Mark Wahlberg Brings Longevity Medicine to an Ordinary Gym: While Clubs for the Rich Charge Tens of Thousands of Dollars a Year, He Mentions a 99-Dollar Membership

Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg is opening the first Municipal Gym in December, in a club of almost 3,000 square metres near Las Vegas. The offer is familiar from the world of expensive longevity clubs: blood tests, epigenetic testing, recovery equipment, compression therapy, ice-water baths and a café. The difference, Wahlberg says, is the price.

His example: a 99-dollar membership (about 85 euros) that includes three rounds of blood tests and one hour with a doctor. For comparison, the competition is aiming at much fatter wallets. Fountain Life, co-founded by motivational speaker Tony Robbins, raised 18 million dollars last year and reportedly charges 21,500 dollars a year. The Estate is planning memberships of 35,000 dollars, and Equinox is preparing an additional longevity package at 36,000 dollars.

The Municipal brand started as a clothing line during the Covid pandemic, which Wahlberg himself now calls "not exactly a great idea." He describes his expansion plans as "aggressive" and claims property owners are already offering him favourable locations and money for fit-outs.

This is a good moment to recall his past in the fitness business. Wahlberg invested in the F45 chain when it was worth 450 million dollars. The company went public in 2021, and in 2023 it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. He says he learned from it and now prefers a model of large halls where members spend several hours at a time. Is that lesson enough for a business in which blood tests and doctors cost far more than weights and trainers?

Wahlberg is 55 and says his goal is to "feel good" every morning. Longevity medicine has so far been a toy for the rich. If it really reaches an ordinary gym, that is news. If it stays a celebrity's promise, it will be one more brand selling hope - just at a lower price.