A new era of “nightclubbing” is set to dawn on the Sunshine Coast – but with a healthy twist where you can dance and detox at the same time.
A Bokarina health facility is set to transform into a place where young people can enjoy a Saturday night without the sunrise bedtime and dreaded hangover.
Stay Elite at the Sports Hub will launch the region’s first Healthy Nightclub on Saturday, in a bid to reflect a shift in lifestyle for younger generations.
The event will see the faculty’s sauna, steam, ice bath and magnesium float rooms host the pop-up club, which will include pumping tunes, healing lights, non-alcoholic drinks and wellness treatments.
It comes at a time when younger Australians are being influenced by the global trend of wellness and are looking at alternatives to meet people, including on dating apps.
Stay Elite’s Troy Payne said as young people opt for a healthier, more relaxed, self-aware lifestyle and are connected digitally, all-nighters have been replaced by sundowners, casual catch-ups and early nights.
“Our younger Australians are more so now looking for the healthy options to be their optimal self, as strange as it is, being the Aussie culture to say ‘let’s get wasted’ has existed for so long,” he said.
“Observing the wellness movement of like-minded community and the connections that fosters is inspiring and great to be a part of.”
He said a shift in people communicating virtually had also reduced traditional face-to-face communication and a way of meeting new people.
“Technology has certainly opened up but also closed down physical connectedness,” he said.
“Virtual connection and networking push this industry of course but having that face-to-face contact is essential for human spirit.”
The ABC recently reported the Aussie nightclub industry was in decline and that the Australian nightlife had dramatically changed.
In the story, it revealed many nightclubs across Australia have been closed for months and that the number of nightclubs had decreased from 482 to 355 recently.
With a background in remedial massage, Mr Payne specialises in sports and massage therapies and also runs Payne Relief at Mooloolaba.
Across his 20-year career he has worked with the British Lions rugby union team, tennis star Pat Rafter, Wallabies player Kurtley Beale and V8 Supercars royalty Dick Johnson.
He opened Stay Elite in August, 2021, to help people stay at the top of their game as athletes and in everyday life. This is where his inspiration for a healthy nightclub was born.
“I was cleaning the Stay Elite sauna suite one night, which has amazing, coloured lights for health benefits … and I thought ‘I wonder what it would be like if I synched the lights with the music’, Mr Payne said.
“So, I did, and wow! It led me to think imagine what it would be like to have Stay Elite set up as a night club, but an actual healthy night club.
“Combine the fun of dance music, saunas, steams, ice baths and float therapy with a healthy environment and boom.”
Mr Payne said the event would replace alcohol and dehydration with healthy elixir and herbal shots, swap smoke-filled rooms for saunas and steam and opt for like-minded community connectedness over the pickup.
“The healthy nightclub is a night you’ll remember. It is a night where you can have a dance and detox at the same time,” he said.
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Stay Elite’s Healthy Nightclub is happening on October 15 at The Sports Hub, 10/26 Main Drive, Bokarina. Tickets are available here or for more information find @stayeliteco on Instagram.
If the event is successful, there are plans to make the healthy night club a regular event.
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