Gold Sponsors

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

The details: 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. 

The city of Sugar Land is helping support the expansion of Hope Biosciences, a Sugar Land-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in adult stem cell-based therapeutics, city officials announced in a Jan. 7 news release.

Zooming in: The $1 million performance-based incentive comes after the Sugar Land-based business purchased a permanent building in the city at 16700 Creek Bend Drive, per the release. The company will invest $2 million into improving the building and create 15 new jobs, averaging a $61,240 salary, in the next five years.

Diving in deeper: Hope Biosciences develops therapies using stem cells from a patient’s own body to regenerate or repair damaged tissues and treat conditions such as neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases.

Quote of note: “Hope Biosciences is a homegrown success story and a key example of how life science companies can thrive in Sugar Land,” said Jennifer Alexander, Sugar Land business development manager. “This incentive marks the first granted to a life sciences company and signals our commitment to supporting this sector, which is critical to our city’s economic future.”

Houston-area hospitality businesses can now earn points for their sustainability practices as part of a new program that aims to limit environmental harm ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In a nutshell: The FIFA World Cup 2026 Houston Host Committee launched the “New Year, New Hou” initiative Jan. 12 to mitigate the environmental impact of tourism during the tournament, which will run from June 11 to July 19, per a news release. Roughly 500,000 people are expected to visit Houston to watch the games, Community Impact previously reported.

About the program: Hotels, motels and restaurants—including cafés and bars—based within the Houston-Galveston Area Council's boundaries can participate in the program through Feb. 28, according to the release.

Qualifying businesses can earn badges by implementing environmentally friendly practices pertaining to waste management, energy efficiency and natural resources, according to the committee’s Hospitality Sustainability Toolkit. 

What to expect: Verified businesses will be added to a “sustainable tourism guide” for World Cup visitors, per the release. 

From volunteer events to parades, there are several events to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Greater Houston area. 

MLK Lonestar
The Lone Star Community Center is holding an event to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

• Jan. 19, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Free
• Lone Star Community Center, 2500 Lone Star Parkway, Montgomery

• Jan. 18, 4 p.m.
• Free
• 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands

• Jan. 19, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Free
• Hope Farms, 10401 Scott St., Houston

Hundreds of Texas private schools have been approved to participate in the state’s new education savings account program, per a map released by the state comptroller in early January.

The overview: As of press time, 775 private schools and prekindergarten providers had been approved to accept education savings accounts, or ESAs. There are over 1,300 accredited private schools in the state, according to the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission. 

Of the approved schools, there are:

• 233 schools in the Houston area
• 195 schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
• 94 schools in the San Antonio area
• 70 schools in the Austin area