The Continuing Merging of Coworking, Social Clubs and Gyms

Several interesting recent stories illustrate how coworking, social clubs and gyms are merging.

CNBC's Companies are making gyms their headquarters - here's why covers gyms that also have coworking spaces. The segment points out that most gyms are cheaper than coworking spaces and in addition to working, you can also work out and socialize.

The Business Meets Members Club: Is This The Future Of Co-Working?, from Forbes, covers the coworking/social club/event space Spring Place.

They describe themselves as a "thoughtfully curated design destination" with a look and feel "reminiscent of mid-20th century Brazilian Brutalism". 

And yes, we had no idea what Brazilian Brutalism was. 

Regular readers may remember we covered Spring Place's first location in New York city in our 2016 article The Rise of the Combo Social Club, Coworking Space. Here's how we described Spring Place then:

"Spring Place goes beyond just offering stylish work environs in an enviable zipcode .... Spring Place also operates an all-day dining restaurant, bar and lounge, which in turn comes with two private dining rooms for more reserved situations. A glamorous, sunken living room and a cosy, den-like music room are available for performances, receptions, workshops, guest speakers and more."

According to the Forbes article Spring Place is expanding:

"The formula is being rolled out to other major cities. Spring is opening in Beverly Hills in June and in downtown Los Angeles in 2019."

They are also eyeing Paris, Milan and other major cities.

The growth of combo social/work/work out clubs is being driven by a mix of trends including the blending of work and life, increases in remote/distributed work and the continued (and maybe even growing) importance of face to face networking in a digital world.

Related to this, 3 out of the 5 spaces listed in Red Herring's The Best Coworking Spaces in the World target digital nomads.

These location independent professions are the ultimate blenders of work and life and are often found working and socializing in coworking spaces around the world.