Wahlberg's gym opens in December

Mark Wahlberg says the Municipal Gym opening in December excites him more than anything he's done in his entire career. The thirty two thousand square foot club opens outside Las Vegas.

What Municipal offers members

Municipal includes blood work, epigenetic testing, recovery gear, compression therapy, cold plunges, and a café serving protein muffins. Wahlberg pitches it as affordable compared to longevity clubs charging tens of thousands yearly.

The Municipal clothing brand came first

Wahlberg launched the Municipal clothing brand during COVID, which he says was not a good idea. It grew from his work as a celebrity fitness spokesperson seeing a gap in the market.

“was not a good idea”

Why he wanted more than apparel

Wahlberg rejected offers to just sell T-shirts and sneakers. He wanted bigger impact on people's lives through what they eat, supplements they take, how they train, and how they recover.

“Everybody just kind of wanted to sell T-shirts and sneakers. And I was like, well, I want to kind of have a bigger impact on people's lives as a whole.”

The luxury longevity market

Fountain Life, co-founded by Tony Robbins, raised eighteen million dollars last year with memberships at twenty one thousand five hundred dollars annually.The Estate charges thirty five thousand dollars.

Municipal's pricing strategy

Wahlberg says Municipal aims for the luxury tier but at lower cost.For ninety nine dollars, members receive three rounds of blood work and an hour with a doctor to flag predispositions.

“We have a better price point than our competitors, and we're going to get far more results”

Building a health ecosystem

Wahlberg says the gyms will double as storefronts for his other products, including a supplements brand. He's building a health and wellness ecosystem with everything there, soup to nuts.

Aggressive expansion plans

Wahlberg called his growth strategy aggressive. Landlords and developers who toured the Las Vegas site have offered AAA locations at very favorable terms, with great tenant improvement allowances to help pay for build-out.

Learning from F45 failure

Wahlberg bought into fitness chain F45 in two thousand nineteen at a four hundred fifty million dollar valuation.

What he learned from F45

Wahlberg said the biggest takeaway was making sure he works with people who share his approach.He always thought big box was the better model.

“I think the biggest takeaway was just making sure that I'm involved with people that share the same approach that I do.”

Why the name Municipal matters

Wahlberg grew up poor in Boston, one of nine kids, playing on public basketball courts and golf courses.The name Municipal is intentional and reflects his roots.

“You learn a lot on the blacktop. You learn to win, to lose, to compete, and hopefully to get back up and do it again.”

His vision for the gyms

Wahlberg wants Municipal to be a place to work, have fun, support each other, create community, and challenge people to be better versions of themselves.

“It's a place to work, but have fun and support each other and create community and really challenge people to be better versions of themselves”

His current priorities

At fifty five, Wahlberg's goals have changed.He wants to feel good when he wakes up and conquer his planned tasks.

“I just want to feel good when I wake up in the morning. I want to be able to conquer all the things that I have planned for the day.”

Open to future ventures

Wahlberg said he's not out hunting for the next thing. But he wouldn't rule out new ventures. If something amazing came along, he said, he obviously wouldn't turn it down.

“If something amazing were to come along, obviously I wouldn't turn it down.”