Infrared saunas, magnesium baths, perfume bars: Health clubs take off
Yamuna body rolling classes, candle-lit magnesium-infused baths and a perfume and cologne bar will be on the agenda at two new health clubs being launched later this year in inner-city Melbourne by co-working operator The Commons.
With an established roster of workspace hubs, The Commons is keen to make a splash in the sector where players such as Rich Lister Tim Gurner and his Saint Haven clubs are catering to Australia’s fast-growing interest in luxury health and wellness.
The Commons’ new health clubs will be integrated with co-working facilities, adding to its portfolio of 19 co-working hubs already set up across Melbourne and Sydney.
They are the next steps for founders Cliff Ho and Tom Ye’s long-term expansion strategy. Ho said he has always considered the company to be more than just a supplier of workspace.
“What we’re actually really good at is creating strong communities. So we’ve got over 8000 members now in our workspace, but we’ve become experts in the membership model,” Ho told The Australian Financial Review. “Entering into wellness was actually quite a natural next step.
“The Commons Health Club, it’s a space designed to support the physical [and] mental wellbeing of our members, in line with the growing shift, especially among all the younger generation, valuing more holistic health and a more balanced work life.”
In September, the first of The Commons Health Clubs will open in Richmond, taking up a 5000 square-metre space. The next club will open in South Yarra in November, with both designed by DesignOffice.
More than $35 million will be been invested to fit out the two clubs, and more than 100 full-time employees will contribute to running the new spaces once they open.
Weary workers can be revived with magnesium-infused baths and a 6-degree cold plunge or they may prefer a traditional sauna, steam room or the heated stone benches that will be part of the new bathhouses. Sound baths, community-led saunas and ice plunge sessions will also be on offer at the health clubs.
Members – who are up for $69 weekly for the fitness activities and $119 for the bathhouse – can also have access to a private laundry service, a perfume and cologne bar and a “personalised wellness concierge service”. The clubs will offer a range of workshops and community events as part of more than 200 classes each week across 20 different styles, from dance to reformer Pilates.
Treatments geared towards longevity will be available, including red light therapy, lymphatic compression and infrared sauna sessions. Organic smoothies and their Commons Coffee will be available in the clubs’ cafes.
Before co-founding The Commons, Ho was a personal trainer and said he had always had a deep love for the health industry.
“By having world-class health club facilities within the workspace, it gives you more reasons to kind of come in and get the most out of your workday,” he said. “What we’ve done is we’ve brought the best of boutique classes, also open open-style gym and bathhouse, and we’ve put it all under the one roof.
“That’s where we’re really excited, and just to watch our membership base grow and really open ourselves up to a whole new market as well.”
Thirty-minute classes will run at lunchtime, so members will be able to exercise during their work breaks. Personal lockers will also be available for members to store their active gear, which can be laundered at the health club.
“We do see The Commons Health Club as being a stable across all our new sites that we look to go into,” Ho said. “The focus will be still on Sydney and Melbourne, but just getting to maturity in those markets over the coming years.”
