Mark Wahlberg’s Municipal Gym Challenges High-End Longevity Clubs With Affordable Wellness Model

Mark Wahlberg has founded and invested in numerous companies, but he says the gym opening this December excites him more than anything else in his career. The concept targets a market segment attracting heavy venture capital: expensive, diagnostics-driven wellness.

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on Thursday, Wahlberg announced that the first Municipal Gym will open in December. The 32,000-square-foot facility, located outside Las Vegas, will offer blood work, epigenetic testing, recovery equipment, compression therapy, cold plunges, and a café serving protein muffins. He is positioning it as an affordable alternative to longevity clubs that charge tens of thousands of dollars annually for comparable services.

The gym represents the second phase of a plan that originated roughly seven years ago with a casual sportswear line.

Municipal, the clothing brand, launched during COVID—a timing Wahlberg acknowledges “was not a good idea.” The apparel sector proved difficult in 2020, with retailers including J.Crew and Brooks Brothers filing for bankruptcy.

The concept evolved from Wahlberg’s experience as a celebrity fitness spokesperson. After collaborating with various brands and fielding repeated requests to serve as a brand ambassador, he found most partners only wanted to sell T-shirts and sneakers. “I wanted to have a bigger impact on people’s lives as a whole,” he said.

That vision encompasses nutrition, supplements, training, and recovery. Apparel was merely the entry point. “We figured we’d start in apparel and build from there,” he explained. Wahlberg said he only pursues ventures he is passionate about and that directly extend his personal identity.

Even outside of pandemic-era challenges, the clothing industry remains difficult, as demonstrated by Lululemon’s recurring quality-control issues. Wahlberg appeared unfazed, instead explaining how the gym aligns with his broader vision. He believes it “could always be great for the brand” because it gives customers a place to experience the clothing firsthand. He also noted that fitness is “another big part of people’s lives.”

Most competitors have focused on the premium end of the market. Fountain Life, the longevity company co-founded by Tony Robbins, raised $18 million last year to expand centers serving wealthy clients, with full subscriptions reportedly costing $21,500 annually. The Estate, co-founded by Robbins and hospitality executive Sam Nazarian, is planning wellness centers with $35,000 memberships. Equinox is similarly accepting reservations for a $36,000 longevity add-on to its traditional gym memberships.

Wahlberg says Municipal targets the same luxury tier at a significantly lower price. “We have a better price point than our competitors, and we’re going to get far more results,” he stated. As an example, he noted that for $99, members receive three rounds of blood work and an hour with a physician to identify predispositions. Supplements and hormone therapy are also available on-site.

Asked whether the gyms would serve as storefronts for his other products, including his supplements brand, he replied “kind of.” He described the project as a “health and wellness ecosystem” offering “everything there, soup to nuts.”

Wahlberg did not specify how many locations he plans, but characterized the growth strategy as “aggressive.” He said landlords and developers who toured the Las Vegas site have offered “AAA locations at very favorable terms, with great TI,” referring to tenant-improvement allowances that offset build-out costs.

Wahlberg’s fitness track record might give others pause. Noting that they had recently watched “Wahl Street,” his reality show—where an early episode documents his deep involvement with fitness chain F45 in 2019—the interviewer joked about warning him of what lay ahead. “How did you know about the pandemic?” Wahlberg quipped, drawing laughter from the audience. He invested in F45 at a $450 million valuation. The company went public in 2021 and was delisted from the NYSE in 2023 after its stock collapsed. Wahlberg said he learned valuable lessons from the experience.

“The biggest takeaway was making sure I’m involved with people who share my approach,” he said. He also expressed a long-standing preference for the big-box model. While F45’s 45-minute classes serve time-crunched customers, Wahlberg wants Municipal members to linger for hours. Many gyms operate on a “join up but don’t show up” model, he said, adding: “I can’t understand that philosophy.”

The name Municipal is deeply intentional for Wahlberg, who grew up poor in Boston as one of nine children, playing on public basketball courts and golf courses. “You learn a lot on the blacktop,” he said. “You learn to win, to lose, to compete, and hopefully to get back up and do it again.”

Wahlberg has never concealed his difficult youth. As a teenager, he was sentenced to two years for assaults and served 45 days.

Earlier that Thursday afternoon, backstage among friends and business associates, Wahlberg credited two people with turning his life around, including Father Jim Flavin, a Boston-area parish priest who has been part of his life since he was 13.

He wants the gyms to reflect that same spirit. “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,” he said. He called it personal. “I’ve come from next to nothing to being in an amazing position,” Wahlberg said. “I try to constantly remind myself that I can inspire other people growing up in similar situations, especially inner-city kids and at-risk youth, that there is a way to overcome your circumstances if you’re willing to go out there and do the work.”

At 55, he added, his priorities have shifted. Where he once focused on appearance, “I just want to feel good when I wake up in the morning,” he said. “I want to be able to conquer all the things that I have planned for the day.”

Wahlberg said his plate is currently full, between the gym, a film role as Pete Rose, and his daughter’s equestrian career. He is so eager for the gym to open that visiting the construction site feels like “literally watching paint dry.” Asked if he remains open to new ventures, he shrugged. “I’m not out there hunting, looking for the next thing for sure.” He quickly added that he would not rule it out: “If something amazing were to come along, obviously I wouldn’t turn it down.”

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