Upgrade Labs, from Danger Coffee founder Dave Asprey, announced plans for seven new locations including one in the Jacksonville area.
After opening new locations in Calgary, Alberta and Oakville, Ontario in 2024, the company anticipates opening five new North American locations by the end of the year and an additional two more to open in 2025, including one in Ponte Vedra.
The intention is to use cutting-edge technology to improve health at the cellular level for mid-life professionals too busy to dedicate several hours of physical exercise during workdays.
“Our target is people 35 and above because they live a busy life. You don’t want to wait until after you're 65 years old and then find out that you have osteoporosis,” Upgrade Labs senior director of franchising Michael Moore told the Business Journal.
A monthly Upgrade Labs membership will run $299 to $399 a month, but, Moore said, members will need only a minimum of two hours a week to produce benefits. Membership provides access to all technology in the facility.
This includes an artificial intelligence-enhanced stationary bike, an AI workout machine, lymphatic detox massage, a metabolic trainer to increase cellular oxygen levels, Pulsed Electronic Magnetic Field therapy to stimulate organs and a red light bed to increase muscle recovery.
This technology aims to improve body function and improve health at the cellular level.
“We want to be a preventative place. We want to invite people who are biohackers into the community. We want to invite people into our world that don’t want to wait for their own wellness,” Moore said.
Upgrade Labs centers aspire to ease inflammation in the body that can lead to asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and a number of ailments. The purpose is also to increase bone density and muscle mass that help to keep the body functioning into old age.
“There’s no longevity without muscle mass and bone density,” Moore said. “Dr. Peter Attia said that if you make it to 70, the chances that you make it to 80 are only 25% if you don’t have the muscle and bone density.”
Real estate professional Kyung Bishop-Milo signed on with Upgrade Labs to serve as the Ponte Vedra franchise operator. Along with building construction, equipment and a $65,000 franchise fee, Bishop-Milo will pay about $800,000 to $1.3 million to open the first Jacksonville-area center.
There is no address yet for the location. Moore said that the building construction is projected to start by Oct. 1 after the permitting process completes.
Sign up here for the Business Journal’s free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting the First Coast, and download our free app to get breaking news alerts on your phone.
