In the sum
mer of 1970, Mikhail Brodsky, at that time a junior mathematics student at Moscow State University, went to Western Siberia to make some extra money by logging trees cut during the winter on the Konda River. There he was introduced to Sibe
rian steam bathing in a small banya and fell in love with it. He started to visit and study all banyas he could find, and became known as “Archimedes” in the oldest and most famous Moscow banya “Sanduny” for his ability to help its personnel solve different problems.
In the Summer of 1974, Mikhail, now a graduate student and still needing to make extra money, went to the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific Coast of Russia to build a swimming pool for local communist party bureaucrats. Working conditions and the weather there were so harsh that he survived only due to the daily use of natural radon hot springs. He fell in love with natural springs and started to go to all possible destinations from Iceland to Ethiopia, from Japan to Germany, and everywhere in North America to experience new ones.
In
the summer of 1998, Dr. Brodsky, then a research professor in the UC Berkeley Statistics Department, applied for the position of Chairman of Department of Mathematics at San Francisco State University. He did not get it; however the rejection led him to a decision to do something really valuable for people. The choice was evident: a public banya in San Francisco. He presented the plan to a group of banya lovers at “Frogs”, a public sauna in Fairfax. The idea was considered a joke by his relatives and friends, and as Mikhail’s insanity by the Russian speaking community.
In summer of 1999, Mikhail, still a research at UC Berkeley, and Reinhard Imhof, founded Banya 2000 LLC together with 2 friends. They bought a lot near the former Hunters Point Shipyard and planned to build the banya in 2000. Their very ambitious plan turned into a 12 year journey of development and construction. The lot location provided incredible views of the city and bay. During these years, having made numerous trips to the location, Mikhail never regretted the time and money spent on the project even at times when the project looked dead.
On December 31, 2011, Mikhail Brodsky, the President of Lincoln University (a position he continues to hold today), his partners and the construction team completed and opened Archimedes Banya for the people of the Bay Area and its guests. It became real due to Mikhail’s love for banyas and spas and his determination. He would not have been able to do it without the help and trust of his friends and partners, among them Reinhard Imholf from Switzerland; Gary Varum originally from Moldova; Alexander Generalov, Eugene Trilesnik, and Alex Roshal from Russia; Sam Kwong from Hong Kong; Vadim Puyandaev from Israel and originally from Kazakhstan; and many others from Mexico, Germany, Israel, China, Korea, Algeria, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Georgia, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Serbia, Ireland, and the United States.