Founded by entrepreneur and certified health coach Tara Davidson, Well Played is a reimagined wellness studio located inside Fairgrounds Leaside pickleball club — designed around a simple but powerful idea: people heal, move, and connect differently when they feel safe, welcomed, and seen.
After years spent inside performance-driven environments, Davidson saw how modern wellness had become another checklist — focused on optimization, extremes, and intensity — often leaving people more depleted than restored. As she puts it, “In the pursuit of getting well, most of us were left unwell.”
Well Played was built as a response to change that.
The studio brings together science-backed recovery — including IV nutrient therapy, red light therapy, and compression — with functional movement classes, all housed within a warm, design-forward social space. The concept intentionally bridges a long-standing gap in the wellness landscape: high-intensity fitness on one end, sterile clinical environments on the other, leaving many people disconnected from what genuinely supports their wellbeing.
At its core, Well Played is designed to regulate, restore, and reconnect. The environment itself plays a central role — crafted to support nervous system health, encourage sustainable movement, and foster a sense of belonging from the moment guests walk in. Rather than perform or push, visitors are invited to move, recover, linger, and exhale.
As wellness continues to evolve alongside hospitality, retail, and sport-led destinations, Well Played offers a new model — one that’s restorative, social, science-backed, and rooted in joy. Integrated within a pickleball club, the space also reflects how wellness is increasingly becoming part of broader lifestyle ecosystems rather than a standalone destination.
“Fairgrounds is playful, accessible and inherently social, which was exactly the energy we wanted Well Played to live inside. We were not interested in creating another place people had to go out of their way to be well. We wanted to create a destination where you could play pickleball, do some movement, hang out, socialize and do some recovery or get an IV,” said Davidson.
“It becomes an experience rather than a checklist. Being part of a place people already come to for joy and connection allows wellness to feel woven into real life instead of separated from it.”
Modern wellness has become performance driven and often leaves people depleted. How did that insight shape the design and programming of Well Played?
“That idea influenced everything. We intentionally designed a space that removes pressure. There are no mirrors so people are not comparing themselves to anyone else. They are simply focused on how their own body feels. We used colour, texture and playful elements so the space feels more like a hotel lobby or an event venue than a traditional studio. When you walk in you do not feel like you are about to be evaluated. You feel like you are somewhere social and inviting. That shift alone changes how people move, breathe and relate to their bodies,” explained Davidson.
“People are craving places that help regulate their nervous systems and right now nervous system dysregulation is becoming an epidemic because of how fast, digital and disconnected modern life has become. What resonates about Well Played is that people do not have to rush from appointment to appointment. They can slow down, move, sit, connect and recover in one place. The science gives people confidence but the environment gives them permission to actually relax. That combination is what keeps people coming back.”
Davidson said the brand designed the IV lounge to feel like a living room because the environment around you shapes the environment inside you.
“Warmth, comfort and softness matter especially when you are asking someone’s nervous system to settle. IV therapy is powerful but it does not need to feel sterile or intimidating. When people are in a space that feels safe and human their bodies receive the benefits more deeply. The medicine is only part of the experience. The setting is just as important,” she noted.
“Toronto is just the beginning. Well Played was designed from day one as a concept that can grow and evolve by adding new elements, new formats and new ways for people to engage with their wellbeing as it expands. Some locations may lean more into movement, others into recovery, hospitality or social experiences but the through line will always be the same. Spaces that make people feel better, more connected and more at ease in their bodies. That flexibility is what allows the brand to scale while still feeling intentional and human.”
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