When I met Cosmin, 4 years ago, at Therme, I was surprised to see how young he was, much younger than I imagined. He was 25 at the time. At the same meeting, I was to find out from his colleague, Andrada Seitan, the PR director, that he had come on his day off. He never said for a second: I can't, on the contrary, he accepted the day and time as soon as I proposed to meet, which impressed me.
He likes to introduce himself as "Cosmin from Wellness" because he feels he is fully represented by this vast field focused on prevention, protection and improvement: In "Wellness I trust', this is my calling, this is my voice and this is what I will do until the end of my life, I wouldn't change this in another two lifetimes if I lived."
"I was passionate about biology, biochemistry and physics. I have not been drawn to any other subject, and learning and reading in these subjects feed my curiosity and appetite for knowledge in the deepest way, the food of my soul.
From the age of 12 I hung out in gyms, did weight lifting, then fitness, tried Muay Thai, boxing and fell in love with functional training, calisthenics and later cross fit. Through training I would see friends injuring themselves, overworking their joints, having aches, muscle tears, contractures and I wondered how to prevent injuries or protect the working systems of athletes.
By 2005 - 2009 there was a strong trend with steroidal substances for muscle building and the side effects were very strong. I was very intrigued by how a person who wants to stop using them and wants to regain their health regains balance. So I started reading, learning homeopathy and phytotherapy for herbs that help boost testosterone, foods or organic compounds that improve digestion and deliver nutrients to muscles, joints and speed up healing or recovery.
I was fascinated with the Orient, with the Shaolin, the Tibetan priests, the monastery fighters, and I wanted to understand how they had explosive strength and dynamism, and their muscles were capable of producing very high mechanical work and rapid contractions. My consciousness was seized with a lot of questions and an expansive curiosity in everything related to the human body and its development with the help of natural elements. I chose the faculty of Kineto and practiced on orthopedics, I worked as an assistant kinesiotherapist both on neurological deficiencies and locomotor system symptomatology. I delved into the wellness field and began researching the cognitive elements, senses, perceptions and the power of the human brain over reality.
I'm obsessed (passionate is an understatement and does not reflect my reality) with physiotherapy, aromatherapy and other complementary therapies that improve the quality of life and provide positive development or maintenance of the body. Since 2016 I am Wellness Manager at Therme Bucharest and I am a licensed kinesiotherapist, personal trainer and aromatherapist, and before that I worked in spas on cruise ships."
She didn't want to stay in the country, but still went for the interview because she wanted to see what was going on in the country and what projects were coming up. "I applied for a Wellness Staff job and went to the interview in a black t-shirt with army pants, pierce in my eyebrow, earring in my ear and a bushy beard, glad to be rid of the strict regulation of shaving every day. I wanted to explore and hear what they had to present, I wanted to know; nothing more. I was the black sheep of all the candidates who showed up with their suits at the ready. I don't know if I would have hired myself back then, but the people at the top saw the potential, they sensed the passion, they saw my desire and optimism. Brilliant, open, visionary people who could understand. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised! The discussion was light and approachable, the project seemed unreal and its complexity was beyond my mental capacity; I was challenged and incited.
Because they believed in me, I evolved quickly, I assimilated, I read, I researched, I discovered, I learned everything I could, I had the chance to prove that they were not wrong about me. My obsession with health became my profession and my dedication ensured that I was constantly working," says Cosmin.
"To be a specialist in my country, in my motherland, to work for my people, my family, my friends is the most beautiful thing. To be able to develop, to have the security of tomorrow, to be respected and appreciated in the place where I was born. Until the project Therme BucharestI had no hope and wanted to leave the country as soon as possible. It is very nice to know that I no longer have to escape or become a fugitive, to leave my loved ones behind for a better life."
Cosmin I later also observed Cosmin as a client, on a Sunday I spent with a friend at the Therme. With consummate professionalism, he introduced us to the activities and guided us in which order to experience them. I noticed how nicely he spoke about each of his colleagues who were in charge.
"I think motivation is overrated. I believe in discipline, repetition and the power of example more than motivation. Some of my colleagues love me, some respect me and some rival me. I am very happy with that and that's the way it should be. To win their attention, loyalty and commitment, I have always been actively listening, understanding where they are coming from, where they are going, observing their inclinations, aspirations and desires and intervening only when asked. Through my experience so far and all that I have studied, I have the ability to discuss massage sequences, biomechanics, anatomy and innervation with a Therapist. With a wellness trainer, I discuss aromatherapy, scrubs and physiology, and with an aerobic fitness instructor, I can talk about exercise adaptation, cardiovascular response, nutritional supplements, etc. People are impressed when they meet someone who has at least the same level of knowledge and with whom they can develop a complex discussion or debate topics of interest."
With its mix of thermal water pools, affordable price and design, Therme could have remained the No. 1 choice for many years without bothering to add all sorts of other wellness activities to the program to educate the public. In the saunas you can do beauty rituals with roses and pomegranate, Siberian sauna with mint and eucalyptus, sugar and coffee exfoliation, Moroccan clay mask and many others. In swimming pools, aquagym etc. Cosmin and his team have created this program, and what's more, they have done it in a fun and appealing style for all ages.
"I have in my team specialists, very competent and extremely passionate people, elite professionals that I have chosen and with whom I debate, prepare protocols and assist me in implementation. Without the team I am just a dreamer. With them I manage to make health, prevention and wellness available to all our visitors; with the team I have action and results, not just ideas and concepts. Formally I am the leader, but morally I am part of a whole, the organism, called the Wellness department which contains wellness trainers and therapists."
Cosmin's value convinced me to propose him later on as a speaker at various events where I was invited, both at home and abroad. The mix between his self-confidence and his presentations was admirable and each time left a strong impression. Impressed by his personality, Natasa Ranitovic, President of the Wellness Cluster in Serbia, extended her stay in Romania for another day, after a Congress we organized in Baile Herculane, so that she could see for herself what Cosmin has managed to do with Therme in just a few years. What's the secret?
"I have a few rules on which I base my confidence, I start from the perception that my interlocutor knows more than me (which ignites my competitive spirit); I listen and not just hear; when I am out of my depth, I recognize and step back; I accept that there are opinions and views that differ completely from my own; I recognize that I am limited by age and time and that, no matter how good you are, you cannot compare yourself to someone with as much experience in the field as I have in my lifetime; I feel I can do better and I feel good in my own skin, even though I have many faults, more than most. Like Arghezi, I believe that my security is the result of the 'nunciation' between the 'slova de foc' (inspiration) and the 'slova făurită' (work or accumulated experience)."
I'm energetic and dynamic and these characteristics incline me towards impulsiveness and reactivity. I've come across situations where I've been wrong, responded without being aware and without thinking through the implications or considering the longer term, spur of the moment emotional responses and volcanic reactions. I learned to be patient, to plan, to wait for the opportune moment and to act proactively. I learned through scarring that one good idea at the wrong time is worth 10 bad ideas. I have learned that the human is not to give help but to provide tools to solve, trust and resolve. Situations are numerous, complicated and diverse, it doesn't have to be easy but I have to have the ability to solve them.
I have learned that a good manager is not the one who creates dependency and is omnipresent breathing down the necks of employees. A manager is someone who supports ideas, helps development, promotes passion and desire and intervenes for guidance, direction and support. If by some misfortune something happens to me and the department's productivity or efficiency decreases, I have not been a good manager.
The most rewarding part of my job came from the 17-day Sauna Fest 3rd Edition (2019). Sauna Fest started as an event for sauna and spa enthusiasts lasting 3 days, 1st Edition 2017. A fun and educational event presenting different aromatherapy activities in the saunas, inspired by ancient rituals of bygone civilizations, and different scrubbing or peeling activities with natural products according to oriental knowledge.
The third edition of SaunaFest incorporated fitness activities, specific body treatments, new sauna procedures and rituals, sound therapy, nutrition and body remodeling, wellness cuisine and the impact on the visitors was huge. I was fortunate and grateful to have been helped by the Therme Events Director, who gave me all the support possible with all the staff in her department.
17 days of unique activities, training, managing, managing, arranging and guiding 30 sauna masters, herbalists and aromatherapists from Poland, Germany, Hawaii, Denmark, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands plus the wellness team of 13 wellness trainers. Everything had to be arranged to the smallest detail, the demand was very high even on weekdays, our visitors were amazed and left with unique memories and stories.
My colleagues put in a huge effort to realize the event, they were tired, exhausted, but they were all happy, they were all smiling, they were full of enthusiasm; it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. At the end of the event I was flooded with positive Facebook messages, emails of thanks, appreciation and gratitude. The foreign guests who visited us had only words of praise and left very impressed with the Wellness Therme team. We felt love, respect, pride and gratitude. I felt that what I do is bigger than myself. I felt that my purpose is beneficial, that I am on the right track. I felt like a successful man.
The greatest achievement I consider the establishment, formation and concretization of the massage department, a Romanian-Filipino hybrid. A clash of cultures, two schools of massage different in concept, approach, working protocols, mentalities. By uniting the common points and through a meritocracy based on quality, we ended up having 1600 massages a month. The impact on visitors and their satisfaction is amazing. Anyone I think is able to contract a cosmetic manufacturer or distributor to ask for working protocols, costs per treatment and indications on therapies... True structure is formed when therapists discuss, present, debate and choose the best ideas that cover the need of our visitors.
Working protocols that allow them to utilize their true skills, knowledge and abilities so that they literally help, improve and influence every visitor that passes through their hands. Therapists should not be limited by a cosmetics company telling them what, how and how much, they need to be liberated and their treatments need to be adaptable, tailored to the client's need.
Incredibly hard and unmemorably ugly. Blank pages of my life, it felt like. Being addicted to happiness, I missed the team, I missed the personal interaction, I missed the action, the situations and the activities I had. In the first part, with the restrictions being drastic, I had nowhere to train nor how to escape on a walk or exploration.
I guess I couldn't get through this time without my loved one, my family and my dog. The 2 weekly sessions with the Wellness team helped me to stay positive, hope, dream and wish for a recovery. I would have been lost without the people around me. Each week we would share books, podcasts, wellness trends, new research or hobbies and we would stretch to chat for 2-3 hours. I hope they know I needed them more than they needed me.
We worked on different concepts and provided wellness input on the research, definition and implementation side together with colleagues from Therme XPR for ongoing and future projects.
We have been working on reopening the Wellness department with a new set of activities according to the new rules. This post-covid wellness that we have to practice and that changes its form but not the result and purpose. We have arranged things so that the Wellness department can protect clients under any regulation and under any conditions and the client experience is not distorted or damaged as a result of restrictions.
This is the best teaching experience of my life! I didn't think there was anything like this in Romania and I didn't think I would ever find something that stimulates me intellectually so deeply. It's brilliant!
I chose this Master's because I want to understand what culture means, what customs mean, what relating and communicating with people from other backgrounds means. I have worked with Indonesians, Africans, Serbians, Germans, Filipinos and the cultural diversity continues to increase as I progress in the field. As a manager I need to understand commonalities and accept diverse positions so that I can structure a mixed team of members that can work in tandem. Without understanding the individual I cannot form a "pack" with a common goal.
I remain with many many new knowledge and respect for Romanian university education. I come from the real profile, all I know is biology, biochemistry and some physics, and most of my colleagues in university come from philology, economics or foreign languages and are much more capable than me to assimilate. My path is very hard, everything is new, I don't know anything! This is how education should be, it should open new horizons. I am very pleased with what I found in the Unesco Chair.
I'm disappointed with myself for not giving everything I could; the pandemic period affected me and I couldn't really concentrate or dedicate myself.
I hate with all my heart people who say "a mess of a country" or say that it is better abroad and find beauty only abroad. It is not the country that is to blame for people's behavior, for their actions and for the corrupt and unstable systems that continue to disappoint. I wish that those who make such claims would live in Erdogan's Turkey, at least 1 year in the USA, a few months in Mexico or a few weeks in India. We have a wonderful country, the population will get educated, we will become more and more beautiful and intelligent. I just hope it is not too late for Romania.
I can't stand people who blame an external factor for their unhappiness, their incompetence or how they are treated. It is not the circumstances that are to blame but the attitude, the discipline, the ability of those who blame someone or something. In today's society the opposite of courage is not cowardice but conformity.
I derive my joy from the team's result and the development they have. I feel great when the people in my team are praised, appreciated and have results to be proud of. I am very happy to represent a team of specialists, professional people full of enthusiasm, passion and with a great desire to grow.
I feel fulfilled when what I think or what I implement brings satisfaction and helps people. I feel fulfilled when I give something back, when my purpose is fulfilled, when I offer hope, happiness and beauty. One such moment was when out of a Void session at 10pm (aufguss in complete darkness 60 degrees Celsius) a client came out very emotional and said to me "Thank you Cosmin, I can't wait to get home and hold my boy. I have been working very hard and this week I neglected him. I miss him. " Life in the wellness field is full of such positive experiences that remain ingrained in our personality.
I am afraid of disappointing people who believe in me, people who support me, people I care about. This is also the reason for my evolution, fear is not in front of me, it does not block me. The fear of not disappointing is behind me and it pushes me harder than any motivational factor.
The Dunning Kruger effect scares me. It's interesting because undermining or overestimating is part of the same fallacy underpinned by self-awareness. The deeper you get into reading or studying the faster you can fall into the extreme where you admit you know nothing and have barely scratched the surface of the field, or the extreme where after 2 lines read you think you are a Guru of the field.
On a personal level, I want to do the perfumery course at GIP - Grasse institute of Parfumery; in the next few years I will prove this one too.
On a professional level Team Wellness Therme to be the first team in Romania to bring the AufgussWM trophy home. My biggest dream is that the 1st,2nd,3rd positions of the podium will be occupied by my colleagues. In my house I will display a picture with them on the podium; Romania has specialists and they are recognized worldwide!
Wellness tourism will advance and evolve faster and faster. In the long term wellness tourism is a trend with infinite potential and players and locations that realize this will be able to define quality of life. Visitors will want multi-sensory experiences and will increasingly pay attention to details and how the senses complement each other. Activities should be designed in at least 3 dimensions that produce a unique experience combining touch, smell, hearing and taste.
In the short term the population will be inclined to travel in caravans and explore as much as possible, a retreat from pandemic isolation. A wellness akin to the hippie trend where minimalism will define people's desires and choices. People will rediscover their homeland and native places and then continue their journey across the border. They will make many stops and at each stop they will seek a unique experience.
I'd like to bring up a 1950 presentation by Earl Nightingale in which he says "Your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render." And "we can achieve nothing without paying the price." If we do nothing, we become nothing. It's very easy to waste time, it's very easy to watch Netflix, it's very easy to play PlayStation, it's very easy to sit with your phone in your hand. Everything takes a moment. Be aware of your moment!
You can find Cosmin at Bucharest Theme.
Ioana Marian,
Founder despreSpa.ro
Founder despreSpa.ro
