As we’ve been reminded constantly over the past two years, the pandemic has, for many people, revolutionized what it means to “go to work.”
Warren Gendel and Scott Raymond, who took over 16,000 square feet in the former Glassdoor building at 100 Shoreline Hwy. in 2021 to create Club Evexia, a fitness, health, and wellness business that seeks to serve the broadest swath of people possible, have spotted the perfect intersection for the “work from wherever” movement.
With an open house set for Feb. 19 from 10am-2pm and a ton of demand already from people at all fitness levels who want to workout outside the house, the duo is upping the ante and taking an additional 8,000 square feet in the building to create pre- and post-workout lounge spaces for people who want to crank through emails or jump on a call within the confines of the beautiful space they’ve created.
“It was pretty clear to us what we wanted to do with the extra space,” Raymond says. “These will be work and chill lounge spaces, with grab and go coffee from Equator and smoothies from Urban Remedy – hit the laptop and get to work after the workout. There’s a ton of demand to work outside of the house with so many people working at home full time for nearly two years.”
Evexia is also installing large infrared saunas and medical spas. While Saturday’s soft opening will feature goodies from urban Remedy, Gendel and Raymond will wait a bit for their grand opening, with further expansion planned for late March or early April.
Gendel and Raymond have come a long way since their initial quest to create Club Evexia, having struggled to find a right-sized space that checked all the boxes for the kind of full-service fitness facility they sought. Their hunt sent them throughout the North Bay and beyond. And then their broker showed them at 100 Shoreline Hwy., the monstrous space formerly occupied by Glassdoor, the tech firm founded in Marin that relocated its headquarters to San Francisco in recent years.
“We were just stunned – all the moons aligned,” Gendel says. “It represents way more than just a gym, and we’ll be able to do everything we’ve wanted to do – all under one roof.”
Gendel and Raymond have carved out enough square footage to have a massive gym, high-intensity interval training, TRX and group spin classes that can easily be moved to the outdoor deck overlooking Richardson Bay and a large health and wellness space that includes meditation, yoga, Pilates and breathwork, among others.
“Most gyms don’t offer much in the way of mind and body – we’re very much hoping to change that,” Raymond says.
“Southern Marin has been on my radar for 30 years,” Gendel says. “I just never had an opportunity – but it’s all coming together now.”