Our story

What makes Ark different

Sauna and cold plunge, a basketball court, a cafe and wellbeing practitioners, all in the same building. Ark borrows from bath houses, basketball facilities and wellness spaces, and makes something of its own.

Mark, who owns Ark, is here most days. The businesses under this roof are small ones run by locals who love what they do, and you can feel that in how people are looked after.

The space itself is made from reclaimed materials and filled with plants that change through the seasons. A lot of what Ark does for people happens quietly. The energy is simply in the air.

A club for everyone

Ark is a club in the most open sense of the word. It’s a third space, alongside home and work: the one you come to because you want to.

Book your session ahead, and the time around it is yours. Stay for a coffee, sit in the garden, and take as long as you like. It’s an easy place to walk into on your own. The regulars set a friendly tone, and newcomers get folded in quickly.

Most people arrive for one thing. A coffee, a sauna, a game on the court, a session with one of our practitioners. There’s more here if you’re curious, and plenty of people come in for one reason and find something else they love. One good reason is reason enough.

Why we are called Ark

The name comes from Noah’s Ark rather than from Mark, though three-quarters of his name is in there if you look for it. An ark is a vessel: everyone gets on board, everyone travels together and everyone is carried forward. That story in human form is what Ark is now, and an ode to his family along with it.

Ark began with a game. Basketball gave Mark a community, something physical to pour himself into and a lot of joy along the way. He stepped away from it for a while in his twenties and found his way back through his son, and coaching his son’s team brought all of that back with a new layer on top.

The club took shape during COVID, when everything went quiet and there was time to think. Before Ark there was hairdressing, and then Uncle Joe’s, where a barbershop, streetwear and coffee shared one roof. Each one taught him something about service, and something about what he wanted to build next. When it came to finding a home for Ark, he chose a quiet community street on purpose.

Mark runs the club alongside a community of independent coaches and wellbeing practitioners, including The Inner Blooming, Aspen Coaching and Basics2Baller. Ark is still becoming what it will be, and Mark measures that in how deep the community goes.

Meet the Ark community