High-end fitness chain Equinox is launching one of the world’s most expensive gym memberships, a $40,000-a-year program aimed at improving overall health and longevity.
Equinox has partnered with lab-testing startup Function Health to launch “Optimize by Equinox,” a personalized health program that includes everything from personal training and nutrition plans to sleep training and massage. The program, announced Monday, is part of the fast-growing longevity and wellness market, where the fields of medicine, biotechnology, fitness and nutrition are merging in the quest to slow the effects of aging. .
“It’s really a paradigm shift in how we can live with vitality and avoid suffering,” said Jonathan Swerdlin, co-founder of Function Health. “It deals with what’s above the surface, the abs and the glutes, which you can see in the mirror which are great. But it also deals with what’s below the surface and what you can’t see in the mirror. And that’s revolutionary “.
The Optimize program begins with a battery of tests. Function Health will test members on 100 biomarkers, from heart, liver and kidney health to metabolic and immune systems, cancer and nutrient markers. Equinox will then run its own battery of fitness tests, including VO2 max, strength and range of motion. The tests are repeated twice a year.
An Equinox “concierge” gathers all the evidence and data and helps the member design a personalized plan to improve their overall health and fitness. Each member will have a core team that includes a fitness coach, nutrition coach and sleep coach, as well as a massage therapist.
The Optimize membership includes three 60-minute training sessions per week with a top-notch trainer. It also includes two half-hour sessions per month with a nutritional coach, two half-hour sessions per month with a sleep coach and one massage therapy session per month. In total, the program involves 16 hours of training and education per month, according to Equinox.
“It’s the same as Formula 1 or an athlete, where you’re given a team of top experts in all these different verticals, to design a program based on all the data we’ve collected,” said Julia Klim, vice president of strategic partnerships and business development at Equinox.
The move will mark a major test of Equinox’s continued efforts to expand beyond fitness into the broader health and wellness business, which has become a booming market among the wealthy.
The company recently closed a new $1.8 billion financing round that refinances $1.2 billion in existing debt. It said its performance last month was the second-best April in the company’s history.
Equinox plans to open new clubs in Philadelphia and Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood later this year, bringing its total locations to 27. The company currently operates 107 locations worldwide, according to its website .
Klim said Equinox has always focused on “the four pillars” of longevity: movement, regeneration, nutrition and community.
“Sometimes I joke that we’ve always been in the longevity business and science is catching up,” he said.
The new program will cost $3,000 per month for a minimum of six months. The fee does not include an Equinox gym membership, which brings the total to about $40,000 or more for the year.
“It’s a super-luxury, human-centered service that brings together data and training,” Klim said.
The Optimize program will initially be available in late May in New York City and Highland Park, Texas, and will eventually roll out to other states, according to Equinox. Members will be able to train at Equinox’s elite “E Clubs,” which are more like private gyms with higher fees.
Swerdlin said Function Health’s mission is to help people live “100 healthy years.” The company’s proprietary program costs $499 for 100 biomarker tests. However, demand is so strong that it has a waiting list of over 200,000 people. He said Function wanted to partner with Equinox “because they are the leader in the category.” He said Function’s data is most useful when it can be applied, which is where Equinox comes in, with its personalized health and fitness programs.
“Living a healthy 100 years doesn’t happen inside a doctor’s office,” Swerdlin said. “It happens in your daily decisions. And it also happens in how you exercise, and Equinox really helps close the loop.”
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