You know the type: the corner suite executive who manages to reply to every email within 15 minutes—whether it’s from their office, a SoulCycle studio, or through the hole of a massage table.
This sort of wellness-obsessed workaholic is a relatively recent phenomenon—along with Juice Press, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Mndfl meditation studios, it’s a product of the past decade. But the trend is reaching fever pitch. According to the 2018 annual report from the Global Wellness Summit, consumers now see holistic habits as a way to “open up a wealth of ‘super’ powers” that include “thinking ‘better, faster, and smarter.’ ” It’s estimated to be a $3.7 trillion industry (and not without its detractors).
No surprise, then, that the latest twist on the private members club is based around the concept of “360-degree wellness.” When it opens in early 2019, The Well, a 13,000-square-foot, two-floor space in Manhattan’s Union Square area, will aim to be a place for the overworked to unwind, recharge, and reinvest in themselves.
“Yoga studios, meditation studios, juice bars, acupuncturists—all of the different components of a healthy lifestyle have become really developed markets and strong verticals on their own,” says Well co-founder Kane Sarhan, the former head of brand for Starwood Capital Group’s 1 Hotels. “People are already consuming all these services, we’re just giving them a place to do everything under one beautiful roof,” he adds.
Its brain trust includes Deepak Chopra, hospitality maven Barry Sternlicht, and Keith Pyne, a sports medicine doctor whose clients include Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez. Memberships will cost around $375 per month.
Beth McGroarty, director of research at the Global Wellness Summit, sees potential. “Social wellness clubs are right in the heartbeat of one of our top global trends,” she says. “Because of digital isolation and massive rates of loneliness, these club models are once again finding their place in the world—but now they’re being organized around wellness rather than gin and tonics.”
Cutting Through the Noise
Versions of the concept already exist in major cities around the world.
Grace Belgravia, in London, was an early pioneer in combining medical and wellness practices under a single membership model. Mortimer House, also in London, has eight floors, each addressing one of Maslow’s eight hierarchical needs, from “love” to “belonging.” In Sydney, there’s Club W, a teahouse and wellness education center for baby boomer women. And in the Well’s backyard, you’ll find Rise by We (a health club and “superspa” concept from WeWork), HealHaus (a Brooklyn-based temple to yoga and Eastern medicine), and Assemblage (which pairs co-working spaces with mindfulness exercises and ayurvedic food).
The Well brings with it boldface backers, a combination of Western and Eastern medicine approaches, and a staff of 30 licensed practitioners, which will run the gamut from massage therapists to reflexologists and experts in sports medicine.
Rather than having a dedicated co-working space, it’ll let members check their digital devices at the door. And with a scientific advisory board led by integrative medicine expert Dr. Frank Lipman, it’ll speak to clients who are data-driven as well as those who are more spiritual.