.

“People are communicating, they’re talking and they’re engaging and they have a lot of fun within the spaces of saunas and cold plunges,” said Silva, 33. “So we wanted to try bringing that to our home city here in Winnipeg.”

Saunic aims to be a third space, Boily added — an environment where people can connect outside of their homes or work.

“It was really important to make it affordable and more approachable as well, like somewhere you can go just to hang out,” said Boily, 32. “It’s hard to find places (where) you can go hang out with people (that don’t revolve) around drinking or spending a lot of money.”

“It’s hard to find places (where) you can go hang out with people (that don’t revolve) around drinking or spending a lot of money.”

The duo opened Saunic’s first location in August. Located at 398 Daly St. N on the same property as Low Life Barrel House, the semi-outdoor space includes two saunas: a wood-burning sauna large enough for six to eight people, and an electric sauna that seats 15 to 20 people.

In the spring, summer and fall, there are four cold plunge tubs, plus two relaxation areas.

“It’s really your typical Nordic cycle,” Boily said. “So you use the hot, the cold and then relax.”

Customers pay around $40 for a 110-minute session, allowing them to repeat the cycle three to five times. Proponents of what is known as contrast therapy say it reduces inflammation, boots the immune system, improves circulation, relieves stress and enhances sleep quality.

Now, Silva and Boily are preparing to open a second, indoor location at 665 Stafford St.

They have been renovating the space for the past year and plan to have it open by April 1. It will include an electric sauna large enough to accommodate 35 people, and three cold plunge tubs — two that can hold up to two people and one that can hold as many as four.

The location includes a large basement the entrepreneurs call “the den.” They envision it as a multi-purpose space that will host wellness events related to yoga and meditation, and potentially comedy shows and crafting events. It will also be available to rent for private functions.

Silva, who has a background in corporate finance, and Boily, who works in marketing, have invested more than $1 million into the two locations so far.

The couple say they interviewed dozens of sauna and cold plunge manufacturers before settling on companies that aligned with their vision to create something using natural materials that aren’t treated with chemicals.

The couple spent 2022 to 2024 working remotely and visiting 30 different countries. The decor inside the Stafford Street location will be inspired by their travels, particularly the time they spent in Morocco and Portugal, where Silva’s family is originally from.

“We tried to make it obviously very attractive to our guests, but also have a lot of meaning to us,” Silva said. “We’re hoping when we go in there we can feel a sense of our journey together getting to this point.”

Silva and Boily initially envisioned opening their Stafford Street storefront first, but approached Low Life Barrel House about starting a location there after being impressed with the brewery and winery’s efforts to host wellness-focused community-building events, including a run club, bike club and pop-up workouts.

The couple thought a business offering saunas and cold plunge tubs would pair well with Low Life’s events.

Low Life owner Adam Carson says he was skeptical when the couple first approached him, but he quickly warmed up to the idea.

“It seemed like a unique thing to draw more people to our space,” Carson said. “And we thought we could help them by (encouraging) people who are coming to these fitness (events) to kind of go right next door and enjoy the services that they had as well.”

It’s been a “very easy and very seamless” partnership, he added.

Saunic’s Daly Street location is closed for the next two months, but will reopen at the beginning of March. The Stafford Street location will follow a few weeks later.

Silva and Boily employ four people, a number they anticipate doubling when the second location opens. The couple is also looking to expand the brand beyond Winnipeg, Silva said.

“But it was so important for both of us to be able to open this in our community (first), and have it with our friends and our families (in) the city that raised us,” he said. “So that’s been really cool.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca