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Is The Collaboration the New Era in the Fitness and Wellness Industry
When I started in the industry, the big box clubs were the benchmark of ambition. Businesses like David Lloyd set the standard, offering everything under one roof. Tennis, gym, squash, studio classes, spa, café. They were the full lifestyle package and for many years, that was the model we all looked up to.
Then the market shifted. We entered a phase where individual functions broke away into their own specialised facilities. Pilates studios, EMS studios, PT-only spaces and countless boutique concepts emerged. Smaller, more focused, more efficient. Consumers wanted expertise and the industry responded.
Today, however, we are entering a new phase. A phase driven not just by consumer behaviour but by opportunity. The rise of padel in particular has highlighted something important. Many operators are no longer looking to build every service themselves. Instead, they are creating partnerships. They are collaborating with other businesses who can complement, enhance and diversify what they already offer.
This time, the opportunity is different. Club owners no longer need to take on all the financial risk. They do not need to become experts in every discipline. Instead, they can form strategic partnerships that allow both businesses to thrive.
In the United States, this collaboration model is growing rapidly. Multiple wellness brands are taking space within the same building. Yoga franchises next to recovery studios. Pilates concepts next to nutrition clinics. Complementary brands are placing themselves side by side to maximise shared traffic and shared audiences.
In the UK, we are beginning to see the same trend. Gyms are opening their spare capacity to padel providers. This makes complete sense. For years, clubs have had physios, sports therapists, beauticians, osteopaths and massage therapists renting rooms. So why not extend this beyond treatment rooms and into broader wellness and performance services.
The benefits are clear. New customer bases. New revenue streams. Lower risk. Shared marketing opportunities. Greater visibility on site. A broader ecosystem for members to engage with.
This is not about gyms trying to do everything. It is about gyms working with other entrepreneurs who bring expertise in areas that the club does not need to build from scratch. Collaboration gives consumers more reasons to visit, stay, engage and spend.
The growth in wellness, combined with the rise in niche services, creates opportunities that simply did not exist ten or twenty years ago. Rather than competing for every pound and every product, brands can now work together to reduce risk and expand their reach.
The challenge now is awareness. We need to find better ways to highlight these partnership possibilities to entrepreneurs and bring them together. Many wellness operators would flourish inside or alongside an established gym. Many gyms would benefit from a specialist partner who brings something genuinely new to the site.
Potential collaborations include padel, gyms, Pilates studios, specialist studio rentals, pre and post maternity services, climbing centres, cycling studios, EMS, medical interventions, nutrition and food services, coffee shops and more. The list continues to grow as wellness expands and consumers seek greater convenience and variety.
Clubs do not need to be the jack of all trades. The future may simply be collaboration, co-location and smarter marketing of shared opportunities.
The next evolution of the fitness sector will not be defined by who owns the most services. It will be defined by who partners the smartest.
Ryan Charlesworth | Black Raccoon Consulting | ryancharlesworth@blackraccoon.org