Community Highlights: Meet Clint Monfort of Cellevate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clint Monfort.

Hi Clint, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a former constitutional law and civil rights attorney and professional poker player. Although I enjoyed the excitement of law practice and litigation for a while, after a decade of practicing law, it had lost its appeal and I was feeling what many lawyers feel. Unhealthy, unhappy, and chronically stressed. I was dreading going to work on Monday mornings. So I decided to leave it behind. While practicing law, I had been playing poker very seriously on the side and was consistently beating the game for significant profits. So when I left law, I transitioned into life as a professional poker player. During that time, I had the space and freedom to get myself healthy. I tuned into every health and wellness podcast I could and I read a number of health and personal growth books. I learned to regulated my nervous system, increase my window of tolerance to stress, changed my lifestyle and habits. And I worked with a functional medicine doctor to heal my gut and my hormones. I felt better than I ever had in my life. Every symptom I had been experiencing that that the old paradigm of conventional doctors had been unable to help me with were gone. My migraines, fatigue, chronic stress, acne – all gone. Not from medication but from changing my diet and lifestyle and practicing breathwork and meditation. Poker also taught me so much about emotional regulation and served as a profound mirror for many aspects of my life. As they say, poker is a hard way to make an easy lesson. To be successful, it requires a lot of self mastery. During my poker journey, I did a lot of inner work to become a well respected poker player in the mid to high stakes poker world. I was a regular in the biggest cash games being played in southern CA and I spend my summers grinding the World Series of Poker in Los Vegas – including making a WSOP final table and a deep run the Main Event. But for me, life as a professional poker player was a mere stepping stone in my journey. It wasn’t my destiny. Rather, it was a bridge away from a life that was no longer serving me to to the life I was meant to live. In 2020, that next chapter began. Covid had shut down all of the casinos indefinitely and I began creating a lot of space in my life to feel into what I wanted to do with the next chapter of my life. I enjoyed poker very much,I but I always knew I was meant for more than that, and I always felt a natural entrepreneurial spirit in my heart. I was meditating a lot, journaling and reflecting, and spending a lot of solo time in nature. And that’s when I received what I refer to as massive and instantaneous download from the universe. I was flooded with a million thoughts and ideas all at once. I immediately grabbed a pad and paper and went to the park and sat under a tree. I furiously wrote down everything that had come into my awareness. After 15 minutes, I had written out a 3 page blue print of a vision for community based wellness center. It would have breathwork, somatic movement, biotech equipment, a team of health and transformation coaches, cold plunge, saunas, and jacuzzi. But most importantly, it would be a social hub where people can connect with each other and support one another on their journeys. The message was clear. For too long, community has been the missing link in health and wellness. We don’t heal and grow our best in isolation, and we weren’t meant to do this alone. We NEED EACH OTHER. I: looked at what I had written and I thought, “WOW, this sounds amazing. But what the heck am I supposed to do with this? I’m a retired lawyer and an out of work professional poker player. And I’m not in the health and wellness field. I didn’t know it but all of that was about to change. Over the next few years I studied Functional Medicine Health Coaching to learn intimately how to heal the root causes of symptoms and how to support others through their own transformations. I studied breathwork and obtained my facilitator certification. And I began leading breathwork for free on the Bay in Belmont shore every Thursday at 7Am. It started small but our crowds began to grow, eventually attracting up to 50 people to come together to connect, breathe, and plunge together in the ocean at 7Am every Thursday morning. It’s also where I met my community and my tribe. The people who are helping me and my best friend and co-founder at Cellevate, Mak, build Cellevate. It has been exactly 5 years from when I had that vision to open a community based wellness center. After becoming a Breathwork facilitator and health coach, bringing people together and leading them through transformations and finding my team, we began working on building what would become Cellevate. We are almost done with construction and expecting to open by September. We are so excited to bring this vision to life. And the vision has expanded from what the initial blueprint was. Especially around the power of music and vibration to heal the body at a cellular level. More and more scientific literature is coming out showing that the future of medicine is sound and vibration. To that end, we have been working with talented DJS to create a full catalogue of custom music for Cellevate’s breathwork classes that are created in tones and layered with frequencies that promote healing at the cellular level. We have also developed cutting edge movement classes that help to move energy within the body and create harmony within our own bodies and collectively with others. So what is Cellevate? It’s essentially a combination of your favorite wellness studio and a social bathhouse. We describe it like this. Cellevate is an immersive social wellness destination combining transformational breathwork, embodied movement, custom music, and an otherworldly contrast therapy cave—featuring a communal cold plunge, jacuzzi, and infrared sauna. Other offerings include our Biotech Lounge featuring a red light therapy bed, a sound and vibration bed, PEMF, and other cutting edge wellness technologies. We also offer 1:”1 and small group coaching for health and personal transformations. In additional to our full schedule of breathwork classes and movement classes, our studio will also host special events, dance parties with DJS and live music, mens groups and women’s circles, speaker event, and private events for celebrations, corporate wellness, and athletic programs.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely been a bumpy road! I experience a lot of fear and imposter syndrome. The costs to start this business were far more than originally anticipated. It’s been a non-stop learning experience. The space we are building in is very challenge in terms of layout, but the location is PERFECT. At the intersection of PCH and second, on the border of Long Beach and Seal Beach, and near the intersection of the 405/605/22 freeways. And we have ample parking. But the building required having the roof replies and really getting creative to build our vision in this space. And it has required so much patience! Permitting and engineering took a painfully long time. They don’t make it easy in CA to create a business. And like many businesses owners say, if I knew exactly how hard this process would be at the beginning,I probably wouldn’t have done it because it seems so daunting. But I’m so glad that I have.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cellevate ?
Cellevate is an immersive social wellness destination combining transformational breathwork, embodied movement, custom music, and an otherworldly contrast therapy cave—featuring a communal cold plunge, jacuzzi, and infrared sauna.

At a time when people are seeking connection more than ever, we are redefining wellness as a shared, collective experience. Cellevate’s signature offerings bring people together for full body activations—where every cell is alive and buzzing with calm, happy energy that stays with them long after their visit.

With flexible memberships, credit packages, and drop-ins, we make the benefits of a high-end wellness retreat part of daily life.

Our tagline is:

Breathe. Sweat. Plunge. Together.

Founder Quote:s (ME) “Isolation is a sickness. Community is the medicine.” “For too long, community has been the missing link in health and wellness. We need each other.”

Cellevate is the Answer to the loneliness epidemic and mental health crisis. An accessible social wellness destination built for modern daily life. A place we can come to daily for the types of things we usually experience only at retreats when we escape from life. We want to support people in their daily lives. We want people to experience happier, healthier, more connected lives.

Reimagining Social Connection Through Wellness
Connection by design: Communal plunge, sauna, and jacuzzi experiences naturally bring people together.
Doing hard things: From cold plunges to breathwork, shared challenges build trust and connection.
Emotional elevation: Our signature experiences leave guests feeling open and elevated, in prime states for meaningful and authentic conversations.
Alcohol-free social space: A vibrant alternative to bars – it’s like a wellness playground for people seeking health, happiness, growth and connection.
Quiet Hours + Social Hours: Our model supports both solitude and interaction, there are times and spaces for both.
The Vibe: The joy of a festival, the depth of a retreat, the accessibility of a gym.

We offer High-Impact Tools for Mental, Physical, and Emotional Well-Being
Our experiences aren’t just trends– they are ancient medicines backed by modern science.
Mental health transformation: These practices regulate the nervous system, ease anxiety, reduce depression, and boost overall mood.
Neurotransmitter magic: They stimulate dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and endorphins—nature’s antidepressants.
Stress relief + emotional release: They support emotional processing, physical detox, and energetic resets.
Built-in oxytocin: Group sessions, shared experiences, and touchpoints of community naturally increase oxytocin, the “connection hormone.”

We are Changing the Game with : Access, Affordability, and Innovation
Breathwork—elevated: Regularly scheduled signature breathwork offerings designed by elite facilitators featuring multiple transformative techniques and immersive custom soundscapes exclusive to Cellevate. It’s unlike anything else in the wellness space.
Contrast therapy reimagined: Communal cold plunge, sauna and jacuzzi—designed for flow and availability in an immersive, other worldly contrast cave.
Membership model: Making it easy and affordable to experience powerful practices multiple times per week—no $90 drop-ins here.
Accessibility: 25+ capacity for both studio classes and our contrast cave to conveniently drop in whenever you want.
4. Rounding Out With Movement
Beyond physical fitness–people are seeking deeper connection with their bodies and ways to express and understand themselves through movement.
Our movement offerings tap into something different than fitness and yoga studios: emotional expression, nervous system regulation, and collective energy.
Humans are wired to move their bodies expressively– but many people don’t feel comfortable dancing or don’t know where to begin without guidance.
Outside of retreats and one-off ecstatic dance events– safe, judgment-free spaces to move freely are almost non-existent.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Mark Hyman Aubrey Marcus and Dave Asprey podcasts. Books: The Untethered Soul + the Surrender Experiment. Beqoming (with a Q )by Benjamin and Azria Bequer. My local community and incredible friends and team at Cellevate. My men’s group, The Align 365 Project. Who we will be partnering with.

Pricing:

• Founding Unlimited Contrast Therapy Membership: $179 /Mo (Includes unlimited cold plunge, infrared sauna, and jacuzzi in our immersive contrast cave with custom soundscapes and Vitamin C Rinse Showers)
• Founding Full Unlimited Membership $199 /Mo (includes unlimited Breathwork and Movement Classes in addition to unlimited cold plunge, jacuzzi, and infrared sauna)
• Other offerings including Biotech Lounge, Coaching, and Special Events will be announced soon!
• Limited Quantity of Founding Memberships are available. Founding Memberships guarantee you are locked in at your lowest rate for life and come with early access to Cellevate before we open to the general public.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cellevate.us (Note that we currently have only a landing page up but our full website should be up by the time we go to publication)
• Instagram: @cellevate_together