Inside The $30M Path Driving The Gathering Spot’s Social Club Growth

On any given morning inside The Gathering Spot’s original Atlanta location, you’ll find co-founder and CEO Ryan Wilson moving with an intentional calm—part operator, part cultural archivist, part community steward.

Before emails, before meetings, before the commuter rush settles in, he’s already thinking about the heartbeat of the place: the members who built it, the moments that shaped it and the responsibility he feels to steward something far bigger than a social club.

“One of the unique aspects of TGS—and I see this as a privilege—is that our community supports us financially, yes, but also in every way you can think about,” Wilson tells me as we walk through the space where it all began. “Our people show up. That’s what makes everything else possible.”

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The Original Club, Where History Lives on the Walls

As we begin our walk-through of the original Atlanta club, Wilson steps into the space dressed in a look that channels the energy of a young Malcolm X—polished, purposeful and rooted in heritage. It’s not a costume, but a quiet reflection of the intentionality he carries into every room: a leader grounded in history, yet firmly focused on shaping the future.

“This place… it’s ten years of stories,” Wilson tells me. “I can point to any moment on the wall and tell you about how that changed someone’s life.”

The walls of TGS Atlanta are more than décor—they’re receipts. Memories. A decade of cultural currency.

The company’s origins trace back to Wilson’s email during the Trayvon Martin moment—an early call for community that he and co-founder TK Petersen shaped into The Gathering Spot’s founding vision.

When Wilson pauses in front of a photo of Ambassador Andrew Young casually giving an impromptu masterclass in the middle of the venuw, you can feel what the moment meant. “He just sat down and started talking,” Wilson shares. “You don’t script things like that. They happen because this space invites people to be themselves.”

A few steps away, the imagery shifts: Nike activations. Vice President Kamala Harris. Malcolm D. Lee. A timeline of how TGS managed to bring the biggest names in politics, entertainment, business and culture into one room—and somehow make it feel like home.

“For me, it’s the people who met their friends here, launched their businesses here, got funded here,” Wilson explains. “That’s what humbles me every time I walk through.”

On our tour we stop at the photo from one of the last conversations the late John Singleton gave in Atlanta—a three-hour talk at TGS about legacy, craft and what it means to care deeply about your work.

“That night… I’ll never forget it,” Wilson says. “You could feel how much he loved the work. We didn’t know it would be his last time speaking in Atlanta. That’s why spaces like this matter.”

Civic Duty, Safe House and Uncomfortable Truths

As we settle into conversation about the future of TGS, it becomes clear why Wilson’s leadership resonates so deeply.

As National Guard presence and federal oversight intensified in Washington, D.C., Safe House sought to offer locals a place to breathe—a continuation of what Ryan describes as “the work we began during COVID, when we opened the club to anyone who needed a safe haven.”

Safe House operates by converting TGS’s private club into an open-access hub during emergencies, offering safe workspace, resources, meals, and logistical support to anyone who needs it—regardless of membership status.

“I’m not interested in being quiet when the moment requires volume,” Wilson expresses. “If we have a platform, we have a responsibility. Period.”

Wilson has emerged as a people’s champion—the kind of leader who lifts the veil on the conversations our community often tiptoes around. From stages to national platforms to his own social channels, he uses his voice as an instrument of truth, addressing the taboo with a steadiness that reminds you leadership isn’t always about consensus. Sometimes, it’s about courage.

“Yes, politics is part of what we do,” Wilson continues. “To ignore the political moment we’re in would be irresponsible. People need safety. They need a place to be heard. They need somewhere to go.”

Safe House is both symbolism and service.

“We’re a membership club, yes,” Wilson adds, “but we’re a community first. Community doesn’t hide when things get hard.”

That mission is exactly why TGS had only 3% attrition during COVID.

“When everything shut down, our members stayed,” he says. “That told me everything I needed to know about what we’ve built.”

The Workspace — Where Ideas Become Infrastructure

Downstairs sits the TGS workspace, a takeover of the former WeWork footprint—an achievement that speaks for itself in a city where Black entrepreneurs are still often fighting for legitimacy in commercial real estate.

“When we first started TGS, people would tell us to go look at WeWork as the example,” Wilson states. “Now we’re literally in what used to be their space. Life has a sense of humor.”

From podcast studios and private offices to pitch sessions and startup launches, the workspace functions as TGS’s creative engine—enhanced by a Center for Excellence created with Morehouse.

“We want to make sure young people can see what’s possible,” Wilson urges. “It’s not enough to open the door—you have to make sure someone can walk through it.”

Wilson goes into discussing the introduction of the new membership tiers.

“We held off on tiers because equality mattered too much,”Wilson tells me. “But we’re in a moment now where access matters just as much as tradition. Access at $100 a year lets new people be part of this story.”

RETREAT — A New Club in Wellness, Still Rooted in Community

In the sharp glow of the afternoon sun, we make our way to Retreat by The Gathering Spot—the brand’s fourth location and its first fully devoted to wellness and restorative community.

“We wanted people to walk in and exhale,” Wilson explains. “Retreat is about giving people what they don’t always get—space to breathe.”

Walking in feels like stepping into Tulum, Joshua Tree and Atlanta all at once. Earth tones. Soft edges. Elevated textures. A horizon line that becomes a cinematic backdrop for the night.

The amenities are intentional at every turn: private cabanas, an expansive pool deck, indoor-outdoor lounges, multi-use event spaces, fire pits, sculptural seating vignettes, and a bar designed to anchor everything from wellness gatherings to nightlife-coded experiences. The pool overlooks the entire Atlanta skyline — a vantage point where community strategy and capital conversations seamlessly come together.

“This is a contrast on purpose,” Wilsonadds. “You work hard. You build. You show up for others. You should have a place that pours back into you.”

Retreat widens TGS’s ecosystem of small Black-owned businesses, integrating local chefs, makers, wellness experts, creative entrepreneurs, and service providers into its daily operations and event programming.

“If a business doesn’t come to us, we go find it,” Wilson says. “Community support is not passive—it’s a verb.”

Entertainment, Impact and Real-Time Community Support

From Usher celebrating his birthday at The Gathering Spot to Maryland Governor Wes Moore hosting a conversation at its D.C. location, the brand continues to prove its power as a cultural and civic hub.

But beyond the entertainment moments, Wilson remains deeply focused on purpose and progress.

Through the brand’s 300 Strong series — created to directly offset the 300,000 Black women displaced from the workforce — TGS brought together 839 participants, including 147 Givers offering jobs, mentorship, and opportunitiesm and 692 Seekers seeking employment and support across L.A., D.C. and Atlanta.

The club also mobilized its community with the Side for a Side program, a direct response to the SNAP benefit cuts affecting 42 million Americans, including 16 million children.

And when federal troops filled D.C.’s streets, The Gathering Spot launched its Safe

“We’re not here to perform for the community,” Wilson says. “We’re here to serve it — in real time, in real ways.”

Capital, Community and the Next Ten Years

Before the day ends, we talk numbers.

TGS’s $30 million raise was backed by a high-profile group of investors including Charles Barkley, Big Sean, T.I., Cam Newton, Baron Davis, super-producer Tricky Stewart and film producer Will Packer — a coalition that signals cultural, creative and financial faith in TGS’s vision.

“We didn’t raise capital to be flashy,” Wilson states. “We raised capital so our people could have the best environments to think, grow, collaborate and rest.”

He’s currently scouting for new spaces in cities where membership already thrives.

With hubs in Atlanta, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and its newest wellness-driven concept, Retreat by The Gathering Spot, the brand also maintains thriving membership communities in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Charlotte.

What matters most to Wilson is alignment.

“If we enter a city, it’s because we understand what the community needs,” Wilson shares. “And we’re showing up ready to serve.”

Final Word: What Wilson Wants You To Know

As we wrap, Wilson circles back to the heart of the mission.

“Look, this isn’t casual for me,” Wilson says, voice calm but certain. “This place has my soul in it. If people can see one another—really see each other—we win.”

And that conviction is woven into every space, every exchange, every choice made at TGS. What you witness in a single day reveals the strategy and soul behind a brand reshaping how community works.

A decade of intentional community-building—led by leaders who refuses to let culture move backward.