WellnessJK, the worldwide wellness equipment manufacturer, knows its striking while the iron is hot. The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) expects the wellness economy to reach $9 trillion by 2028 — but that’s just one of many signs touting the industry as a growing cash cow. 

The largest, however, is arguably wellness real estate. It’s the fastest growing industry sector within the wellness economy since before the pandemic and experienced an +18.1% annual growth between 2019 and 2023. 

“Wellness real estate growth is a great barometer for us to see the health of the industry, the confidence that people are putting into their own wellness journey,” said Andy Dunn, Senior Sales Director, Wellness. “I think that it shows full circle recovery from a tough few years being achieved and now surpassing 2019 growth numbers.” 

By manufacturing equipment and helping brands new and old better understand this side of the industry, WellnessJK is riding the wellness wave rather than paddling against it. 

WellnessJK’s Take on the Surge

WellnessJK points to two main triggers for this wellness real estate boom — the current nature of the real estate market and our increased desire as individuals to connect with one another. 

“The supply and demand of property is in the buyer’s favor right now, with many vacant properties from the last few years, which means that landlords need to promote good pricing and opportunities to get operators to fill vacant space,” said Dunn. 

“Secondly, consumers have a deeper understanding of what in-person, community-driven programs and services can do for their mental wellbeing,” he added. “At our core, we are social, community-driven beings that thrive off interaction and experiences. The last few years, if nothing else, were a huge social experiment on how we function in our communities and thrive off human contact in its various guises, whether talking to neighbors daily, attending a Zumba class, seeing your friends and family or being with your CrossFit crew.”

A Focused Response

In response to this real estate trend and its driving factors, WellnessJK adapted its sales tactics with a more targeted approach over the past few years. The brand today primarily focuses on covering both large growth segments and geographic locations already engulfed by the wellness surge to ensure profit.

“One of my mentors told me that you need to fish where the fish are, so we are trying to ensure we develop a sales and coverage strategy that takes full advantage of these trends in the segments we are working on for future success,” said Dunn. “By doing this, we are trying to leverage and use our brand equity to help those customers and segments to have the best possible product experience from a company that has quality, durability and a 100-year history in light and building the best possible product to help our customers achieve their objectives.”

Virtual Wellness

While WellnessJK is known for its red light therapy and touchless massage, which both represent in-person services, virtual wellness still has a place in all this even amid the rise in brick-and-mortar locations. It has and will continue to operate as a bridge of sorts for new wellness consumers, eventually leading them to physical locations. 

“We do multiple things for our wellness in a virtual or at-home fashion,” Dunn explained. “Meditation can be done anywhere. It seems more people than ever cold plunge or do contrast therapy at home. For a number of new wellness techniques, trying them at home or virtually is a quick way to discover your like for or tolerance of said technique to then try a brick and mortar or community version of that experience.” 

Rather than fall off at the expense of growing in-person wellness opportunities, WellnessJK expects virtual wellness to surge alongside them.

“I think we’ll see the growth of both options as new modalities become more mainstream,” Dunn said. “More and more research on more and more topics is leading wellness seekers to try and experiment with more and more techniques, more experiences and research more modalities that they feel may be a hack to drive better performance, mental health, happiness or all-round wellbeing.”

Future Outlook

WellnessJK also understands that staying on top of industry trends is no singular effort. The brand intends to expand on its findings going forward to remain ahead of the curve, looking at wellness from a more precise lens that breaks down its different sectors and potential new ones. 

“We are strategizing around recovery vs relaxation vs rejuvenation – how they differ, what those protocols look like and how we communicate that to customers,” said Dunn. “Also, how we can support the fitness, hospitality and spa world to connect the dots with their users around the use of GLP-1s, Semaglutides and the critical effects that proper recovery and wellness have on that user’s journey.”

WellnessJK also has its sights on applying an even blend between automatic and in-person services in the new year. Doing so promises to give clients and users a broad arsenal of tools to help accomplish their wellness goals. 

“We are also having conversations with numerous customers around a trend we think will be more prevalent in 2025, and that’s self service or automated solutions, which fits perfectly with our Wellsystem Wave product to either be a precursor to a treatment or activity or as a product to prolong the luxury or an experience like a massage or spa day.” 

The Wellsystem Wave is an automatic dry massage device that uses airless water for a high precision, low maintenance experience. It’s a simple insert to any wellness operation thanks to its convenience, as there’s no staff required to run it, and with the level of comfort it applies. 

“We have to continue to be the right partner for our customers, provide credible solutions and insight that will position us as the leader when it comes to wellness insight, product, relationships, quality of service and true partnership to drive long-term customer outcomes,” Dunn concluded. 

The post WellnessJK Points to Real Estate as a Growth Indicator appeared first on Athletech News.

Tony Robbins, renowned for his motivational speaking and coaching expertise, has ventured into his next endeavor: The Estate, a high-end hospitality residential ecosystem centered on AI, preventative medicine, and longevity.

The self-help expert has teamed up with global hotelier Sam Nazarian for the project, which includes musician and SBE partner Marc Anthony and international strategist Richard Attias. Earlier this year, Anthony and Magnus, his entertainment company, became equity partners in SBE’s existing properties, spanning restaurants, lounges, and clubs. 

The Estate is planning 15 hotels and residences by 2030, the first of which will be found in Saint Kitts, the U.K., Trento in Northern Italy, and Montreux, Switzerland in 2026. Soon after, The Estate will arrive in Miami and GCC. The longevity and luxury lifestyle brand says residential sales for the Saint Kitts project will open in Q3 2025.

A 5-Star Longevity Experience

“High-quality preventative medicine has significantly enhanced my own life, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with Sam on launching The Estate,” Robbins said. “By meeting people where they are, we blend a five-star experience with some of the world’s leading experts and offerings in preventative diagnostics and longevity on a global scale.”

The Estate will offer resorts and a collection of urban preventative and longevity centers through a collaboration with Fountain Life, co-founded by Dr. Bill Kapp, for advanced therapeutics and functional medicine services.

“We are a team of market leaders working together to create premier health and wellness destinations that will empower individuals to take control of their health and extend their longevity,” said Dr. Kapp, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon.

Clients of The Estate can expect access to cutting-edge preventative diagnostics from Fountain Life, including advanced imaging, DEXA scans, blood tests, and more, as well as med spa treatments from Clinique La Prairie and sports and fitness programs curated by experts. Nutrition will also be a core focus of The Estate and will include the expertise of Michelin-starred and award-winning chefs. 

Leading with Luxury

Beyond The Estate’s plans for luxury hotels and residential properties, ten urban longevity centers are slated for major markets — the first of which will be found at Century Plaza in Los Angeles. 

Nazarian, who launched SLS Hotels in 2006 and has witnessed the evolution of the lifestyle industry, stated that The Estate will lead with luxury.

“In 2024, we are disrupting again by bringing together global market leaders, providing a platform for the best ideas to surface, and giving them scale,” he said. “We are not building medical hotels – we are building luxury hotels, residences, and urban clinics that are differentiated by a commitment to changing people’s lives. I have the honor of working with titans I have always admired who share the same vision. Tony, Marc, and Richard have led globally celebrated careers of excellence and inspiration, rooted in philanthropy and love, and I couldn’t be more proud to start this journey with them.”

The Wellness-Longevity Real Estate Boom

This year, wellness-focused real estate has seen considerable activity from New York City’s Extension Health, The Remedy Place, Continuum, The Well, and Dr. Frank Lipman’s Eleven Eleven Wellness Center. A bit further north in the Hudson region, The Ranch has settled into the East Coast as a structured health and wellness retreat. The brand had made a name for itself in Malibu with celebrities and wellness seekers. Canyon Ranch also launched a $20K longevity-centered program at its Tuscon Resort that begins in November. 

Integrating luxury with longevity is an area Equinox has also mastered. Earlier this year, the lifestyle and fitness brand introduced a high-priced membership, Optimize by Equinox, which blends personal training and biomarker testing from Function Health. 

The post Tony Robbins’ Latest Venture is Luxury Longevity Resorts & Residences appeared first on Athletech News.

Fitness Premier takes a holistic approach to community building. It engages both within the gym walls and beyond. Their success in this area stems from a strategic focus on real estate and location.

By concentrating on smaller markets where traditional gyms often don’t operate, the brand is able to embed itself fully into the local culture, thus creating a strong presence in communities that are highly receptive to this kind of engagement.

This approach seems to be paying off.

In the first half of 2024, the 20-year-old, 19-location Midwest-based gym chain expanded its system footprint by 30% and signed deals for six new gyms, now extending its reach into the Southeastern U.S.

Thriving in Smaller Markets

Fitness Premier works hard to establish itself as a vital part of the community collaborating with youth sports teams, police and fire departments, the military and more and establishing itself as a vital part of the community fabric.

“We offer a great product while becoming a great neighbor, and that’s where we excel,” said Jason Markowicz, the gym’s founder and CEO.  “Most gyms focus on building their community within their four walls. We go out into the existing community, get involved, support it, and offer our services. We work to be a hub of positivity and change in the areas we serve.”

Markowicz cites a recent partnership with a local high school’s special needs class as an example of this.

“We’ve developed training for this group and we take it to them,” he said. “Offerings like this are harder to create in urban environments with dozens of schools and potential red tape. In smaller markets, we can simply call the school principal, introduce ourselves, and ask how we can be of service.”

Financial Benefits of the Small-Market Model

From a financial perspective, Fitness Premier’s focus offers several advantages.

First, real estate costs per square foot are lower in these markets, allowing the brand to avoid paying premium rents.

“The cost to open a gym is less, the cost of real estate is less, and we can enter a market, establish ourselves, and maintain our position, making it difficult for competitors to come in,” Markowicz explained.

“Another benefit is it’s less costly to market ourselves in a small town,” he says. “If you come in and do a good job, people talk and the word spreads.”

The company also owns about half of the commercial real estate it operates in, an innovative strategy that further enhances financial stability.

Strategic Real Estate Scouting

Fitness Premier’s real estate scouting is handled by Texas-based Fishers Real Estate.

“They conduct a national search for suitable sites, focusing on communities with a population of more than 10,000 within a five-mile radius,” says Markowicz. “These sites are then cross-referenced with factors such as age, education level, and income to ensure they meet the brand’s criteria.”

He says that over the years they’ve created a model that can then be adjusted to fit the needs of each community.

“We have a newer facility in Beecher, Illinois, which is a town of 6,000,” he says. “We simply scaled down the footprint and size of the facility we chose to fit what the market calls for. After years of learning, we understand our product and our consumer and these types of markets.”

Franchisee Support and Future Growth

Fitness Premier’s approach to market selection not only creates wins for the overall business, it also provides a protective environment for franchisees, helping them sustain their operations.

Markowicz, who has owned franchises in other brands, knows the importance of protecting revenue and margins from competitive pressures. Therefore, Fitness Premier’s model helps franchisees establish multiple revenue streams, integrate members effectively, and receive robust back-office support.

The gym offers three membership tiers—basic, platinum and a premium tier that includes Relax and Restore suites focused on recovery. They also provide small group training, personal training, nutrition coaching, boot camps, and sports performance programs, offering multiple revenue streams.

Looking ahead, Fitness Premier is poised for continued growth.

“We’re very excited about the future,” said Markowicz. “Our corporate team has been around a long time, and we have a deep bench behind the scenes to support our locations. We’re doubling down on franchise development to attract investors in Colorado, South Carolina and Florida.”

As Fitness Premier continues to grow, the brand remains committed to entering new communities in alignment with its franchisees and maintaining a pace of growth that allows it to find and attract strong leadership that serves the communities it enters.

“At the end of day, we are focused on being a good neighbor, and on getting as many people as possible off of their couches and into the gym to get healthy.”

The post Fitness Premier’s Small-Market Strategy: How Community Focus & Strategic Real Estate Drive 30% Growth appeared first on Athletech News.

Gen Z is doing more than just taking over the gym — their investment in fitness and wellness is influencing residential real estate design for the long haul.

The group of young consumers have been dually crowned ‘Generation Active‘ by Les Mills for its fitness devotion and ‘Spend Z’ by NielsenIQ for its immense future spending power, setting the stage for a generation that is expected to devote its hard-earned dollars to longevity-supporting measures. 

Gen Z is a unique crowd that departs from prior generations — they are digital natives, have delayed marriage and parenthood, and in 2022, headed 7.9 million renter households, according to recent findings by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. While the report notes that Gen Z has higher homeownership rates than millennials did at the same age, the findings suggest that young people have taken to the flexibility that renting provides.

And just as gyms and boutique fitness studios are adapting to meet the desires of Gen Z with personal training and increased strength training equipment, real estate developers are quickly following suit — and are on track to complete nearly 520,000 rental units by the end of the year, a 30% increase from 2022. 

Healthy Homes

As the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) notes, health is the new wealth, and the latest luxury is wellness — but when it comes to residential living, it won’t be reserved for just high income earners. 

According to a GWI report exploring the burgeoning wellness real estate market and future predictions, amenities such as gyms, spas, pools and elements that encourage mindfulness, sleep and mental and social wellness are expected to be featured in mid-market and affordable properties sooner rather than later.

Mixed-use apartment buildings are already presenting opportunities for fitness and wellness brands to set up shop, making it convenient for young residents invested in health. The new Commodore apartments in Arlington, Virginia, boast an expansive fitness center, waterfall pool, outdoor deck with lounge seating, and co-working spaces for its residents, while its ground level features YogaSix, with Rumble Boxing moving in soon. 

Other residential buildings are taking a simple approach: filling their fitness facilities with premium equipment in order to attract young fitness enthusiasts. In Washington, D.C., The Collective offers tenants a fitness facility equipped with brand new Peloton bikes and weekly instructor-led spin classes.

Ensconced in Wellness

Still, other developers are taking it a step further, such as Boston-based real estate developer Redgate, which has created a haven of health and wellness with Gibson Point in Revere, Massachusetts. The high-end, 291-unit waterfront property touts a fitness center, a studio space designed for yoga and barre, a zen garden, a sauna, cold plunge pool and a recovery-focused room equipped with massage guns, Therabody foam rollers and Normatec compression boots. Residents also have the ability to book massages and can enjoy an indoor/outdoor co-working area with standing treadmill desks. 

“From our state-of-the-art cold plunge pool to serene on-site spa experiences, every amenity at Gibson Point is meticulously curated to nurture mind, body and soul,” Redgate principal Damian Szary said.

Gibson Point follows a concept that Life Time has employed with Life Time Living, a luxury living experience with residential spaces in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and Nevada emphasizing all things fitness, wellness and socialization — pillars of the athletic country club brand. In addition to club access, Life Time Living offers concierge services for residents that include customized weekly meal prep delivery, personal training, nutrition coaching and massage therapists. 

While real estate developers continue to integrate fitness and wellness experiences in residences both upscale and mid-market, high-value, low-price (HVLP) chains such as Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness and EoS Fitness are continuing to cater to the Gen Z fitness community.

New Planet Fitness CEO Colleen Keating recently told investors that Gen Z continues to make up the majority of Planet’s net new joins each quarter.

The big box gym giant has been sowing fitness seeds with young consumers through its successful High School Summer Pass Program, which invites local teens to work out for free in Planet Fitness gyms during the summer months. Now in its fourth year, Keating says the program has paid off, resulting in a 5.5% conversion rate to paying members in 2023. 

The post Gen Z’s Affinity for Fitness is Reshaping Residential Real Estate appeared first on Athletech News.