Wahlburgers, the Barbados cricket team and a collab with P Diddy – Wahlberg’s eclectic business ventures
DAVE BENETT
These days, Wahlberg is perhaps as well known for his myriad business ventures as he is for his acting (and brief rap) career.
It all began in 2014, when Wahlberg, along with his brothers Donnie and Paul opened fast food hamburger establishment Wahlburgers. It was Mark’s idea to expand Paul’s restaurant in Massachusetts into a full-fledged chain, with a reality TV show to promote it.
In 2017, Page Six reported that the two of the Wahlburgers locations in New York had run into trouble, with one of the joints in Coney Island closing down and the company running behind on rent payments.
Wahlburgers said at the time:“Wahlburgers required its Coney Island restaurant to close due to a number of factors.
The same franchise group was in the process of developing a space in Times Square. In both cases the franchisee was not operating in compliance with Wahlburgers business practices and brand standards.”
WAHLBERG AT THE LAUNCH OF WAHLBURGERS UK DEBUT RESTAURANT IN LONDON’S COVENT GARDEN IN 2004DAVE BENETT
Wahlberg has also bought an equity interest of the Barbados Tridents cricket team, after was introduced to the game by Amjal Khan, a friend and the club’s chairman.
“I am a huge cricket fan now,” Wahlberg said in a statement after the announcement. “I’m excited to be a part of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League because I know cricket is huge in the Caribbean and a rich part of the region’s heritage.”
After cutting his teeth in the business world in the fast food sphere, in 2015 Wahlberg pivoted to fitness. Collaborating with now-disgraced hip-hop mogul P Diddy and billionaire Ronald Burkle, he invested in Aquahydrate, a bottled water brand.
The following year, he co-founded Performance Inspired, a sports nutrition company, with former GNC executive Tom Dowd.
COLLABORATING WITH NOW-DISGRACED HIP-HOP MOGUL P DIDDY, WAHLBERG ALSO HE INVESTED IN AQUAHYDRATE, A BOTTLED WATER BRANDGETTY IMAGES FOR CINEMACON
Along with his producing partner and manager Stephen Levinson, Wahlberg also launched Ballers Report, an online platform (and spin-off of their HBO series Ballers) that features inspiring business, entertainment and sports articles, videos and podcasts.
In March 2019, Wahlberg bought a stake in the F45 fitness franchise. Four years later, he became the company’s chief brand officer. The company describes itself as offering “life-changing gym and functional team training”.
It owns over 2,000 studios worldwide, including 1,000 in the US and 500 in Australia where it was founded in 2011 by Gilchrist and Deutsche Wahlberg was named as chief brand officer in 2022.
In August 2023, F45 Training Holdings announced it had delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its share price fell by 75 per cent. According to Business Wire, F45 had received notice from the NYSE that it was not in compliance with its listing standards.
