Stephanie Chon, Founder of Balian Springs Social Club

Stephanie is the visionary behind Balian Springs, an innovated Self-Care Social Club that opened late 2022. With a professional background in hospitality management & development, she brought her expertise in design to the forefront by creating a 100,000sf destination that has since hosted over 150,000 clients. What sets Balian Springs apart is its holistic approach to wellness, understanding that health includes physical, mental, spiritual, and even social wellbeing. Located in a repurposed Federal building, the Club combines state of the art facilities including 16 hydrotherapy pools, 12 specialty sauna rooms, 3 restaurants, 2 bars, Day spa, fitness center, and relaxation lounges enhanced by a robust wellness program that has gained national attention for the impact it has made in making the community healthy. She has created a space that partners with and elevates local and even global brands to bring a Social Wellness calendar that has become a huge value to members, from yoga classes, fitness workshops, sound healing, and other mindfulness workshops that promote diverse exploration of new modalities. But what makes her story special is how the business came to be. As Chief Operating Officer of a hospitality development group, Chon oversaw a diverse portfolio of companies and was recognized for her leadership, being named a “Top Minority Women in Business” in 2014 by NY Congressman Meng. Her path took an unexpected turn during COVID as she found herself struggling with anxiety and depression, and found the lack of accessible resources out there to help those navigate their mental health. She realized that asking for help was not a sign of weakness and noticed that people innately wanted to support each other feel better during times of strife. Determined to transform her own struggles into a positive force, she conceived the idea of establishing a community centered around finding wellness—a sanctuary where individuals could find solace and discover their own unique coping mechanisms to achieve holistic wellbeing, focusing on physical, mental, spiritual and social health. Curiosity meets collaboration.