'Club vibes without the hangover': The twenty somethings going out - in the gym

When Sydney Cassidy walks into her local gym, she isn't just clocking in for a workout session - she's also there to meet friends.

"The gym is my space to get a social fix and to talk to and see people," says the 28-year-old digital creator and fitness enthusiast, who is known as Syd Grows on social media.

"That is predominantly where I make all of my friends - at the gym, at training sessions."

It's also a place to opt out of drinking culture without forgoing a social life, she explains: "I don't go out drinking."

Syd says the post-Covid boom in gym content on social media means more people are realising what regulars already knew: gyms can be vibrant, communal hangouts.

Many young fitness enthusiasts like Syd are increasingly treating gyms as anchor points for friendships in a similar way to how previous generations treated the local pub - a place to go, see familiar faces and feel part of a community.

The figures speak for themselves. PureGym, the UK's largest gym chain, notes 47% of its new joiners in January were aged 25 or under.

Rival chain The Gym Group says about 40%, or 360,000, of its members are Gen Z - adults under 29 - of which more than half, 51%, said they had formed a new friendship on the gym floor.

According to research group Mintel, younger people now have a much broader idea of what "wellness" means to them - they no longer see health as just going to the gym or lifting weights, and they expect fitness centres and health clubs to provide more than just workout equipment and exercise classes.

Gyms are positioning themselves as alternative spaces for socialising, its senior director of leisure and trends Paul Davies says, which is "encroaching on the traditional role of bars and nightclubs".

"Young consumers are choosing gyms and leisure centres over traditional alcohol-centric socialising, such as pubs," he adds.

Some are twinning a trip to the gym with coffee mornings or protein smoothie meet-ups - further boosting the social experience.

'It feels like you're in a club'

On a Wednesday night in Grimsby, dance anthems are pumping out in a kaleidoscopic disco-lit studio at Oasis Health Club.

You might be forgiven for mistaking this as a nightclub but the 50 people - mostly women - are here for an hour of cardio and strengthening.

These classes make Megan Riley, a paralegal apprentice, feel "empowered" and connected after her friends moved away to university.

"We're all celebrating each other's little wins whether that be upping your weights or doing a really successful class," the 20-year-old says.

"It feels like you're in a club, you're getting all the songs, you're all dancing, you've got the club vibes but without the hangover the next day."

This shift towards alcohol-free socialising is echoed by Vikki Harries, a 28-year-old safeguarding manager, whose social calendar is jammed with gym sessions alongside her friends.

"The gym just feels like there's like-minded people there. I just don't feel out of place or anything like that," she says.

She plans her week training for marathons while fitting in time with her friends. "That is kind of how we see each other now," she explains.

UKactive, an industry group, says 75% of 16 to 28-year-olds take part in strength training twice or more a week, more than any other age group.

It has seen a 12% rise in the number of children and young people taking part in gym and fitness between 2017 and 2024.

While the Gym Group reported 44% of Gen Zs saying they work out to socialise with friends in 2025, compared with 37% the previous year.

It also noted an increase in how much Gen Z spend on fitness per month.

The average spend is £48.81 per month on memberships, apps and equipment - up 17% on 2024.

Mintel's research found just over half of 18 to 24-year-olds had gone to a gym more than once in the month to July 2025, compared with 42% who went to a pub for drinks more than once in the same period.

Helping to fuel last orders for pubs?

So is this apparent shift harming pubs?

Mintel says it does not have any evidence to prove the increased popularity of gyms on a social level is having a direct impact on pub takings.

However, data from the Night-Time Industries Association, compiled by CGA Intelligence, does show that the number of clubs, pubs, bars and casinos has declined by 28% since the Covid pandemic, and continued to fall last year.

There have been notable casualties. Nightclub chain Pryzm went bust in early 2024, shuttering 17 clubs, and bar group Revolution also entered administration in January.

While the hospitality industry is facing a multitude of challenges including taxes, young people opting for socialising away from the pub is clearly another issue for the sector to grapple with.

The gym, meanwhile, is "absolutely heaving with young people" at times, says Lauren Connis, head of health and wellbeing at Oldham Active in Manchester.

"I think sometimes there's a common misconception that young people are there to cause trouble when actually they just want to connect with their friends and become happier and healthier in a safe space."

Childhood friends and international students Marwan Hamouche and Arthur Perroud are training together at their local Fitness First branch in London, between their business lectures.

The 19-year-olds, both from Dubai, aim for at least three shared sessions a week because, as Arthur says: "It helps to motivate us. If you go alone it's harder, especially when it's cold."

While the gym isn't their main hangout, it's a big one, they admit. Asking others for help and advice has even led to new friendships, Marwan adds.

For digital creator and fitness enthusiast Syd, the appeal is simple. "I justify [the cost of gym] because I don't go out drinking. It's how I choose to spend my free time and that's what I like to do."