When former national swimmer Leslie Kwok and five of his friends, including fellow ex-swimmer Russell Ong, came together to open Reva Social Wellness, they weren’t just building another wellness facility. They were creating a space where recovery, anti-aging, and human connection intersect.
The 52-year-old entrepreneur began his own relationship with ice baths back in his competitive swimming days. “When I was training for the Southeast Asian Games back then, we had to race heats in the morning and finals in the evening. Ice baths were essential just to get through as many as eight races over a few days,” he recalled. That need for effective recovery sparked a lifelong curiosity in him about wellness.
After more than two decades in the wellness industry through his Elements Wellness businesses, Kwok wanted to take things further. “At this stage of life, it’s about staying youthful, experimenting, and finding what works for you.”
Why Reva Is Different
The idea for Reva was born from the group’s shared obsession with ice baths. One of the partners, Andrew Riady, is such a fanatic he plunges daily. “We thought, why don’t we create something ourselves, where we can go as often as we like?” Kwok said.
Unlike most wellness clubs, Reva is designed as a social space first. Instead of solitary recovery rooms, the open-air lounge features:
- Two ice baths (one at 7 degrees Celsius, the other at 12 degrees Celsius)
- A large hot pool (at 42 degrees Celsius)
- A soon-to-be-completed Finnish sauna
- Lounge spaces
Here, recovery isn’t about isolation. It’s about connection. “Humans are social creatures. Spending an hour with friends, meeting new people, having music and energy around you. That’s a form of wellness therapy too,” Kwok explained. On their first day of operations, he made more new friends in a single afternoon than in months of regular life.
Accessibility Over Exclusivity
Many spas operate on privacy and premium pricing. Reva flips the script:
- Drop-in access – no appointments needed, open 9am to 10pm
- Competitive pricing – affordable enough to visit daily (launch promo price of S$28 for a day pass)
- Free swimwear provided – shorts and crop top (for ladies) provided for free
- Capacity by design – pools and lounges sized to host up to 60 people comfortably
This accessibility was intentional. “For recovery to be truly beneficial, it has to be something people can do regularly, not once in a blue moon.”
Built for the Long Game
It took more than a year of searching through 40 to 50 listings before Kwok and his partners found the perfect space: an underutilised lounge that had existing infrastructure (showers, toilets, flooring), open-air ventilation and and a vibrant lifestyle environment that already attracts a wellness-conscious crowd.
This breakthrough came through Ong, who surfs regularly at Trifecta, a surf, snow and skate facility.
“It was the perfect fit,” Kwok revealed. “The vibe was right, the air is fresh, and even when it’s busy, it doesn’t feel claustrophobic. Partnering with Trifecta also created a win-win situation. Our concept complements their surf culture while giving us the space to test and grow.”
To keep the build efficient, the team opted for pre-fabricated pools from Malaysia rather than constructing them on-site. Traditional pool builds can drag on for months, creating dust, noise, and significant disruption, especially difficult in a shared space like Trifecta.
By fabricating the pools off-site, all the messy concrete and tiling work was done beforehand. Once delivered, the structures were assembled in just a day, followed by two weeks of fitting out the piping and filtration systems. The result – a clean, streamlined installation that saved time, reduced costs, and allowed Reva to open its doors faster without affecting Trifecta’s ongoing surf operations.
This plug-and-play approach also means the model is highly scalable. The same pre-fabricated pools can be replicated and installed at other sites with minimal downtime, giving Reva the flexibility to expand quickly once the concept is proven.
A New Wave of Wellness
With scalability in mind, the group budgeted an initial S$500,000 for this venture. “We’ve given ourselves six months to prove the concept,” Kwok shared. “If the community embraces it the way we hope, there’s potential to scale both locally and regionally. But for now, it’s about making this first space thrive.”
Communal recovery might be new to Singapore, but he believes the timing is right. “People are more conscious of health, longevity, and mental well-being than ever before. The awareness is growing.”
At its heart, Reva Social Wellness isn’t just about ice baths and saunas, it’s about creating a community where wellness feels natural, social, and sustainable. As Kwok puts it: “We built this for ourselves, but it’s really for anyone who wants to feel better, live longer, and connect while doing so.”
Reva Social Wellness
10A Exeter Rd, Singapore 239958
Website: https://revasocialwellness.com/
WhatsApp: 8599 7505
