Christian Guzman said he founded his fitness empire on two words: become more.

In 2012, Guzman began documenting his own fitness journey on YouTube. He said the videos were organic and fun, but that he had no idea a career was going to come out of it.

Fast forward to today, Guzman has more than a million followers on Instagram, his own fitness apparel brand called Alphalete, and Alphaland, an 18.5-acre compound in Missouri City that attracts influencers and athletes from around the world.

The backstory

When the property first became available, Guzman said it felt like a wild card. However, having grown up in Missouri City, it seemed natural to keep the gym close to home and his family.

“I didn't even want to come see it because it was so much acreage,” Guzman said. “It was really intimidating ... it wasn't until I walked it that I saw the vision of what it could be.”

Guzman purchased the land in 2020 and opened Alphaland in October 2021 with three pillars in mind: learn more, be more and dream more.

“It evolved from like learn more, dream more, be more, where that was our whole thing, and it kind of simplified it to become more,” Guzman said. “I wanted to create a physical location where people can come and just be motivated and feel like this is a physical place to become more.”

Alphaland is home to Guzman's fitness apparel brand, Alphalete. (Roo Moody/Community Impact)
Alphaland is home to Guzman's fitness apparel brand, Alphalete. (Roo Moody/Community Impact)

What they offer

Guzman said he spent many late nights designing the space, which Rob Wilson, the sales manager at Alphaland, said brings visitors from all over the world.

What makes the gym stand out is the fact that it offers so many different services under one roof, Wilson said. Alphaland has multiple different gyms, saunas, a cafe and a recovery center, as well as a retail area for Alphalete that can’t be found anywhere else.

The gym features two saunas and cold plunge tubs for members to do contrast therapy. (Roo Moody/Community Impact)
The gym features two saunas and cold plunge tubs for members to do contrast therapy. (Roo Moody/Community Impact)

Additionally, Wilson said each gym has its own identity and offers a different environment. Alphaland members can rotate from using a commercial gym, warehouse gym and outdoor gym, or take advantage of the running slides located outside. The compound also has a volleyball court, basketball court and a football/soccer field.

The takeaway

The majority of members at Alphaland range from 28 to 40, with about 65% being male and 35% female, Guzman said.

While some people refer to Alphaland as an “influencer gym,” Guzman said it’s no different from any other gym when it comes to recording.

“The truth is at any gym you go to nowadays, there are going to be people trying to record their progress [and] share their journey,” he said. “I'm all about people sharing their journey and trying to help others, or just like documenting their own personal progress.”