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[00:01]
A
Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into Sign up for your $1 per month trial@shopify.com specialoffer. You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis what's going on, everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast where it's our mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, I'm talking to a friend of mine, Mikey Margolin, who's the founder of Etho Wellness Club, a wellness driven social platform building the future of social life. In just eight months out here in Las Vegas, he's produced over 33 events bringing together thousands of attendees and collaboration with dozens of brand partners, including my wife and I's ever bowl. We've been a part of their events that did a great job by blending cold plunges, saunas, movement and music. Mikey's redefining clubbing in Las Vegas day and night while creating the new third space people are actively seeking. Mikey. What's up dude?
[01:16]
B
How you doing? Thanks so much for having me.
[01:19]
A
Yeah, of course, man. I appreciate the, the business that you're running here, especially because I'm a Vegas local and there's not a lot of previously anyway, not a lot of wellness and health that come to Las Vegas. Those two ideas are sort of conflicting. So let's, let's start sort of the beginning of this. Why, why was this something that you felt that you needed to get out into the world?
[01:44]
B
You know, growing up in Vegas, I been here and seen it all and you grew up in the Vegas culture and realize, you know, as you get older, like this is just not a sustainable lifestyle. Going out partying, drinking, gambling, drugs, all of it that Vegas is known to have. And really, as you know, I kind of was finding my own path in life and realizing that I was on this path towards wellness and taking care of myself, that I wanted to start to curate an environment that fostered that. And you know, slowly but surely we just started to become, become around more people that believe in the same vision and started to see that, wait, there is actually a huge demographic here in Vegas that does want to still get together and does want to have a good time, but wants to do it in a healthy manner. And so that was kind of the driving force, was like really seeking to change the way that we party. You know, we still love to have a good time, listen to great music. But why does it always have to be in these environments that foster unhealthy behavior?
[02:51]
A
Was there a personal experience that made you come to this realization, or was this sort of just like watching a bunch of people from growing up?
[03:00]
B
No, it was definitely personal. I mean, I been through all the battles when it comes to drugs and alcohol and gambling and, you know, realizing that I had to put my own boundaries in place and kind of create my own environment. Otherwise I would end up going down the path that I didn't necessarily want to go down. And it just seems so difficult because there wasn't the places that allowed you to just kind of be relaxed and be free and not necessarily have to, you know, enforce your discipline and, you know, go out to a bar and be the one that's not drinking or, you know, have to say no to friends to hang out because they're going out late. And, you know, realizing that why does it always have to be, you know, why does the people that want to be healthy have to be the ones that sacrifice? Why can't we create the environments where the healthy ones are being celebrated and, you know, we're bringing other people into our type of environment versus the other way around?
[03:54]
A
And what were you doing for work before all of this?
[03:58]
B
Kind of a whole bunch of things. I came from a financial background. I worked in payment processing for government spaces like jails, prisons, courthouses. I moved into the cryptocurrency space. And then my last previous job was working with a sports betting company.
[04:12]
A
Oh, really? Interesting.
[04:13]
B
So.
[04:14]
A
So sort of up, up and down the gamut there. Did you immediately leave the job to pursue this? Did you kind of stay on for a while? What?
[04:22]
B
No, I. It was a very. It was a big wake up call for me because I was working in the gambling space and realizing just all that that brought on and realizing that, you know, I was. I was in this cycle of just never going to be able to break out of it. And I knew the only way to really start fresh and to create a new future was to leave that behind and, and kind of just go all in on something that really, you know, provided that fire underneath me that made it be like, hey, you have to. This has to succeed because there is choice.
[04:53]
A
What have been some of the. Some of the highs and lows so far, like, amazing things that you were like, wow, that was so awesome, Kimberly. We're able to make this happen. And then, you know, some things that were just like, oh, my gosh, man, it feels like I'm up against a brick wall here.
[05:07]
B
Sure. Yeah. Those feelings are. I have that every day. So it's great. I mean, for the highs, you know, just what we're doing every single event, like, the, The. The reaction to the community, like, anyone that I tell that comes to the events or tell that we tell what we' the amount of support is unbelievable. There's no one that doesn't believe that Vegas wants, needs this, wants this, that we're on to something special here. And seeing that transpire from, like you said eight months ago, it gives me goosebumps. Like, that's the whole reason we're doing it. On the flip side of things, realizing that this business model is very difficult. It's. It's very labor intensive because we're throwing events, it's time consuming, and margins, you know, aren't great at all. You know, it's. We were doing just enough to continue to push this forward. And so that's kind of where we, you know, are right now is like, understanding. All right, like, we're onto something special here with throwing these events, and we know that people want these new environments. So how do we create this into a scalable, sustainable business model?
[06:16]
A
Yeah, and the part that you've seemed to be starting with is the community building part of it.
[06:21]
B
Right.
[06:21]
A
Like, you. You've been really grassroots. I mean, 33 events in a year is no small task. There' lot of people who would love to put on events and have no idea how to bring a single one to fruition, yet. You've done 33. What are some of the tips, tricks, strategies, tools, things that you've used in order to put on these. These seamless events? Like I said, we. We've been to a couple of them Everbowl. Our A spot has been to a couple of them, and everything seems to run smooth. You have things dialed in.
[06:49]
B
You.
[06:50]
A
You know, you and your team are seemingly working tirelessly to make sure that all the details are figured out and that people know where they're going, which is logistically difficult if you've never thrown events before. So tell me a little bit about the secret sauce behind throwing that volume of events without dropping the ball at Least too often.
[07:07]
B
Yeah, sure. I think two things that come out real quickly is one, having a phenomenal team. You have to have people that believe in this vision, that support it, that want to be a part of this, and very grateful that, you know, I have. I have a great team. And. And that team continues to grow because people believe in what we're doing. Right. Bey just wanting to be a part of a single event. They believe in this movement and this mission of creating Vegas as a wellness capital. And I really believe that it's happening as we see it. There's more events popping up. There's more, you know, wellness businesses, more money being invested, more talks just throughout the city of, like, okay, wellness is. Is here and something to invest in. So that team is definitely one of the best things. One of the biggest parts of to it and then two is just keeping it simple in regards to how you market the. Like, in the very beginning, the way that we market this event was just flyers going into every single business face to face with people standing out front of gyms, handing them flyers, saying, come to a wellness party. You know, I think that we have so much technologies and tools and apps and sophistication that can just make things more complicated. Yeah. Like, what are we doing? We're just trying to have a party that's healthy. And so what do you want to do? You invite your friends, and your friends invite their friends, and, you know, you make the experience itself Amazing. Right. And then that speaks for itself. And. And that's really how what happened. Like, after the very first event, it was. It's just snowballed. Like, you know, very first event, it was like reaching, going out to businesses, trying to get vendors, trying to have people come to the, you know, doing whatever we can. After that, it was all inbound inquiries, companies reaching out, being like, we want to be a part of this. You know, people just saying, like, what is this? This is something that veg never seen. And we think that this is what Vegas needs. Yeah.
[09:00]
A
And it clearly is something that Vegas needs or at least wants. Do you think that's largely related to the increase in population with, like, Vegas locals? Because it seems. I mean, I've only been here for eight years now. I say only, but I mean that there's quite some time, but. But it's. Obviously, I didn't grow up here, but I've even seen sort of a transformation happen since I've been here where there's just been so many people, a high volume of people that are moving in the Seems like the local community, like, everybody always asks me, like, how do you live in Vegas? You know, I couldn't live in Vegas. There's too much, you know, distraction, too much access or whatever. And it's like I just. Like, I live my life. I don't even half the time realize I'm in Vegas. You know, like. Like Vegas locals don't seem to even realize that Vegas is like right there. It's like 10 minutes from my house. I just. We just don't do any of it.
[09:49]
B
You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, and I think I grew up here and there was nothing besides the Strip, right. Like, I remember were like Red Rock and some of the casinos and stuff. Are those dirt? Lots. People did bonfires and stuff, right? And as a kid growing up here, we had nothing to do other than do, like, house parties or you know, maybe go to the movie theater. We had like one movie theater in town, right? And you know, Fast forward now 20 years. Vegas is a completely different city. And I think we saw the huge shift happen right after Covid, when we had an influx of people move in from California, Texas, other states, right? And they came. And not only did they come in waves, they also brought their mindset and their philosophy of life. And like, a lot of what we are trying to do here in Vegas now with etho is already being done in these other cities. I mean, you go to anywhere in California, you go to Austin, New York, Miami, Denver, they have this much more holistic approach to life, and they have much more available to them because money has been invested into curate those environments. And I think we're now seeing that shift here locally where the. You. You can see the numbers that the casinos are putting out in regards to gambling, in regards to occupancy rate and drinking, right? The. The numbers are. Are not trending in the direction they normally do. And so there is a shift, I think, happening that no matter who you are, you. You are being presented this opportunity and this information to be like, okay, why is this shift happening? And I tr. Because people are waking up to want to live a better, healthier and happier life.
[11:34]
A
When you first started this, did you get backlash from people that were close to you, where people kind of like, man, Mikey, what are you thinking? You're giving up this other job and this secure steady income and you're going to go do what exactly? Like, do wellness events? How are you going to make money? Like, did you have a lot of that there?
[11:49]
B
There was some of it. I think everyone believed in what we were doing and, like, loved the idea of it, but again, was like, well, how is this going to pay your bills? How is this going to put a roof over your head? And to be honest, like, there's a book by Michael Singer called the Surrender Experiment, and it's very much how I live my life as well, which is like, I am surrendering to what is coming to me in the sense of, like, I truly believe that what this mission is and what we're trying to do for the city is so powerful that things will fall into place to allow this to continue to grow. And that was. That was the whole entire business model. Starting when we started in April, it was like, hey, we're going to throw this first event. We're going to sell tickets and we're going to just see how this goes. And since then, we've been able to form partnerships with Puma, Lululemon hosted events at the Boulevard, the New Downtown, Summerlin Uncommons. We've partnered with non profits, we've gone into schools and done wellness days with schools. So there's been all these different doors that open that I had no idea that existed. And if I were to sat, sit down day one and spend hours and hours and hours of trying to build a business model and trying to figure out what these revenue streams were, there's no way I would have came up with these. And we only did because it came to us in the sense of, like, what this mission is that powerful.
[13:15]
A
I've sometimes likened it to the illustration of, like, having a closed fist versus an open hand. You know, it's like, you can. It's really, really difficult to catch any opportunities that are coming your way if your hand is constantly tightened around holding the things that you currently have.
[13:32]
B
Yeah.
[13:33]
A
And you can't accept the new thing without first letting go of the old thing. And that can feel really, really scary sometimes.
[13:43]
B
Yeah.
[13:43]
A
For good reason, you know, like.
[13:46]
B
Yeah, exactly.
[13:47]
A
I'm sure you had a lot of those thoughts, you know, of like.
[13:49]
B
Yeah, I don't know how. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's still. It's a month by month thing. Right. Like, you know, we're still just trying to keep it moving forward and operate. These opportunities come up and we're like, we're so blessed and grateful to be able to continue this mission. Right. Yeah. And so, yeah, I completely agree with that analogy.
[14:08]
A
Yeah, it's. I love the. I love the way that you're building it, man. I think that. I think there's going to be something to this. You know, it's just a. It's a matter of just staying in the game at this point. Like you're doing everything the right way, you know, like starting, starting with just basically, just like essentially a product idea.
[14:24]
B
Right?
[14:25]
A
Like you don't. Didn't know exactly how it would flush itself out, didn't know exactly the vehicle that would end up taking what the offer structure looks like or how exactly you make money. But it was like we have this core concept and idea. How do we go, how do we go start creating a community slash audience of people who also care deeply about this idea? How can we get to know them? How can we, how can we get to know their struggles, get to know their desires, their, their dreams, their goals? How do we get to know them in this sort of like intimate, high level of trust based community to then inform us on the types of products, services, offer structures and things like that that we can move forward with and actually turn into a business. Have you gained more clarity around like what the future of this looks like? I know, I know. We, when we first started talking, you kind of showed me like blueprints, like conceptual blueprints of like an actual physical facility that sort of has a lot of these things built. Is that something that's still something in your mind that's on the horizon? Have you disbanded that because of an experience that you had at an event or something like that? Tell me about sort of like where you see this big picture next three years, five years, 10 years?
[15:33]
B
Yeah, it's, it is still on the table and it's something that we're, we've been heavily pursuing actually in this last couple months.
[15:40]
A
Okay.
[15:41]
B
We've had a really good opportunity. We have the location that we're kind of in negotiation with right now. And if all goes according to plan, like we'll be. Be able to open or break ground on this place as early as Q2 of this year. So yeah, that's definitely at the end of the day, I think creating a, you know, a wellness club, a social wellness club, a home base for our community is very important because now we have a place where people can go to on a daily basis that has wellness amenities, but it's also just a. Another place to hang out. Right. Like another place to go. And maybe you just want to get out of the house. Right. That third space that everyone is seeking right now is in Vegas. You know, there's bars, clubs, restaurants, there's not gyms, but there's not many places where people can just go and like hang out with their Friends that doesn't have any of the vices. Right. And so that's really our main goal is to create that space that people can go to feel safe, feel comfortable and feel like they're still progressing and becoming the better version of themselves that they want to be.
[16:47]
A
How much have you thought, if any. Have you thought much about like what the future of this looks like? Like in terms of, of obviously my other, my other podcast called Travis Makes Friends. We talk about friendship and loneliness. And it's been my belief for the last couple of years that we're going to see like a massive regression, especially with maybe younger generations, a regression from technology and progression back into more like analog type, you know, physical meetups and localized communities rather than, you know, global interest based communities. Is this something that you've been thinking about at all? Do you look at this as like a global opportunity? Are you wanting to expand outside of Las Vegas? Is that sort of like on the, again, the ten year big picture goal? What are you thinking?
[17:31]
B
Yeah, absolutely. Our goal is to create an ecosystem of these wellness clubs all over the world. Right. I think you see there's a lot of these private member clubs. Think Soho House, you know, there's now like Equinox starting their own. Right. And they make it very exclusive or expensive and just hard to attain for the, the average citizen. Yeah. And I think that that's something that we do differently. Whereas, like we want to build a space that anyone can go to that wants to be a part of it. Right. We don't want to have this, this like stuck up ness to our, our community. Right. Like this is about making people feel better by being together. Right. That's our whole model is just getting back to being in person, doing things that are healthy together rather than unhealthy.
[18:24]
A
Yeah. So it's really 100% based in the community.
[18:28]
B
Yeah. One and the way this is being built is off the community. I mean, every single event we are getting feedback from what the community wants, how these events are going, what they want to see in a actual brick and mortar location. Is it more important to have, you know, saunas and cold plunges versus a yoga studio, versus a wellness cafe, versus, you know, massage rooms. Right. Like, like we want to make sure that when we build this, it's for the people and for our community here in Vegas. Right. And this is where, you know, again, big picture, of course, going out in other markets. But right now my main focus is Vegas. This is home to me. It holds a special place in my heart. The people that work and live here. The people that are part of Etho. Right. Vegas is it. And we are going to make sure that we get it right here before we even think about expanding anywhere else.
[19:21]
A
As we kind of bring this down to a close, man. What would be your advice to somebody who's maybe a couple steps behind where you are right now? Maybe they have an idea, they have something that's like a burning passion or something that they care about, they want to see out in the world, but they're maybe stuck in that, you know, hand closed to the opportunity point. What would be your advice to them?
[19:41]
B
Yeah, I think the, the best advice that you can get right now in that stage is to open space, to allow yourself to pursue something new that you want to do. And what that could mean is just creating a day. Maybe you still have a 9 to 5 job. Okay. Maybe you, on a Saturday or a Sunday or one of your days off, you can put nothing on the calendar except just spending time with yourself and kind of thinking through what you want to do. Right. Really giving yourself the, the space to be able to create something new or you research or start making and taking action towards it. Right. A lot of people are just so busy with their daily life. They have so much going on that they never actually put aside time, block it off on a calendar to take a. Take a step forward. Right. It's, you know, it's, it's one step at a time and eventually you look back and you've gone a long distance.
[20:38]
A
Mikey, appreciate you coming on the show and sharing a little bit here, man. Where can people go to get more from you and Etho and everything you got going on?
[20:43]
B
Yeah, social media. Instagram is our number one kind of output. That's, that's @ethoclub and then our website as well is ethoclub.com there's an email list you guys can join and be a part of and keep up to date with all the next events that we have coming, because we have some really, really exciting things this year.
[21:01]
A
Etho Club over on Instagram as well as ethoclub.com go check out some of the stuff they're working on. Especially if you're in the Vegas area, go attend one of these events. I'm telling you guys, he does a great job putting on a really cool, really cool event, especially if you're into the fitness wellness space. So maybe I'll see you at one of his events in the future. Mikey, thank you so much for taking the time. Everybody else listening Remember, money only solves your money problem, but it is easier to solve the rest of your problems when you got money in the bank. So let's start there. Here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch you guys next time. Peace.

Summary6 min read

Podcast Summary: Travis Makes Money

Episode: INTERVIEW | Make Money Redefining Vegas Nightlife: Wellness Events with Mikey Margolin
Host: Travis Chappell
Guest: Mikey Margolin, Founder of Etho Wellness Club
Date: February 9, 2026

Main Theme

This episode explores how Mikey Margolin is innovating the Las Vegas social scene by redefining nightlife through wellness-driven events. Moving away from the city's hedonistic reputation, Mikey and Etho Wellness Club curate healthy, community-centered gatherings that appeal to locals seeking connection without the typical Vegas vices. The conversation delves into Mikey’s personal motivations, the business’s grassroots growth, overcoming entrepreneurial challenges, and visions for a sustainable, flourishing third-space in Vegas and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of Etho Wellness Club

Vegas Culture and the Wellness Void:
- Growing up in Vegas, Mikey witnessed firsthand the unsustainable nature of the city's party lifestyle (01:43).
- Mikey: "As you get older, like, this is just not a sustainable lifestyle... I wanted to start to curate an environment that fostered wellness."
Personal Motivation:
- Mikey’s realization stemmed from battling his own cycles with drugs, alcohol, and gambling, prompting him to create spaces for healthy fun (02:59).
- Mikey: "Why does it always have to be...the people that want to be healthy have to be the ones that sacrifice?" (03:32)
Professional Background:
- Transitioned from finance, cryptocurrency, and sports betting after having a "wake up call" about his own lifestyle and values (03:57–04:22).

2. The Highs and Lows of Building a New Social Paradigm

Highs:
- Mikey finds community reaction and support incredibly rewarding—“the amount of support is unbelievable” (05:07).
- The journey gives him "goosebumps" seeing the impact and growth of wellness in Vegas.
Lows:
- The business model of events is labor-intensive, with thin margins and high burnout potential (05:30).
- Mikey: “Margins, you know, aren’t great at all...We’re doing just enough to continue to push this forward.”

3. Secrets of Event Execution and Community Growth

Building Community First:
- 33+ events in just eight months reflects organic momentum and grassroots strategy (06:20).
- Secret Sauce:
  - A committed team passionate about the vision ("phenomenal team") (07:07).
  - Keep it simple—initial marketing relied on face-to-face flyer distribution at gyms and businesses, not just digital ads (07:07–07:50).
  - Word of mouth led to inbound interest and partnerships post-first event.
  - Mikey: "After [the] very first event...it was all inbound inquiries, companies reaching out, being like, we want to be a part of this." (08:35)
Growth in Community Demand:
- The influx of new residents post-COVID brought mindsets favoring holistic lifestyles, fuelling Etho's momentum (09:49–10:52).
- Vegas is shifting, with local demand rising while traditional vices show slowing trends.

4. Navigating Doubts and Embracing Uncertainty

Response to Naysayers:
- Some questioned how wellness events could be sustainable, financially (11:33–11:49).
- Mikey attributes his trust in the mission’s power to "The Surrender Experiment" philosophy—embracing serendipity and opportunity as they come (11:49).
  - Mikey: “I truly believe that what this mission is...is so powerful that things will fall into place to allow this to continue to grow.” (12:12)
- Many unexpected doors have opened: partnerships with Puma, Lululemon, hosting at major locales, and collaborations with schools and nonprofits (12:35).
Letting Go of Security for Opportunity:
- Travis uses the "closed fist vs. open hand" analogy to reflect the risk in letting go of a steady job in favor of uncertain, purpose-driven work (13:14–13:32).
  - Travis: "It's really, really difficult to catch any opportunities that are coming your way if your hand is constantly tightened around holding the things that you currently have."

5. Vision for the Future: The Third Space

Short-term:
- Opening a dedicated brick-and-mortar wellness club—a "home base" for their community, featuring amenities like saunas, cold plunges, movement spaces, and social hangouts (15:32–16:46).
  - Mikey: "The main goal is to create that third space that everyone is seeking...Another place to go and maybe you just want to get out of the house."
Long-term:
- Potential to expand to other cities, but focus remains on Vegas until the core model is perfected (17:31–19:00).
  - Inspired to create accessible, non-exclusive wellness clubs, unlike Soho House or Equinox.
  - Mikey: “We want to build a space that anyone can go to that wants to be a part of it....This is about making people feel better by being together.” (17:52)
Iterative, Community-driven Development:
- Continuous event feedback informs club design; community needs determine amenities and offerings (18:24–19:00).

6. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Creating Space and Taking Action:
- Mikey encourages carving out tangible time for ideation and early steps, even while working a regular job (19:40).
  - Mikey: “Open space, to allow yourself to pursue something new...Maybe on a Saturday or Sunday…put nothing on the calendar except just spending time with yourself and thinking through what you want to do.” (19:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

[01:43] Mikey Margolin:
"Going out partying, drinking, gambling, drugs, all of it that Vegas is known to have...as you get older, like this is just not a sustainable lifestyle."
[03:32] Mikey Margolin:
"Why does the people that want to be healthy have to be the ones that sacrifice? Why can't we create the environments where the healthy ones are being celebrated?"
[07:07] Mikey Margolin:
"Having a phenomenal team. You have to have people that believe in this vision...And that team continues to grow because people believe in what we're doing."
[08:35] Mikey Margolin:
"After the very first event...it was all inbound inquiries, companies reaching out, being like, we want to be a part of this."
[12:12] Mikey Margolin:
“I truly believe that what this mission is and what we're trying to do for the city is so powerful that things will fall into place to allow this to continue to grow.”
[13:14] Travis Chappell:
"It's really, really difficult to catch any opportunities that are coming your way if your hand is constantly tightened around holding the things that you currently have."
[17:52] Mikey Margolin:
"We want to build a space that anyone can go to that wants to be a part of it...This is about making people feel better by being together."
[19:40] Mikey Margolin:
"The best advice...is to open space, to allow yourself to pursue something new...block it off on a calendar to take a step forward."

Important Timestamps

01:43: Mikey’s motivations for wellness-based social alternatives in Vegas
02:59: Personal experience fueling lifestyle change
05:07: Highs and lows of the event business
07:07: Event execution strategy—team and grassroots marketing
09:49: Local demographic shift fueling demand
11:49: Facing skepticism and trusting in the mission
15:32: Brick-and-mortar vision and third-space solution
17:31: Possibility of scaling to other cities, focus on accessibility
19:40: Advice for early-stage entrepreneurs

Takeaways for Listeners

Innovating in saturated markets is possible with a clear, authentic mission and grassroots tactics.
Wellness and nightlife aren’t mutually exclusive—community and healthy living are in demand, even in Vegas.
Building a business without a rigid plan can work if you trust your core vision and adapt to community feedback.
Real community engagement and simplicity in execution can outperform over-engineered marketing strategies.
Letting go of security is scary but may be necessary for genuine opportunity and impact.
Accessible 'third spaces' fill a growing need for connection and healthy socializing.

Connect with Etho Wellness Club:

Instagram: @ethoclub
Website: ethoclub.com

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Transcript47 lines

[00:01]
A
Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into Sign up for your $1 per month trial@shopify.com specialoffer. You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis what's going on, everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast where it's our mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, I'm talking to a friend of mine, Mikey Margolin, who's the founder of Etho Wellness Club, a wellness driven social platform building the future of social life. In just eight months out here in Las Vegas, he's produced over 33 events bringing together thousands of attendees and collaboration with dozens of brand partners, including my wife and I's ever bowl. We've been a part of their events that did a great job by blending cold plunges, saunas, movement and music. Mikey's redefining clubbing in Las Vegas day and night while creating the new third space people are actively seeking. Mikey. What's up dude?
[01:16]
B
How you doing? Thanks so much for having me.
[01:19]
A
Yeah, of course, man. I appreciate the, the business that you're running here, especially because I'm a Vegas local and there's not a lot of previously anyway, not a lot of wellness and health that come to Las Vegas. Those two ideas are sort of conflicting. So let's, let's start sort of the beginning of this. Why, why was this something that you felt that you needed to get out into the world?
[01:44]
B
You know, growing up in Vegas, I been here and seen it all and you grew up in the Vegas culture and realize, you know, as you get older, like this is just not a sustainable lifestyle. Going out partying, drinking, gambling, drugs, all of it that Vegas is known to have. And really, as you know, I kind of was finding my own path in life and realizing that I was on this path towards wellness and taking care of myself, that I wanted to start to curate an environment that fostered that. And you know, slowly but surely we just started to become, become around more people that believe in the same vision and started to see that, wait, there is actually a huge demographic here in Vegas that does want to still get together and does want to have a good time, but wants to do it in a healthy manner. And so that was kind of the driving force, was like really seeking to change the way that we party. You know, we still love to have a good time, listen to great music. But why does it always have to be in these environments that foster unhealthy behavior?
[02:51]
A
Was there a personal experience that made you come to this realization, or was this sort of just like watching a bunch of people from growing up?
[03:00]
B
No, it was definitely personal. I mean, I been through all the battles when it comes to drugs and alcohol and gambling and, you know, realizing that I had to put my own boundaries in place and kind of create my own environment. Otherwise I would end up going down the path that I didn't necessarily want to go down. And it just seems so difficult because there wasn't the places that allowed you to just kind of be relaxed and be free and not necessarily have to, you know, enforce your discipline and, you know, go out to a bar and be the one that's not drinking or, you know, have to say no to friends to hang out because they're going out late. And, you know, realizing that why does it always have to be, you know, why does the people that want to be healthy have to be the ones that sacrifice? Why can't we create the environments where the healthy ones are being celebrated and, you know, we're bringing other people into our type of environment versus the other way around?
[03:54]
A
And what were you doing for work before all of this?
[03:58]
B
Kind of a whole bunch of things. I came from a financial background. I worked in payment processing for government spaces like jails, prisons, courthouses. I moved into the cryptocurrency space. And then my last previous job was working with a sports betting company.
[04:12]
A
Oh, really? Interesting.
[04:13]
B
So.
[04:14]
A
So sort of up, up and down the gamut there. Did you immediately leave the job to pursue this? Did you kind of stay on for a while? What?
[04:22]
B
No, I. It was a very. It was a big wake up call for me because I was working in the gambling space and realizing just all that that brought on and realizing that, you know, I was. I was in this cycle of just never going to be able to break out of it. And I knew the only way to really start fresh and to create a new future was to leave that behind and, and kind of just go all in on something that really, you know, provided that fire underneath me that made it be like, hey, you have to. This has to succeed because there is choice.
[04:53]
A
What have been some of the. Some of the highs and lows so far, like, amazing things that you were like, wow, that was so awesome, Kimberly. We're able to make this happen. And then, you know, some things that were just like, oh, my gosh, man, it feels like I'm up against a brick wall here.
[05:07]
B
Sure. Yeah. Those feelings are. I have that every day. So it's great. I mean, for the highs, you know, just what we're doing every single event, like, the, The. The reaction to the community, like, anyone that I tell that comes to the events or tell that we tell what we' the amount of support is unbelievable. There's no one that doesn't believe that Vegas wants, needs this, wants this, that we're on to something special here. And seeing that transpire from, like you said eight months ago, it gives me goosebumps. Like, that's the whole reason we're doing it. On the flip side of things, realizing that this business model is very difficult. It's. It's very labor intensive because we're throwing events, it's time consuming, and margins, you know, aren't great at all. You know, it's. We were doing just enough to continue to push this forward. And so that's kind of where we, you know, are right now is like, understanding. All right, like, we're onto something special here with throwing these events, and we know that people want these new environments. So how do we create this into a scalable, sustainable business model?
[06:16]
A
Yeah, and the part that you've seemed to be starting with is the community building part of it.
[06:21]
B
Right.
[06:21]
A
Like, you. You've been really grassroots. I mean, 33 events in a year is no small task. There' lot of people who would love to put on events and have no idea how to bring a single one to fruition, yet. You've done 33. What are some of the tips, tricks, strategies, tools, things that you've used in order to put on these. These seamless events? Like I said, we. We've been to a couple of them Everbowl. Our A spot has been to a couple of them, and everything seems to run smooth. You have things dialed in.
[06:49]
B
You.
[06:50]
A
You know, you and your team are seemingly working tirelessly to make sure that all the details are figured out and that people know where they're going, which is logistically difficult if you've never thrown events before. So tell me a little bit about the secret sauce behind throwing that volume of events without dropping the ball at Least too often.
[07:07]
B
Yeah, sure. I think two things that come out real quickly is one, having a phenomenal team. You have to have people that believe in this vision, that support it, that want to be a part of this, and very grateful that, you know, I have. I have a great team. And. And that team continues to grow because people believe in what we're doing. Right. Bey just wanting to be a part of a single event. They believe in this movement and this mission of creating Vegas as a wellness capital. And I really believe that it's happening as we see it. There's more events popping up. There's more, you know, wellness businesses, more money being invested, more talks just throughout the city of, like, okay, wellness is. Is here and something to invest in. So that team is definitely one of the best things. One of the biggest parts of to it and then two is just keeping it simple in regards to how you market the. Like, in the very beginning, the way that we market this event was just flyers going into every single business face to face with people standing out front of gyms, handing them flyers, saying, come to a wellness party. You know, I think that we have so much technologies and tools and apps and sophistication that can just make things more complicated. Yeah. Like, what are we doing? We're just trying to have a party that's healthy. And so what do you want to do? You invite your friends, and your friends invite their friends, and, you know, you make the experience itself Amazing. Right. And then that speaks for itself. And. And that's really how what happened. Like, after the very first event, it was. It's just snowballed. Like, you know, very first event, it was like reaching, going out to businesses, trying to get vendors, trying to have people come to the, you know, doing whatever we can. After that, it was all inbound inquiries, companies reaching out, being like, we want to be a part of this. You know, people just saying, like, what is this? This is something that veg never seen. And we think that this is what Vegas needs. Yeah.
[09:00]
A
And it clearly is something that Vegas needs or at least wants. Do you think that's largely related to the increase in population with, like, Vegas locals? Because it seems. I mean, I've only been here for eight years now. I say only, but I mean that there's quite some time, but. But it's. Obviously, I didn't grow up here, but I've even seen sort of a transformation happen since I've been here where there's just been so many people, a high volume of people that are moving in the Seems like the local community, like, everybody always asks me, like, how do you live in Vegas? You know, I couldn't live in Vegas. There's too much, you know, distraction, too much access or whatever. And it's like I just. Like, I live my life. I don't even half the time realize I'm in Vegas. You know, like. Like Vegas locals don't seem to even realize that Vegas is like right there. It's like 10 minutes from my house. I just. We just don't do any of it.
[09:49]
B
You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, and I think I grew up here and there was nothing besides the Strip, right. Like, I remember were like Red Rock and some of the casinos and stuff. Are those dirt? Lots. People did bonfires and stuff, right? And as a kid growing up here, we had nothing to do other than do, like, house parties or you know, maybe go to the movie theater. We had like one movie theater in town, right? And you know, Fast forward now 20 years. Vegas is a completely different city. And I think we saw the huge shift happen right after Covid, when we had an influx of people move in from California, Texas, other states, right? And they came. And not only did they come in waves, they also brought their mindset and their philosophy of life. And like, a lot of what we are trying to do here in Vegas now with etho is already being done in these other cities. I mean, you go to anywhere in California, you go to Austin, New York, Miami, Denver, they have this much more holistic approach to life, and they have much more available to them because money has been invested into curate those environments. And I think we're now seeing that shift here locally where the. You. You can see the numbers that the casinos are putting out in regards to gambling, in regards to occupancy rate and drinking, right? The. The numbers are. Are not trending in the direction they normally do. And so there is a shift, I think, happening that no matter who you are, you. You are being presented this opportunity and this information to be like, okay, why is this shift happening? And I tr. Because people are waking up to want to live a better, healthier and happier life.
[11:34]
A
When you first started this, did you get backlash from people that were close to you, where people kind of like, man, Mikey, what are you thinking? You're giving up this other job and this secure steady income and you're going to go do what exactly? Like, do wellness events? How are you going to make money? Like, did you have a lot of that there?
[11:49]
B
There was some of it. I think everyone believed in what we were doing and, like, loved the idea of it, but again, was like, well, how is this going to pay your bills? How is this going to put a roof over your head? And to be honest, like, there's a book by Michael Singer called the Surrender Experiment, and it's very much how I live my life as well, which is like, I am surrendering to what is coming to me in the sense of, like, I truly believe that what this mission is and what we're trying to do for the city is so powerful that things will fall into place to allow this to continue to grow. And that was. That was the whole entire business model. Starting when we started in April, it was like, hey, we're going to throw this first event. We're going to sell tickets and we're going to just see how this goes. And since then, we've been able to form partnerships with Puma, Lululemon hosted events at the Boulevard, the New Downtown, Summerlin Uncommons. We've partnered with non profits, we've gone into schools and done wellness days with schools. So there's been all these different doors that open that I had no idea that existed. And if I were to sat, sit down day one and spend hours and hours and hours of trying to build a business model and trying to figure out what these revenue streams were, there's no way I would have came up with these. And we only did because it came to us in the sense of, like, what this mission is that powerful.
[13:15]
A
I've sometimes likened it to the illustration of, like, having a closed fist versus an open hand. You know, it's like, you can. It's really, really difficult to catch any opportunities that are coming your way if your hand is constantly tightened around holding the things that you currently have.
[13:32]
B
Yeah.
[13:33]
A
And you can't accept the new thing without first letting go of the old thing. And that can feel really, really scary sometimes.
[13:43]
B
Yeah.
[13:43]
A
For good reason, you know, like.
[13:46]
B
Yeah, exactly.
[13:47]
A
I'm sure you had a lot of those thoughts, you know, of like.
[13:49]
B
Yeah, I don't know how. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's still. It's a month by month thing. Right. Like, you know, we're still just trying to keep it moving forward and operate. These opportunities come up and we're like, we're so blessed and grateful to be able to continue this mission. Right. Yeah. And so, yeah, I completely agree with that analogy.
[14:08]
A
Yeah, it's. I love the. I love the way that you're building it, man. I think that. I think there's going to be something to this. You know, it's just a. It's a matter of just staying in the game at this point. Like you're doing everything the right way, you know, like starting, starting with just basically, just like essentially a product idea.
[14:24]
B
Right?
[14:25]
A
Like you don't. Didn't know exactly how it would flush itself out, didn't know exactly the vehicle that would end up taking what the offer structure looks like or how exactly you make money. But it was like we have this core concept and idea. How do we go, how do we go start creating a community slash audience of people who also care deeply about this idea? How can we get to know them? How can we, how can we get to know their struggles, get to know their desires, their, their dreams, their goals? How do we get to know them in this sort of like intimate, high level of trust based community to then inform us on the types of products, services, offer structures and things like that that we can move forward with and actually turn into a business. Have you gained more clarity around like what the future of this looks like? I know, I know. We, when we first started talking, you kind of showed me like blueprints, like conceptual blueprints of like an actual physical facility that sort of has a lot of these things built. Is that something that's still something in your mind that's on the horizon? Have you disbanded that because of an experience that you had at an event or something like that? Tell me about sort of like where you see this big picture next three years, five years, 10 years?
[15:33]
B
Yeah, it's, it is still on the table and it's something that we're, we've been heavily pursuing actually in this last couple months.
[15:40]
A
Okay.
[15:41]
B
We've had a really good opportunity. We have the location that we're kind of in negotiation with right now. And if all goes according to plan, like we'll be. Be able to open or break ground on this place as early as Q2 of this year. So yeah, that's definitely at the end of the day, I think creating a, you know, a wellness club, a social wellness club, a home base for our community is very important because now we have a place where people can go to on a daily basis that has wellness amenities, but it's also just a. Another place to hang out. Right. Like another place to go. And maybe you just want to get out of the house. Right. That third space that everyone is seeking right now is in Vegas. You know, there's bars, clubs, restaurants, there's not gyms, but there's not many places where people can just go and like hang out with their Friends that doesn't have any of the vices. Right. And so that's really our main goal is to create that space that people can go to feel safe, feel comfortable and feel like they're still progressing and becoming the better version of themselves that they want to be.
[16:47]
A
How much have you thought, if any. Have you thought much about like what the future of this looks like? Like in terms of, of obviously my other, my other podcast called Travis Makes Friends. We talk about friendship and loneliness. And it's been my belief for the last couple of years that we're going to see like a massive regression, especially with maybe younger generations, a regression from technology and progression back into more like analog type, you know, physical meetups and localized communities rather than, you know, global interest based communities. Is this something that you've been thinking about at all? Do you look at this as like a global opportunity? Are you wanting to expand outside of Las Vegas? Is that sort of like on the, again, the ten year big picture goal? What are you thinking?
[17:31]
B
Yeah, absolutely. Our goal is to create an ecosystem of these wellness clubs all over the world. Right. I think you see there's a lot of these private member clubs. Think Soho House, you know, there's now like Equinox starting their own. Right. And they make it very exclusive or expensive and just hard to attain for the, the average citizen. Yeah. And I think that that's something that we do differently. Whereas, like we want to build a space that anyone can go to that wants to be a part of it. Right. We don't want to have this, this like stuck up ness to our, our community. Right. Like this is about making people feel better by being together. Right. That's our whole model is just getting back to being in person, doing things that are healthy together rather than unhealthy.
[18:24]
A
Yeah. So it's really 100% based in the community.
[18:28]
B
Yeah. One and the way this is being built is off the community. I mean, every single event we are getting feedback from what the community wants, how these events are going, what they want to see in a actual brick and mortar location. Is it more important to have, you know, saunas and cold plunges versus a yoga studio, versus a wellness cafe, versus, you know, massage rooms. Right. Like, like we want to make sure that when we build this, it's for the people and for our community here in Vegas. Right. And this is where, you know, again, big picture, of course, going out in other markets. But right now my main focus is Vegas. This is home to me. It holds a special place in my heart. The people that work and live here. The people that are part of Etho. Right. Vegas is it. And we are going to make sure that we get it right here before we even think about expanding anywhere else.
[19:21]
A
As we kind of bring this down to a close, man. What would be your advice to somebody who's maybe a couple steps behind where you are right now? Maybe they have an idea, they have something that's like a burning passion or something that they care about, they want to see out in the world, but they're maybe stuck in that, you know, hand closed to the opportunity point. What would be your advice to them?
[19:41]
B
Yeah, I think the, the best advice that you can get right now in that stage is to open space, to allow yourself to pursue something new that you want to do. And what that could mean is just creating a day. Maybe you still have a 9 to 5 job. Okay. Maybe you, on a Saturday or a Sunday or one of your days off, you can put nothing on the calendar except just spending time with yourself and kind of thinking through what you want to do. Right. Really giving yourself the, the space to be able to create something new or you research or start making and taking action towards it. Right. A lot of people are just so busy with their daily life. They have so much going on that they never actually put aside time, block it off on a calendar to take a. Take a step forward. Right. It's, you know, it's, it's one step at a time and eventually you look back and you've gone a long distance.
[20:38]
A
Mikey, appreciate you coming on the show and sharing a little bit here, man. Where can people go to get more from you and Etho and everything you got going on?
[20:43]
B
Yeah, social media. Instagram is our number one kind of output. That's, that's @ethoclub and then our website as well is ethoclub.com there's an email list you guys can join and be a part of and keep up to date with all the next events that we have coming, because we have some really, really exciting things this year.
[21:01]
A
Etho Club over on Instagram as well as ethoclub.com go check out some of the stuff they're working on. Especially if you're in the Vegas area, go attend one of these events. I'm telling you guys, he does a great job putting on a really cool, really cool event, especially if you're into the fitness wellness space. So maybe I'll see you at one of his events in the future. Mikey, thank you so much for taking the time. Everybody else listening Remember, money only solves your money problem, but it is easier to solve the rest of your problems when you got money in the bank. So let's start there. Here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch you guys next time. Peace.