Lykke Health Concept: café, physiotherapy, and Pilates on Reformers [interview]

Is it possible to combine specialized knowledge in urogynaecological physiotherapy, a passion for modern Pilates, and a love for stimulating teas in one place? The story of Ola and Piotr, the creators of Krakow’s Lykke Health Concept, shows that the most unconventional business visions arise from authentic needs and the courage to step outside established patterns.

Before the first professional Pilates equipment, such as the legendary Allegro 2, stood in their studio, Ola and Piotr built a community outdoors by organizing training sessions by the Vistula River. Today, we invite you to discuss how to combine private life with professional life, why transparency on social media is a way to win clients’ hearts, and how modern equipment from Balanced Body supports therapy for pregnant women. Discover the story of a place where medical professionalism meets home warmth and caffeine stimulation.

[Iza Wiśniewska from Balanced Body Polska]: Welcome to Krakow! Today we take you to a place that combines expert physiotherapy, Pilates on reformers, and a café. We are guests of Ola and Piotr. We are very pleased that you agreed to host us.

[Aleksandra Geisler]: We are pleased as well.

[Iza]: They created this fascinating project – Lykke Health Concept. Welcome to the business world of Balanced Body! Ola, Lykke is a project that arose from a dream of having your own practice, as you are a physiotherapist. What prompted you to combine not only physiotherapy but also Pilates, along with a café?

[Ola]: Well, as you mentioned, it was a dream of having my own practice. And at some point, I fell in love with Pilates, especially on the reformer. So it was a natural combination of physiotherapy and Pilates for me, as they really complement each other. And the café? Piotr came up with the idea to diversify the place. To simply create a space for women where they can meet, talk, and also get to know new people. I was once looking for such a place to meet some girls, acquaintances. But here with the café, thanks to Piotr, we have it.

[Iza]: Exactly, Piotr, is the café a strategic element of the studio’s development?

[Piotr Brynkus]: It was meant to be more of a complement to our offer. Just as Ola mentioned, when people come to us, we wanted them to have a point of reference, a place to sit after classes, relax, and have something to drink. And just as we will be launching the practice, we also assume that even while waiting for an appointment, someone could come, wait, and have a coffee. My dream has always been to have a mini café. This is also a fulfillment of my dream.

[Iza]: So you combined in jedno dwa marzenia.  

[Piotrek]: You could put it that way. 

[Iza]: Great! Ola, before you opened this studio, you were already building a community. I know you organized events like “Pilates by the Vistula.” Tell me, how important was this strategy for building brand recognition? 

[Ola]: Actually, it was a brilliant idea. And also thanks to Piotrek. Because I really had mixed feelings about it, I was a bit scared, but it had a huge impact on the actual opening of the studio, as we had already created a client base and we could really show ourselves. We are new in Krakow, no one knew us, and we had the opportunity for them to get to know us, to see how I conduct classes, what I focus on, and what I pay attention to. So even before the studio opened, we already had a base of girls who practically attended every “Pilates by the Vistula” event. 

[Iza]: So, how does the combination of these three concepts that keep coming up here affect your marketing? 

[Ola]: Piotrek, I pass the baton to you. 

[Piotrek]: I think it makes things easier. And it also seems to me that it is difficult to run an account where – I am referring mainly to social media here – we focus solely on one part of the business, which is, let’s say, Pilates. I think it’s a bit easier when we can diversify the content, referring a bit to either the café offerings or touching on medical issues related to physiotherapy that we will have. So it definitely makes things a bit easier. It also enriches the image that people have of us. 

[Iza]: You work together here. How do you divide responsibilities? 

[Ola]: That is always the best question. I think it has come about quite naturally, as I handle things more “on-site,” meaning I conduct classes, work with patients, and I also work more with the staff here. Piotrek takes care of things more related to the backend, so to speak, like all the finances, accounting, and all those business matters. So I think that division has also come about naturally. 

[Iza]: You are a physiotherapist specializing in urogynaecology, as well as a pelvic floor muscle trainer, and you also work with pregnant women. Tell me, what should one pay attention to… [Ola]: When conducting such classes, if we focus on intimate health, especially working with pregnant women, I mainly focus on the “core” and ensuring that the deep muscles work correctly together. That is, to avoid increasing intra-abdominal pressure. This is very, very important because, for example, a pregnant woman has the baby pressing hard on the pelvic floor, but the same goes for women who struggle with issues such as urinary incontinence. They usually have a heavily burdened pelvic floor. And here in the classes, I focus a lot on ensuring that the exercises do not increase intra-abdominal pressure, so that we can actually activate the diaphragm correctly, whether we do it on an inhale or an exhale, so that it works properly with the pelvic floor and the transverse abdominal muscle.

[Iza]: And for pregnant women – is it more mat or more reformer?

[Ola]: I like the reformer, but really, the mat is also nice. On the reformer, the girls sometimes prefer it because it offers some variety, and they feel a bit excluded from the reformer during pregnancy. Because you really need to have knowledge here and know how to perform certain exercises, in which positions we cannot work. In which positions we can relieve their spine, we can relieve the pelvic floor. But for example, I really like to work on the reformer, even when we do exercises with straps on the legs, we can nicely open the hips without compensating with the lumbar spine.

[Iza]: Now let’s move on to more business-related questions.

[Ola]: I pass the baton to you.

[Iza]: Although I don’t know if that’s good, because I wanted to ask how your medical knowledge influenced the choice of equipment for this studio?

[Ola]: Okay. I think so, I am a proponent of contemporary Pilates because I see how many dysfunctions or various ailments my patients, clients have – I have them myself. So I know how to properly select exercises and, for example, the Allegro 2 equipment that we have makes it much easier for me. It is intuitive, I can change the footbar position, it allows for soft movements, it is more stable, and I also feel that it is easier to handle, which is extremely important when doing exercises, for example, with pregnant women. It is a great convenience for me.

[Iza]: Piotrek, from a financial point of view, why did you also choose Balanced Body equipment?

[Piotrek]: I admit without hesitation that I relied on Ola. However, it was indeed the case that we were surveying, let’s say, the opinions of people who exercise and use these reformers. And many people indeed recommended them as equipment you can rely on. So as I said, I fully relied on Ola’s decision.

[Iza]: Olu, in one of your Instagram posts, your team wrote about you that you practically managed the entire process yourself, from renovations to material selection, and you constantly provided updates on Instagram about the studio’s development. That rarely happens, and it’s really great. How does such transparent communication affect the overall perception of your studio?

[Ola]: I think it showed, although Piotrek helped me a lot here. I actually had more time, so I could be on the construction site all the time and supervise, but I know that without Piotrek, I wouldn’t have managed. But the fact that we did a lot of things ourselves and that we showed what it looked like behind the scenes, I think gave us a… people looked at us as just individuals who also struggle with various issues. Because, of course, creating something of your own, a business, and renovations are never easy. So we also showed what we were dealing with, that some things are not easy. We also wanted people to feel a sense of unity with us, so to speak, or that they could also participate in the selection of certain materials, because we conducted surveys, for example, which tiles are prettier, which color to choose. So I think they could feel engaged.

[Iza]: And what has this given you in terms of relationships with future clients? Did it allow you to establish your presence?

[Ola]: Yes, I think it has a lot. I think it has a lot, because those clients, let’s say clients, because now they are our regular clients from “Pilates by the Vistula,” and the fact that we showed and were constantly in contact with these people definitely gave us a lot of engagement, and even now. We practically know everyone; it has become very homely for us. So we can always talk, and when we come in, everyone says there is such a homely atmosphere, and that’s what we were aiming for.

[Iza]: And indeed, this homely atmosphere is a signal pushing you to create events like Cozy Pilates, where we have a movie screening under a blanket and also use reformers?

[Ola]: Yes, that’s a great idea that actually came about because we have a combination of training on reformers, and then we simply socialize, so to speak, that we are together and the girls can get to know each other. I always missed something like that because in today’s world, it’s hard to meet, I don’t know, in adult life, so to speak, to find acquaintances to talk to, to spend time together, and also watch a nice classic film on screen. So I think it really enjoys a lot of interest, and the girls were very satisfied.

[Iza]: You are a couple. Do you have any time outside of running this studio together, and do you have any other passions that somehow translate into running the business?

[Ola]: Yes, and I will pass the baton to you.

[Piotrek]: Other passions… we spend a lot of time cycling. However, I must admit that this past year, where we used to travel often and had plenty of time, has been incredibly intense, and we had to give up some of those ideas. For example, at this moment we are already thinking about combining our hobby with running a studio here. We were considering implementing preparatory training for the next cycling season on the reformer, for instance. Or also combining cycling and Pilates retreats in some nice location. So we will see what comes of it.

[Iza]: Great ideas, you are developing. Now, let each of you name one business element that you believe determines the success of Lykke?

[Ola]: I think it’s transparency, that we also show our weaknesses, we openly talk about what we specialize in, what we know well, and what we don’t necessarily know, what works well for us. And because of that, I think we have created a homey atmosphere, where it’s clear that sometimes things are not perfect. So I think that shows that it’s just normal for us.

[Iza]: And Piotrek?

[Piotrek]: I would share Ola’s view here. From the beginning, we tried to operate by attaching some kind of face to the studio, which happened to be ours, but we wanted to give the studio a face. So that people don’t feel like they are entering a gym, where they just come, change, exercise, and leave, but rather that they can feel a bit more relaxed here, a bit like at home. So it seems to me that this was an important, perhaps not entirely intentional move, but one that actually translates into how we interact with our clients.

[Iza]: Looking to the future, how do you see Lykke going forward?

[Ola]: To be honest, we are not looking that far ahead yet. We want to focus on making our classes truly high-quality. We are still finalizing the renovation of our office, but I would definitely like to develop the area of urogynecology here more, as I know how important it is now and that women are becoming more aware of it. They also need urogynecological physiotherapy and Pilates, as they really connect very well.

[Piotrek]: As Ola said, I think it would be nice to first wrap up all those issues that are still open, such as finishing the office renovation. We are also planning to diversify the walls a bit, so that more things can hang on them, and we are still waiting for some furniture. Probably in the summer or at the beginning of the season, we would like to focus a bit more on the café, as we will have a garden, so there is a lot of work to do. And then we will see, for now, we will take it easy.

[Iza]: From the perspective of what you have already experienced, what is your most important advice for those who are in a similar position as you were some time ago, thinking: we want to open a studio.

[Ola]: Definitely not to give up, because complications will definitely arise. We faced quite a few ourselves, including renovations, as many issues came up, as they say. To not give up, to move forward, and unfortunately, to work hard, because there’s no way around that. So the last few months have been very tough for us, little sleep, a lot of work, but it paid off, so now, although we have only been open for a short time, I am proud that we managed to just grit our teeth, move forward, and open the studio.

[Iza]: Thank you very much for having us, for welcoming us so warmly, and for sharing your story about how it all happened. We are keeping our fingers crossed for you…

[Ola]: Thank you very much!

[Iza]: …and we wish that all your plans and dreams related to this place come true. Dear viewers, we invite you to Lykke Health Concept in Krakow, truly a place worth visiting. And we also invite you to our website balanced-body.pl, where you will find the Allegro 2, which we have here behind us, about which Ola has said so many nice things.

[Ola]: Exactly.

[Iza]: Thank you and see you in the next episode.

[Ola and Piotrek]: Thank you very much.

Lykke Health Concept is a living proof that determination in pursuing goals and attention to the highest quality of services yield tangible results. Although the journey from the first renovation challenge to original events like “Cozy Pilates” was demanding, Ola and Piotr show that success in the wellness industry is built on authenticity and showing the “human face” of business.

If you dream of opening your own studio, let this story be an inspiration for you: do not be afraid to combine passion, do not give up in the face of difficulties, and invest in proven, professional equipment, such as from Balanced Body.

And if you want to feel the energy of this place for yourself, be sure to visit Ola and Piotr in their Krakow oasis of Pilates.

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