In 2017, the Minnesota-based health and wellness chain Life Time Fitness dropped the word “fitness” from its company name, becoming simply Life Time, Inc. The company has bigger plans than simply getting members on treadmills and lifting weights.
“We’re building community, we’re building familyship. And our hope is to be able to serve [members] anywhere from 90 days to 90 years in both health and happiness,” said Jessie Syfko, svp of Life Time, adding, “Happiness is largely generated through community and connection.”
As part of that goal, Life Time soft-launched its first Life Time High Performance center in September. Located in midtown Manhattan, the new space will officially open in 2026 and aims to operate as a meeting place for wellness-minded members. In addition to a gym equipped with treadmills and weights and a room for group fitness classes, the new center also offers a podcast studio and lounge space.
“What we wanted to create is a sanctuary for people who want to come in, but also want that privacy, that white glove concierge approach and a lot more customized time,” said Syfko. “[We’ll have] a smaller membership base; classes that are a lot smaller, focusing more on semi-private [classes] than big groups; trainers working through mindfulness; and nutrition supplementation.”
With the opening, Life Time joins other fitness and wellness companies that aim to offer a more intangible benefit than what’s usually found at the gym: community. Remedy Place, which opened its fourth location in Boston in the spring, bills itself as “self-care made social.” On Friday, lifestyle agency WellUp Collective, the tennis brand Wilson and the dating app Raw will host a wellness-oriented singles mixer at Wilson’s Soho flagship.
But community doesn’t come cheap at many of today’s social-oriented wellness hubs. Membership to Life Time High Performance, which will be capped at 200 members, comes with a $2,500 activation fee along with a monthly $429 subscription, which will increase to $550 a month upon the completion of additional amenities. Single membership rates to Life Time’s standard New York City locations run $349 a month.
Life Time recruited initial members to the LTHP center through fitness entrepreneur Brian Mazza’s High Performance Lifestyle Training program, which Life Time acquired in April. Life Time and HPLT have since hosted “micro summits” in the likes of Montauk and Minneapolis, offering high-intensity group fitness meetups that have influenced the direction of the LTHP center.
“Social well-being is the core of what this location will be about,” said Syfko. “This is about facilitating toward that aspirational member and/or human who wants peak performance in every aspect: their relationships, their health and well-being, their mindset, their career.”
According to Life Time’s third-quarter earnings report, the company’s revenue increased 12.9% to $782.6 million. The company cited an increase in membership dues and higher use of in-center offerings as driving that boost. Center memberships rose 1.7% in that period. As of September, the company operates 185 centers and has more than 800,000 members.
Though the podcasting studio is a perk of the new space, Life Time said the LTHP is not necessarily targeting influencers.
“We’re less focused on what I would call an influencer and more focused on people who have impact and influence in their life, and know that health and wellness is the foundation of their ability to deliver that kind of impact into the world,” said Syfko. “We will focus on people renting spaces, so [we have] the podcast booth, an LED wall and a full lighting and camera panel. But we’re also focused on media and great partners in that world, and being able to co-create and collaborate in that landscape.”
Life Time has added other perks to its membership base in recent months. In May, Life Time welcomed Kiehl’s as its amenities partner — the L’Oréal-owned skin-care brand had caused an uproar when it ended its partnership with Life Time’s competitor in the high-end fitness space, Equinox, in 2024.
In July, Life Time announced the launch of its Laic (pronounced “lacy”) app, an AI-powered fitness companion. It’s not alone in investing in the space: Equinox is also reportedly testing AI-powered workout routines. Syfko said the new High Performance center will be an important hub for Life Time to record content for its app, like fitness classes for users to access on their own time.
“Content is what we focus on as the No. 1 priority out of LTHP. So we have our own podcast booth in there and a full production suite, and we’re about to add construction in the next couple months to duplicate those efforts,” she said.
And unlike access to the LTHP center, the Laic app is free to download.
