The best part of Owen Willis\u2019s day is his morning shower. Notes of lavender and eucalyptus waft through his private, stone-tiled shower room as he uses a \u00a332 bottle of Cowshed bodywash. He dries off with a fluffy white towel before slathering on Cowshed body lotion (\u00a324).<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t Willis\u2019s home, however. It\u2019s his gym. He belongs to Third Space in London, which calls itself a \u201cluxury health club\u201d. Memberships start at \u00a3230 a month for an individual site and go as high as \u00a3305 for access to all of its branches, including the Mayfair club, where gym-goers can expect<\/a> \u201cUV-treated fresh air\u201d and \u201ca Himalayan sea-salt walled sauna and steam room\u201d.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old, who works in marketing, has been a member since he was 18. He describes it as his \u201csecond home\u201d, where he estimates he spends about 22 hours a week. \u201cIt\u2019s a massive part of my life,\u201d he says. It is also a massive part of his income: his membership sets him back \u00a3279 a month \u2013 which, when he started going, was about 10% of his monthly wage.<\/p>\n Take a dip \u2026 Third Space Richmond\u2019s pool.<\/p>\n Willis is one of the growing number of gen Zs \u2013 those aged 13 to 28 \u2013 for whom gym membership is an essential part of their monthly outgoings. In the UK, 27% of adults under 25 consider gym membership a necessity, according to a survey by the credit-rating service Intuit Credit Karma. Many young people would rather invest in fitness than spend money on eating out or going clubbing. A survey by the Gym Group<\/a>, which operates hundreds of gyms across the UK, found 22% of 18- to 24-year-olds spend more than \u00a350 a month on fitness-related memberships and activities, 18% prioritise spending on health and fitness instead of socialising, while 16% place it above going to pubs or restaurants.<\/p>\n Willis says he has seen a \u201cbig shift\u201d among his friends, who go out to dinner less and go to \u201cnicer\u201d gyms instead which, as well as featuring fully kitted gyms and fitness classes, include saunas and steam rooms, massage guns and hydrotherapy pools. \u201cIt\u2019s more than a gym,\u201d says Willis. \u201cI go and relax there; I work from there all the time. There\u2019s other stuff, too, like yoga and sound-bath meditation.\u201d<\/p>\n The gym has also served as a form of escape from house-sharing. At one point, Willis was living with six people, in a house that had a mouse infestation and only two showers. Damp towels were scattered across the bathroom floor and the shower was crusted with limescale. As a result, he never showered at home. \u201cIt was really horrible. Then I\u2019d go to Third Space and the concierge would know my name and give me a fluffy towel when I walked in. If they knew what my apartment was like at the time, they probably would have cancelled my membership,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n On reflection \u2026 the male changing room at the Surrenne gym in Belgravia.<\/p>\n Third Space is kitted out with irons, starch spray and even, for an additional cost, a dry-cleaning service. \u201cI don\u2019t own an iron so, if I needed to iron something, I would cycle to the gym and do it there,\u201d says Willis. His use of the gym\u2019s facilities has kept other costs low. He rarely buys toiletries, using the expensive products available in the changing rooms instead, and even though he now lives alone, he still only has a shower at home about once a month.<\/p>\n The rise of young gym devotees like Willis mean the luxury gym business is booming. Third Space \u2013 which has expanded its number of clubs from one in 2001 to 13 in 2025, with more on the way \u2013 saw consumer spending in its gyms rise by 41.1% between December 2023 and December 2024, according to the business consultancy firm CACI<\/a>. Other chains \u2013 including Third Space\u2019s suburban competitor, David Lloyd, where memberships for its flagship locations can set you back \u00a3150 a month or more \u2013 have also seen soaring growth. A survey by UKActive<\/a>, the trade body that represents most of Britain\u2019s fitness operators, found that gen Z<\/a> is the key demographic driving the record numbers of Britons going to the gym.<\/p>\n \u2018A new paradigm for wellbeing\u2019 \u2026 the Tracy Anderson studio at the Surrenne gym in Belgravia.<\/p>\n The gyms themselves are also becoming more luxurious. At Lanserhof<\/a>, the gym at the Arts Club in Mayfair, memberships start at \u00a36,500 a year. Surrenne in Belgravia, central London, charges \u00a310,000 a year for membership, plus a \u00a35,000 joining fee (patrons will apparently experience a \u201cnew paradigm for wellbeing\u201d). CPASE in Cheshire, which has been described<\/a> by Tatler as a \u201cgym more luxurious than any other\u201d, offers \u201coxygen-enriched air\u201d in its \u201crevolutionary fitness playground\u201d for nearly \u00a34,000 a year. A membership for the fitness facility at Cliveden House, the grand Berkshire manor that was the site of the Profumo affair, will set you back nearly \u00a36,000 a year.<\/p>\n Breathe easy \u2026 a hyperbaric chamber treatment room at the Surrenne gym.<\/p>\n Niyi Akinseye has been training in the gym for more than 10 years. \u201cIt began with me being an overweight and uncomfortable 15-year-old,\u201d he says. \u201cI was very conscious about the way I looked.\u201d The 26-year-old, who works as a regional project lead at a human rights charity, is planning to make a career switch next month to become a full-time fitness coach.<\/p>\n He goes to GymBox, which was called<\/a> one of London\u2019s best luxury gyms by Esquire in 2023. After his membership, \u00a395 a month, and other classes and equipment, Akinseye says he spends about \u00a3250 a month on fitness, or 10% of his take-home pay. Akinseye says he has met friends \u201cwith similar goals and passions\u201d, and affluent clients for his burgeoning fitness-coaching services. \u201cThe more I pay for the gym, the better opportunities I\u2019ve found,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n After being greeted by the receptionist, then handed a fresh towel, with the knowledge a sauna session is just around the corner, he says he \u201cfeels happy and like I\u2019m ready to do my work\u201d. He calls fitness a \u201cform of therapy \u2013 there\u2019s something very therapeutic about moving your body and finding something you can channel your emotions into\u201d.<\/p>\n Fine dining \u2026 the cafe at the Surrenne gym in Belgravia.<\/p>\n It is no secret that young people, including gen Z, face big challenges. Akinseye says this was partly why he became interested in fitness. \u201cSeeing the results was very satisfying in a world where there are lots of uncertainties for young people,\u201d he says. \u201cA job isn\u2019t guaranteed in this world, as it perhaps was for previous generations.\u201d Having a gym membership, he says, has helped give him a sense of stability.<\/p>\n Exercise classes have also become more popular with young people. Nishka Parekh, who lives in London, spends about \u00a375 a month on various classes, including pilates. For the 24-year-old marketing manager, fitness is \u201cdefinitely a social activity\u201d. She says: \u201cSometimes, me and my friends would plan to go to a workout class on a Friday before going to the pub.\u201d<\/p>\n While she hasn\u2019t gone fully teetotal like many other people her age, Parekh says it\u2019s nice to do something social that \u201cdoesn\u2019t revolve around drinking and is better for your health\u201d, physically and mentally. \u201cFitness definitely helps improve my mental health,\u201d says Parekh. \u201cIf I\u2019m having a really rough day at work, or a tough time in general, going to an exercise class or the gym always makes me feel a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n Willis feels similarly. \u201cI get more out of it outside of fitness,\u201d he says. \u201cThe mental health benefits of going to a nice gym are massive, because you\u2019re surrounded by people who are also more invested in their fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike the grotty sweatboxes that once dominated the market (and where many sped through their workouts, eager to leave as soon as possible), luxury gyms are working incredibly hard to keep clients there as long as possible. Third Space\u2019s CEO, Colin Waggett, has said<\/a> its members should \u201cget the same sort of experience [in our clubs] as in a Firmdale hotel\u201d \u2013 referring to the boutique hotel chain. On top of high-end fitness equipment, many Third Space clubs have dedicated workspaces, cafes and wellness centres. In its flagship Canary Wharf branch, members can have botox (starting at \u00a3189 for one area) or a Brazilian lymphatic drainage massage (\u00a395 for a 50-minute session).<\/p>\n