'I hope this inspires more people to explore what Aufguss really is': Galgorm sauna master Zak Moore crowned UK champion and heads to world stage

Zak is the newly crowned UK Aufguss Champion 2025 - earning high praise from the judges as he treated them to a spectacular sauna experience.

A familiar face at Galgorm, 20-year-old Zak began his journey as a spa attendant at the award-winning resort four years ago. Inspired by the ritualistic world of sauna and thermotherapy, he began training in the ancient European art of Aufguss - a multisensory sauna experience that blends heat, scent, and choreographed movement to promote wellness and relaxation.

Aufguss, a German word meaning ‘infusion’, is a ritualised sauna experience that originated in Europe and has grown into a recognised wellness performance art. It blends rising heat, aromatherapy, music, and choreographed towel movements to create a truly immersive, multisensory event.

Far from a typical sauna session, Aufguss is designed to shift energy, improve mood, and leave guests feeling deeply relaxed and revitalised.

"For two years, I watched my colleagues perform these rituals in the spa at Galgorm and saw how guests lit up afterwards,” Zak said. “There was something powerful in how it made guests feel - uplifted, calm, connected. I knew I wanted to be part of that.”

In 2024, Zak entered his first competitive Aufguss event, fittingly held at Galgorm and expertly organised by director at the British Sauna Society Deborah Carr. The experience ignited a fierce determination in Zak to master the craft and his passion soon turned into a personal mission.

After making his competitive debut at Galgorm, he travelled to Farris Bad in Norway - one of the world’s leading centres of sauna culture - where he trained under top international masters including Lasse Eriksen. “The experience was transformative,” Zak recalls.

Drawing on his new techniques and sharpened understanding of sauna storytelling, Zak returned home to prepare for the UK Aufguss Championships in London. His performance, entitled ‘The Dubliner’, stood out for its emotional storytelling, technical precision and immersive atmosphere.

“It was surreal hearing my name called,” he said. “I hope this inspires more people to explore what Aufguss really is.”

Zak’s victory marks a major milestone, not just personally, but for British sauna culture, and his success is being celebrated across the Galgorm team. It’s also a proud moment for his family, as Zak’s mother Tara Moore is Head of Spa Operations at Galgorm, adding a heartwarming family connection to this incredible achievement.

Zak’s international journey now continues as he has just completed an Aufguss Training Camp in Prague, Czech Republic, and will take part in pre-finals training in Verona, Italy in early September. He will then compete at the Aufguss World Championship 2025 later that month, also in Verona, before heading to SaunaFest in Bucharest, Romania in October. His year concludes at the Aufguss Classic Final in November.

Zak’s journey is not only a personal triumph, it reflects Galgorm’s continued commitment to pioneering holistic wellness and its growing reputation as a leader in thermal spa experiences. With a destination spa that draws visitors from across the UK and Ireland, Galgorm has become a place where ancient rituals meet contemporary wellbeing.

As Zak prepares to take the art of Aufguss to the global stage, he is focused on his mission to bring Aufguss into more people’s lives.

“I’d love to make it a familiar wellness practice here at home. It’s not just about performance - it’s about giving people a moment of peace, something they haven’t quite felt before.”