INSIGHT (what we need)

Fitness as a healing modality has arrived.

A Miracle Drug. Those who have self-healed through exercise know the trueness of the old adage “movement is medicine.” But now the mainstream fitness industry of pumping iron and breaking a sweat is finally catching up. Moving the body is the “single most potent tool for preventing disease and extending lifespan” (quoting Peter Attia here). Accessible to everyone at any age, exercise is consistently proven to prevent heart disease, alleviate symptoms of depression, enhance overall quality of life, and extend longevity by nearly every measurable standard. Its benefits are so profound that it’s frequently referred to as a "miracle drug.”

However, despite its transformative power, the traditional gym model remains fragmented. Gym members often find themselves chasing different wellness goals—whether it's weight loss, holistic health, or preventative care—across separate, disjointed services. This scattered approach can dilute the effectiveness of a fitness routine, making it harder for individuals to achieve comprehensive well-being.

Fitness is reshaping. Now, we’re witnessing the rise of integrated wellness operators, a trend set to reshape the fitness industry. These new-age facilities offer more than just a workout—they merge fitness with nutrition, mental health support, and preventative healthcare under one roof. This convergence reflects a shift in how we view health, recognizing that true wellness requires a holistic approach. With gyms expanding their offerings to include services like diet consultation, stress management programs, and personalized health monitoring, they're becoming one-stop shops for total body and mind well-being. This integrated model not only enhances member experience but also fuels industry growth, catering to the increasing demand for comprehensive, accessible wellness solutions.

From performance to healing. Key to this trend are business picking up on people’s unmet needs and a desire to shift from ‘no pain, no gain’ to recovery and from performance to pleasure. To capitalize on this, you get existing clubs teaming up with adjacent brands to shape loyalty programs with premium products. Or big brands joining in on boutique concepts in order to differentiate more. Digital passports are being offered to access different partner properties or even the option to access content from home. The strategy behind this all is how businesses can leverage the trifecta of Brand + Product + Distribution to stand out from the sea of sameness – while benefiting from shared customer lists. Talk about win-win-win. 

Some interesting themes have started to cluster in this race towards offering an “all-in-one” service that looks at whole human healing: 

• Gym-As-Clinic: operating like value-based care, personalizing paths based on diagnostics and goals while measuring outcomes for members (and insurers). 

  Examples: Fitness SF, Equinox Miora (first movers), LifeForce, Upgrade Labs (proactive care, anti-aging), Saint Haven, and Total Fusion.
  

• Integrated Recovery: helping members recharge by adding equipment or recovery spaces, compression boots, cryotherapy, sauna, ice baths, wearables and more. 

  Examples: EOS Fitness, Barry’s BHOUT, Othership, Life Time, Equinox. 
  

• Connected Clubs: leveraging hardware and data, gyms are connecting with quantified tech to track progress and gamify reps.
  Examples: EGYM + TechnoGym, Lumin + AI-Studio, ABC Fitness + BHOUT 
  

• Club-in-a-Club: Going all-in on group, some gyms are adding other concepts as a plug-n-play partnership to share their clientele. 
  Examples: LA Fitness X Boutique-in-a-box, Virgin Active X Les Mills (HIIT studios), Holmes Place (Europe) X TRIB3, Barry’s X RIDE X LIFT (cycling) 

(Examples Source: Fitt Insider)

Gym as mind-body stack location: These shifts are showing a more malleable market responding quickly to people’s desires to get everything in one place. No more heading to the gym to build muscle, going to the yoga class for release, then joining the breath work circle for regulation. Also less of a need to outfit your home with expensive cold therapy options, supplements that you forget to take, or recovery options you always skip in interest of time. The gym has become the ultimate mind-body stack!

INSPIRATION (what we want)

UNTIL: flexible spaces for health & wellness professionals.

Premium spaces where experts get access to shared spaces to train, treat, coach or consult with their clients. 

• Designed for the freelance entrepreneur who need to flexibly grow their business from a starter space.

• Pay a base monthly membership that gives you access to the main facilities, growth services and community of members and clients. 

• Fair business models where experts only pay for what they use with zero commissions or overheads. 

• Supportive community where you can collaborate and work with leading therapeutic, training, treatment and clinical professionals to elevate your offering.

• Equipped with stellar treatment rooms, fully outfitted fitness equipment, physiotherapy spaces, spa-like recovery zones, cryotherapy centers, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and a roster of professionals. 

• Currently launched only in the UK (London) but backed by Steven Bartlett with plans to expand globally.

INNOVATION (what we wish for)

SELECT SUITES: bookable rooms within hotels where wellness professionals can train and treat their clients and hotel guests with private sessions. 

Scattered across town in prominent hotel chains, this plug-n-play wellness room concept serves member residents and hotel guests alike in a flexible, scalable option to maximize inventory elevate wellness options.

• SELECT works in partnership with select hotel chains to transform 5-10% of their sub-optimal rooms into fully equipped mini gyms or treatment rooms for personal consultation.

  • For example: SELECT X HILTON

• Hotels are incentivized to cross promote the brand partnership as a shared revenue model to maximize room turnover each day. 

• Wellness interior designers create flexible ~30-60 sq meter space that optimizes for three different style rooms:

  • FIT Suite: well-lit mini luxury gyms with adequate equipment for 90% of fitness training sessions. 

  • REST Suite: dim-lit active recovery lounges for meditation, breath work, massage, yoga or other recovery.

  • HEAL Suite: calm-lit physiotherapy rooms to support pain or injury clients for PT, osteopath, somatic and other body workers.  

• Each partnership includes an on-site wellness director who is in charge of managing talent and coordinating with hotel operational staff on room cleanliness and upkeep standards. 

• Guests sign up for their membership online with a selection of hotel properties and professionals to choose from. They are given an access card to enter the hotel and “check-in” to their sessions at the front desk. 

• Membership automatically gives access to hotel facilities (pool, spa) and discounts on dining or entertainment.  
  

How would you make it better?

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