Virgin Active South Africa has launched its Collection Country Club in Green Point, Cape Town, the first of a new “community fitness club” concept it will promote to its 127 existing gym facilities across the country.
Virgin Active CEO Dan Quarsky said in an interview that the new concept differs from the traditional view of going to the gym, that health is an outcome, while the more than R100 million they have invested in the new Greenpoint facility aims to position it as a social wellness club that also provides preventative and restorative health.
He said: “What you have here is what I call a ‘second place’. It’s not a home and it’s not an office. It’s that intentional space in between where lifestyle, all training, recovery, focus, work relationships, nutrition, rehabilitation and community are designed to come together.
Point Collection Country Club opened on Thursday, covering 5,500 square meters, and bringing together fitness, recovery, health, nutrition, collaboration, and community.
“Our community wellness clubs have been reimagined as amazing spaces with exceptional hospitality. They are filled with spaces where people can heal mentally, physically, socially and emotionally. It’s a holistic preventative wellness solution under one roof designed to integrate with modern lifestyles,” said Kowarski.
He said South Africa played a major role in the Virgin activist story when Nelson Mandela phoned Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and asked if he could help save the health and racquet club more than 20 years ago.
“What the team has created at Point Collection Country Club is a great example of how Virgin Active continues to evolve and reimagine wellness for the future. It’s a club where people can work, relax, telecommute, meet new friends and enjoy life, and that’s what wellness is all about.”
He added that the new concept is being rolled out globally, including Virgin Active clubs in Qatar, the UK, Italy and Austria.
Facilities at the new club include expanded gym flooring, a cardio zone, a new clubhouse, fitness classes supported by the latest equipment, and strength and conditioning areas and personal training services.
For group exercise, there are five studios offering corrective Pilates, hot yoga, boxing, high-intensity training, performance and simulation cycling and meditative sound bath classes.
The 25m training pool is home to the newly established Chad Le Clos Swimming Academy, and offers regular training programs for all swimmers supported by qualified swimming coaches.
For recovery and relaxation there is a spa area that offers hot and cold contrast treatments, including sauna, steam room, spa pool and cold bed. Additional rehab facilities include hydromassage and cryolounge beds, compression boots and Hyperice massage guns.
Outdoor and indoor play facilities include paddle, pickleball, tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, and following Virgin Active’s latest exercise and training partner status with HYROX, the club also offers a Hyrox outdoor active training area.
Facilities for development and health support include health and medical suites, biokineticists, physiotherapists, sports scientists, longevity suites, nutritionists, and body composition support, as well as infrared and red light longevity cabins, spa and hydrotherapy facilities.
There are social wellness events to nurture, connect and work, the NÜ Health Food Cafe, workspaces, boardrooms, and indoor and outdoor social spaces for community building.
“Health isn’t about chasing intensity or reaching short-term goals. It’s about balance and sustainability — the kind that comes from consistency, care and commitment over time. It’s about creating habits, spaces and communities that support a full and healthy life,” Kovarski said.
He said the concept of social well-being requires the increasing change of the consumer and the need to balance work, life and well-being through spaces that serve more than one function.
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