{"id":403760,"date":"2026-04-29T20:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/403760\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:15:09","slug":"society-insider-all-black-and-chiefs-luke-jacobsen-launching-wellness-studio-in-cambridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/403760\/","title":{"rendered":"Society Insider: All Black and Chiefs\u2019 Luke Jacobsen launching wellness studio in Cambridge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bateman has been a pioneer in the wellness space since 2016, getting an early foot in the door of the rapidly expanding global wellness economy<\/a>, which was valued at US$6.8 trillion ($11.6t) last year by the Global Wellness Institute. That figure is forecast to reach US$9.8t by 2029. <\/p>\n

\"O-StudioO-Studio founder Tim Bateman launched the franchise in 2019. <\/p>\n

Jacobson, who celebrated his 100th test for the Chiefs this month<\/a> at Hamilton\u2019s FMG Stadium with a win against the Fijian Drua, is understood to be proud his new side hustle will provide people in his hometown the chance to experience the wellness benefits he has discovered in professional rugby. <\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Jacobson and Vienna Morpeth at rugby star\u2019s 100th game for the Chiefs this month. Photo \/ @Viennamorpeth <\/p>\n

Although Jacobson lives with his long-term girlfriend, Vienna Morpeth, in Hamilton, he says Cambridge is his natural home and he can\u2019t wait to bring the O-Studio there. <\/p>\n

He owns his own home in Hamilton and another house in the city with his older brother, Cambridge real estate agent Kane. Luke and Kane also own a property together in Cambridge. <\/p>\n

Jacobson\u2019s other brother, Mitchell, is a shareholder in the new studio. In 2015, the pair became the first brothers to play for Waikato in more than two decades. They\u2019re joined in the business by their friend David Morris and former Black Stick superstar Brooke Hayde and her husband Cameron, a former professional hockey player. The Jacobsons and Haydes are equal shareholders and directors; Morris is a director. <\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Morris, Luke Jacobson, Cam and Brooke Hayde and Mitchell Jacobson will open their new O-Studio Cambridge in the coming months.<\/p>\n

The Haydes have industry experience after opening an O-Studio in Hamilton last year, and they\u2019ve filmed much of the marketing content for the new Cambridge studio there. <\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Morris, Brooke Hayde, Mitchell Jacobson, Cam Hayde and Luke Jacobson filming a reel for their new O-Studio Cambridge. Photo \/ @ostudio_cambridge <\/p>\n

Bateman introduced the Jacobson brothers to the Haydes and the business partnership was born last August. <\/p>\n

Bateman tells Society Insider he is thrilled with the mix of owners of the Cambridge studio. <\/p>\n

\u201cAthletes don\u2019t just have a passion for wellness and recovery, they are also very organised and detail-focused,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Christchurch-based Bateman played professional rugby from 2005 to 2022, with New Zealand teams the Hurricanes and the Crusaders before playing in Japan. His O-Studio concept began in 2019 but his journey into the wellness world started three years earlier, when he travelled to Singapore with his wife Laura, a former hockey player, to seek treatment for her multiple sclerosis<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"TimTim Bateman’s interest in the wellness industry began after a trip to Singapore. <\/p>\n

While there, the pair tried floatation therapy for Laura\u2019s symptoms. Bateman says the no-gravity feeling was a game-changer for his wife\u2019s condition. <\/p>\n

It was Laura\u2019s drive and passion that led to the couple starting their own floatation centre, Cloud 9, when they returned to Christchurch. <\/p>\n

\"TimTim and Laura Bateman opened their first wellness studio in 2016. <\/p>\n

After that business success, Bateman launched O-Studio in Christchurch in 2019, with a bigger studio fitted out with a sauna and ice bathroom, yoga, Pilates, massage, meditation and recovery space, as well as floatation tanks. <\/p>\n

This was the beginning of the franchise, which now has nine studios nationwide, including spots in Queenstown, Hawke\u2019s Bay, Christchurch and Auckland\u2019s Takapuna and Remuera. Jacobson\u2019s new Cambridge studio will be the 10th, with other studios coming soon to W\u0101naka and Rangiora. <\/p>\n

Bateman says there were more than 150,000 visits to an O-Studio in New Zealand in 2025. <\/p>\n

A session for a communal sauna and ice bath at an O-Studio costs about $40. A package or membership session costs less, while a private session is $80. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe communal sauna at O-Studio Hamilton. \"AA communal plunge pool at O-Studio. <\/p>\n

Bateman says franchise holders of O-Studios are required to have the drive and mindset to own their own business and a passion for wellness. They also need liquid capital of about $500,000, which is what a high-quality studio fit-out can cost. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is finding the right people and the right location,\u201d says Bateman. <\/p>\n

Former MP Anna Lorck owns a studio in Hawke\u2019s Bay and former Highlanders player Tony Ensor owns one in Queenstown. <\/p>\n

Last year, Bateman created a partnership with Australian franchising giant BeWell Brands, which owns Jetts Fitness. <\/p>\n

Through BeWell, Bateman says he already has 12 confirmed Australian O-Studios. His goal is to have 100 locations across Australia within 10 years. <\/p>\n

Brooke Hayde tells Society Insider the Cambridge studio, which is in a new commercial development three minutes\u2019 drive from Victoria St, the main centre in Cambridge, is going better than when she and her husband opened their studio in Hamilton. She says that venture involved three years of hard slog. <\/p>\n

\"BrookeBrooke and Cam Hayde are part of the O-Studio franchise network. Photo \/ @camhayde <\/p>\n

\u201cWith Cambridge, the fit-out is going much easier, with lessons learned from our first studio.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hayde has seen genuine friendships formed through the communal saunas at the Hamilton studio. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a couple talking about their wedding in the sauna, and a man offered to supply their wedding cars.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jacobson is not the first Chiefs player to have a side hustle. His All Blacks and Chiefs teammate Damian McKenzie has RTD business Grins with former players Stephen Donald and Anton Leinart-Brown, while All Black Beauden Barrett launched a boutique premium wine service called Beau Jour last year. <\/p>\n

Party People of the Week <\/p>\n

Rialto View at The Capitol Cinema <\/p>\n

New Zealand pay-TV network Rialto Channel launched its new premium streaming platform and app, Rialto View, last Monday evening at The Capitol Cinema on Dominion Rd. <\/p>\n

To celebrate, there was a special screening of Illustrious Energy, cinematographer Leon Narbey\u2019s beautifully restored 1987 feature that traces the lives of two Chinese gold miners as they navigate isolation and prejudice in 1890s New Zealand. <\/p>\n

\"WilhelminaWilhelmina O\u2019Keeffe and Leon Narbey. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery<\/p>\n

Narbey took part in a Q&A with broadcaster Wilhelmina O\u2019Keeffe, offering a reflective look at the making of the film and the process behind its recent restoration. <\/p>\n

Guests included Rialto Film Channel (RFC) co-owner David Ross with his wife Dian, RFC CEO Roger Wylie, Soul Bar & Bistro general manager Geeling Ng, Orsini Jewellery founder Sarah Hutchings and her husband Kent, and model and media personality Lorraine Downes. <\/p>\n

\"WilhelminaWilhelmina O\u2019Keeffe and Geeling Ng at the Rialto View evening. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"DianDian Ross, Marie and Olly Newland. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"SarahSarah and Kent Hutchings. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"LorraineLorraine Downes and Patricia Adams. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"StaceyStacey Ogg and Lisa Beauchamp. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"RachaelRachael and Eleanor Carter. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery\"MareeMaree Smith and Bryan Shaw. Photo \/ Norrie Montgomery<\/p>\n

Ricardo Simich<\/a> has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bateman has been a pioneer in the wellness space since 2016, getting an early foot in the door…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1443,5263,95,7022,8136,1038,16659,17909,78,2936,208183,4479,102883,111,139,69,2952,208184,2953,2935,213,2737,1355,23367,1961,2951,686,5510,377],"class_list":["post-403760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-about","tag-all","tag-and","tag-black","tag-blacks","tag-brings","tag-cambridge","tag-chiefs","tag-in","tag-insider","tag-jacobsen","tag-launching","tag-luke","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ricardo","tag-sidehustle","tag-simich","tag-society","tag-sports","tag-star","tag-starting","tag-studio","tag-this","tag-town","tag-week","tag-wellness","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}