Virgin Active launches innovative social wellness club in Cape Town

Virgin Active South Africa has launched its Collection Country Club in Green Point, Cape Town, the first of a new “social wellness club” concept that it will roll-out to its 127 existing gym facilities across the country.

Virgin Active CEO Dean Kowarski said in an interview the new concept differs from traditional ideas about going to a gym, which views health is an outcome, while the more than R100 million they invested in the new Green Point facility aims to position it as a social wellness club providing also preventative and restorative health.  

“What you have here is what I call a ‘second space’. It’s not home, and it’s not the office. It’s that intentional space in between, where a lifestyle, all inclusive of training, recovery, focus, work connection, nutrition, restoration and community, is designed to coexist,” he said.

The Point Collection Country Club opened on Thursday, covers 5 500 square metres, and brings together fitness, recovery, wellness, nutrition, co-working, and community.

“Our social wellness clubs have been reimagined as stunning spaces with exceptional hospitality. It’s filled with spaces where people can be mentally, physically, socially and emotionally get well. It’s a holistic preventative wellness solution under one roof, designed to integrate into modern lifestyles,” said Kowarski.

He said South Africa had played a big role in Virgin Active’s story ever since Nelson Mandela called Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, to ask whether he could help rescue the Health & Racquet Club more than 20 years ago.

“What the team has created at the Point Collection Country Club is a brilliant example of how Virgin Active continues to evolve and reimagine wellbeing for the future. It’s a club where people can work-out, unwind, work remotely, meet new friends and enjoy life, and that’s what wellness is all about.”

He added that the new concept was also being rolled out internationally at Virgin Active clubs, including in Qatar, UK, Italy and Austria.

Amenities in the new club include expanded gym floor, cardio zone, a new Lift Club, fitness classes supported by the latest equipment, and strength and conditioning areas and personal training services.

For group exercise, there are five studios offering Reformer Pilates, hot yoga, boxing, high-intensity training, performance and simulation cycling and meditative sound bath classes.

A 25m training pool is home to the newly established Chad Le Clos Swim Academy, and features programmes supported by qualified swim coaches for structured training for all swimmers.

For recovery and relaxation there is a spa area offering hot and cold contrast therapy, including a sauna, steam room, spa pool and cold plunge. Additional recovery facilities include hydromassage and cryolounge beds, compression boots and hyperice massage guns.

Outdoor and indoor play facilities include padel, pickleball, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool, and following Virgin Active’s recent exercise and training partner status with HYROX, the club also features an outdoor functional HYROX training area.

Facilities for thrive and health support includes health and medical suites, biokineticists, physiotherapists, sports scientists, longevity suites, dieticians, and body composition support, as well as an infra-red and red-light longevity cabin, spa and hydrotherapy facilities.

For nutrition, connect and work there are social wellness events, there is a NÜ Health Food Café, co-working spaces, boardrooms, and indoor and outdoor social spaces for community building.

Kowarski said: “Wellness isn’t about chasing intensity or ticking off short-term goals. It’s about balance and sustainability - the kind that comes from consistency, care, and commitment over time. It’s about building habits, spaces and communities that support a full, healthy life."

He said the concept of social wellness responds to a growing consumer shift and the need to balance work, life and wellbeing through spaces that serve more than one function. 

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