As Gyms Enter Wellness and Recovery, Execution Is Key
This article is part of ATN’s DISRUPT 2024 video series, featuring can’t-miss conversations with the biggest executives in fitness and wellness. To watch DISRUPT content, click here
The global wellness economy now stands at $6.3 trillion as consumers prioritize their wellbeing more than ever before.
Gyms and health clubs are increasingly getting in on the action, offering modalities ranging from infrared saunas and cold plunges to personalized wellness coaching and medically assisted weight-loss services.
Still, the fitness industry is in the early days of its embrace of wellness, and it’s not always clear which strategy gym operators should take.
Three experts in the burgeoning wellness and recovery space – Wellness JK president and CEO Brynn Scarborough, Othership co-founder and CEO Robbie Bent, and longtime fitness entrepreneur Mike Hansen – got together during ATN’s DISRUPT 2024 video series to tackle this vexing problem for operators.
In the panel, “Wellness Room: Building the Ultimate Recovery Experience,” Scarborough, Bent and Hansen give their views on how gyms should position themselves to create winning wellness and recovery experiences.
Recovery as a Core Gym Offering
Hansen, an entrepreneur and advisor with over 25 years of fitness industry experience, is all-in on wellness and recovery.
A former 24 Hour Fitness staffer, Hansen believes offering wellness and recovery services is a must for gyms looking to compete in the modern era.
“Back in the day at 24 Hour Fitness, we would always sell on the five components,” he recalls. “To me, this actually brings us to a point where we should have six components; recovery is one of those components now. We never used to sell it; we would sell nutrition, cardio, resistance, supplements and education. We have to add recovery now.”
Hansen cautions that gyms can’t add recovery services as a “check-the-box” measure; they must invest resources into providing a top-class experience, including educating their staff on new modalities.
“I actually don’t think anybody has solved it on the gym side of the equation,” Hansen says, noting that this has created a gap in the market that’s allowed social wellness concepts to flourish as consumers seek more holistic experiences outside of the gym.
“It’s a tough road for (gym) operators who aren’t willing to be open to change,” Hansen adds.
The Trifecta: Ease of Use, Accessibility & Effectiveness
Scarborough, who leads Wellness JK, one of the world’s top providers of wellness and recovery equipment, offered some practical advice for gyms and clubs looking to create winning recovery rooms.
When it comes to selecting the right modalities, “ease of integration” and “accessibility” are key, Scarborough says.
“Is your front-desk person going to be able to say in three sentences what it is and consistently repeat that message from an uptake perspective?” she says.
Gyms should also prioritize wellness and recovery modalities that their members can easily understand. This is more beneficial than chasing the latest and greatest tech, according to Scarborough
“Accessibility is extremely important. … At the end of the day, the backbone of America is small-town America. What’s actually going to make it across the population?” she says.
Lastly, wellness and recovery modalities must be effective in order to drive long-term use. Ideally, members should be able to feel those effects right away.
“That’s why cold plunge is so sticky from a consumer perspective, because you get out and you have this rush of happy hormones for the rest of the afternoon,” Scarborough notes.
Scarborough mentioned tools like red light and dry water massage as other modalities that can produce those types of immediate effects.
“In traditional fitness, they’re just starting to scratch the surface into some of these modalities,” Scarborough says, although she pointed to Planet Fitness as a good example to follow. The high-value, low-price (HVLP) gym giant offers modalities including HydroMassage beds and massage chairs as part of its premium Black Card membership option, and has been doing so for quite some time.
“Whether you love them or you hate them, they were two decades ahead of this trend,” Scarborough says of Planet Fitness.
Tapping Into the Social Side of Wellness
Bent, the CEO of Othership, a highly popular communal sauna and ice bath studio with locations in Toronto and New York City, believes gyms can tap into wellness and recovery, but they should also be careful not to overextend themselves.
While social wellness experiences like Othership may be taking off, that doesn’t mean gyms should be racing to create their own versions of a bathhouse.
“I think it’d be very hard as a gym to also be an expert in a bathhouse offering,” Bent says, although he notes gyms can still offer things like saunas and cold plunges, albeit in a less immersive way.
Gyms may have a big opportunity on the fitness side of the social wellness spectrum, however. Bent points to The Athletic Clubs, a New York-based boutique fitness brand that trains people in small groups called “squads” to foster meaningful connections in an era of epidemic loneliness.
“That seems like a simple thing that a gym can add without new equipment,” Bent says. “How do you connect your members with what you have?
“I think there’s a huge opportunity for gym operators to look at that Athletic Clubs model and start to offer (squads) to connect people while they’re working out,” he adds.
Overall, Bent is bullish on the rapid growth of the wellness and recovery space, which should bring more people into a healthy lifestyle.
“I could see a world where 90% of people are looking for social solutions that don’t involve alcohol,” he says. “I think that bodes well for all gym operators.”