Darren MacDonald comes to the strength-based training company as a retail strategy pro, which would indicate what’s next for Tonal

Smart home gym maker Tonal has appointed a new CEO, Darren MacDonald, who succeeds Krystal Zell.

MacDonald comes to Tonal from Petco, where he served as chief customer officer and chief marketing officer, and has over 20 years of global digital strategy and business development expertise. In addition to Petco, MacDonald has held senior leadership roles at Jet.com, IAC, Avery Dennison and managed Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce entertainment business.

Zell Looks to Recharge

As one of the few female CEOs in the fitness industry, Zell had served as Tonal’s chief since January 2023, during which she raised $130 million in funding for the smart home gym brand and oversaw the advancement of AI-driven, hyper-personalized strength training. 

The Harvard Business School grad cited the need to recharge, spend more time with family and less commuting to San Francisco on her LinkedIn page as reasons for her exit. She called the transition “bittersweet” and noted that it was a difficult decision in light of an “intense” few years.

Krystal Zell (credit: Tonal)

“Together, we transformed Tonal into a company that will sustain long into the future in order to serve our devoted members,” Zell wrote. “We’ve grown our membership even in the wake of the post-Covid era, achieved healthy financials and have driven incredible innovation, especially in the areas of hardware and AI capabilities.”

She added that she’s excited for MacDonald to take the reins as the new CEO of Tonal, writing, “I’m certain his skills and experience are exactly what Tonal needs moving forward.”

Member-first MacDonald 

In a statement regarding his new role as Tonal CEO, MacDonald shared that he’s a big fan of the smart home gym maker, writing on his LinkedIn page that he was a Tonal member before joining the team.

“I’m excited to work with such a talented team at Tonal,” he said. “We’ve set the bar high by being the first to offer truly personalized strength training technology, and I’m eager to push our offerings even further. Together, we’ll continue to empower people everywhere with the best strength training experience possible.”

Jack Lazar, chairman of Tonal’s board, credited Zell for her leadership, which he says positioned the company for continued success. 

“As we embark on this new chapter, we are excited to welcome Darren and his impressive background in retail strategy and consumer-driven growth, which we believe will propel Tonal to new heights in market share, member loyalty and product development,” he added. 

Tonal Makes Moves

Earlier this year, Tonal announced a major partnership with Spartan Race, putting Tonal as a required obstacle at all stadium races where participants complete a rotational chop. It’s a move that gives Tonal a massive audience of over 50,000 racers who can experience the equipment firsthand.

Jonathan Shottan, Tonal’s chief product and content officer, shared with Athletech News this spring that the strength training hardware brand has been transformative for its members, with data showing Tonal members make 70+% strength gains in their first year on the at-home device. He also indicated that the brand was considering bolstering its retail presence — an area in which MacDonald has considerable experience.

Data > Connected 

At-home fitness has been in a rocky place at times in a post-pandemic setting, and although Tonal has been referred to as the “Peloton of weightlifting,” Zell had strived to differentiate Tonal from the pack, even recoiling from the “connected fitness” label.

“That’s fundamentally not what Tonal is trying to do,” Zell told ATN last fall in a wide-ranging interview highlighting the data Tonal has amassed to drive the user experience. “We’re not trying to create this class experience where you’re connected. Instead, we have a very different philosophy: we are trying to bring intelligent strength to the market.”

MacDonald referenced the strength-based data set that Tonal has amassed on his LinkedIn page, where he noted that Zell had done a “herculean job” and positioned Tonal for continued growth.

“I’ve been blown away with the innovation in the product and equally impressed by how many lives it has changed,” he wrote. “People who try this product end up buying it and sticking with it (lowest churn in the category) as it improves their health and wellbeing.”

Check out ATN’s exclusive Q&A with Tonal coach Kendall “Woody” Wood here, where she shares her gym bag staples and favorite wellness products. 

The post Tonal Names New CEO as Krystal Zell Exits appeared first on Athletech News.

Under Sanft, 24 Hour Fitness has sought stability following its emergence from bankruptcy a few years ago, opting to invest in modernizing its existing locations rather than race to open up new ones

For Karl Sanft, leading 24 Hour Fitness is the job of a lifetime. 

Sanft first became a 24 Hour Fitness member in 1993, long before he’d one day take over as the gym brand’s chief executive. 

After a 20-year stint at Best Buy where he rose up the ranks to become senior vice president of U.S. retail operations, Sanft joined 24 Hour Fitness in 2019 as its chief operating officer. In December 2021, he took over as interim CEO. In June 2022, Sanft was formally introduced as the company’s newest president and CEO.

Sanft has been tasked with steering the big-box gym chain back to solid ground following a bankruptcy filing in 2020 that saw it close around 100 locations. Today, 24 Hour Fitness counts nearly 300 gyms in 11 states, and still stands as one of the fitness industry’s most iconic brands. 

Under Sanft’s leadership, 24 Hour Fitness has sought stability, opting to invest in modernizing its existing locations rather than race to open up new ones. 

Sanft sat down with Athletech News to discuss his first couple years on the job, outline his vision for the future of 24 Hour Fitness and share his perspective on how the fitness industry compares to other sectors.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

Athletech News: You took over at a pivotal and trying time for 24 Hour Fitness. What have your early priorities been as president and CEO, and how have things gone relative to your expectations? 

Karl Sanft: You hear a lot about the CEO job before you go into it, but some of it you have to experience. It’s different than you’d expect it to be. 

The real challenge was stabilizing the organization. We were just coming out of bankruptcy and restructuring the brand. I love the brand, but you’ve got to be objective as well. The brand was overpriced, so we had to reconcile our pricing. And the brand needed to be refreshed. 

We’ve been working diligently and spending money, as our financial health has allowed, to refresh and revitalize the member experience. That’s been our focus for the last couple of years, and will continue to be over the next couple of years. 

credit: 24 Hour Fitness

ATN: How far along is 24 Hour Fitness on the pricing and brand refresh plan that you’ve implemented? 

KS: Pricing is easy to adjust. For the amenities we offer, I think our pricing is right on par. If you look at some of the lower-priced competitors, they don’t have our amenity set when it comes to access to fitness professionals and wet areas like pools, spas, steam rooms and saunas, etc. So I’m happy with where we are from a pricing standpoint.

We’re at the beginning of our refresh. We’re touching a lot of clubs, buying equipment, and refreshing graphics, paint, lighting and floors. But we’re still at the beginning of that process.

ATN: Would you characterize 24 Hour Fitness a high-value, low-price (HVLP) gym brand, or does it play in a slightly higher pricing tier? 

KS: I try not to go with a label. Here’s what I would say: our pricing is probably just a bit higher than HVLP (gyms), but our amenity set justifies that price, and our gym floor is as good as anybody’s. That’s where we’ve invested, and that’s where members show their appreciation for us.

ATN: How has the gym floor evolved over your five years at 24 Hour Fitness, particularly post-pandemic?

KS: COVID had a real impact. I think people (now) enjoy hybrid fitness more than ever. For some aspects of their fitness, they enjoy being outside. What I see in the clubs is more of a focus on strength. An example of that is Olympic lifting and half racks. It’s not that people don’t do cardio, but they find other ways of getting their cardio done. Women and men alike are focusing on strength like I’ve never seen before, and it’s exciting.

credit: 24 Hour Fitness

ATN: What’s the biggest challenge in running a big-box gym brand with around 300 locations?

KS: It’s really all about consistency of experience. We like touting how many clubs we have but the members don’t really care. It’s just, “Is my gym excellent? Is my gym inspiring? Are the people in my gym good to me? Is the gym clean? Do the machines work?”

There’s also this interesting mix: How do you take advantage of scale, but then how do you embrace local? Do you know the community you serve? Do you know what’s different about it? Are you set up in a way that matters? If you put the same equipment in all gyms and don’t have the right equipment for (a specific) gym, that’s something you have to watch out for. It’s about really understanding what it is that your members want locally.

credit: 24 Hour Fitness

ATN: What are your goals for 24 Hour Fitness over the next few years? Do you have any expansion plans? 

KS: I’ve been focused on getting the company healthy from the inside out. What that means is that you can’t just build 10, 20 clubs a year and not invest in the clubs you have. The headline of new clubs is always exciting, but when you invest in refreshes and remodels, it’s amazing what it does. 

We’ve got a club in Texas right now that’s all torn up, the restrooms are being redone, the floors are being redone, the tiles are being redone, but the member surveys are going up. Why are people excited about the experience when it’s a hot mess? The answer is that they just love seeing you invest in their gym. 

As a secondary focus, we’ll reposition and we’ll fill in appropriately. We built a couple of clubs last year, and we’ll build a few clubs in the next couple of years. We won’t be opening new markets in the next couple of years, but we’ll be bolstering our position in our existing markets. 

ATN: We’ve talked about the rise of strength training. Do you have any predictions about what may be coming next?

KS: Mobility is something to really think about. I don’t do Pilates, but I’m excited by it and I can see the benefits. 

I’ve been a (24 Hour Fitness) member for 31 years. I started in my 20s, now I’m in my 50s. My workout has entirely changed over that period of time. People get injured as they get older because they just don’t have the stability, mobility and flexibility. I think that’s where the industry is going to go – “fit for life” versus “fit for the gym.” 

credit: 24 Hour Fitness

ATN: As someone with a lot of high-level experience in another industry, how do you view the fitness industry? 

KS: It’s a small industry, and people stick together. I know many of the CEOs in the industry. We help one another, we talk about ways the industry can be more prepared, God forbid, if something were to ever happen again like what we experienced with COVID. I’ve been humbled by the way far-more-tenured industry leaders have been willing to let me be a part of the dialog and the conversation. 

There’s some legacy stuff – I don’t know how long it takes for it to go away – where people say, “These are the bad things about health clubs, you can’t quit them, you can’t do this, etc.” I don’t see any of that, but I do think the industry still has a hangover, experientially, about some of the things it used to do and the way it used to sell.

ATN: Is there anything you’d like to see the fitness industry change or improve upon? 

KS: I think we just need to do a better job of sharing our voice and helping our members gain leverage. The industry wasn’t considered essential (during COVID), which is pretty amazing, and we take that as a challenge for ourselves.

I’m a part of a community (Health & Fitness Association, formerly IHRSA) that focuses on the PHIT Act. So I think the industry is focusing on coming together, coalescing around a few things and using our collective power for good.

The post CEO Corner: Karl Sanft’s Plan To Rebuild 24 Hour Fitness appeared first on Athletech News.

The Plunge Air is a high-quality inflatable tub that delivers on quality but provides the option to put it away when not in use

Cold plunging is more popular than ever due to its well-known benefits: it can help athletes recover faster after exercise, improve circulation, and reduce inflammation. For beauty enthusiasts, it can also enhance skin by constricting pores and increasing blood flow. However, standard tubs take up a significant amount of space in one’s home, backyard, or apartment, and until recently, there wasn’t a more space-conscious solution. Enter the Plunge Air. This inflatable cold plunge tub can be easily moved, stored, and set up in less than 15 minutes. But how does the Plunge Air compare to other tubs on the market? Athletech News tested the Plunge Air to find out.

Pros

The Plunge Air offers consumers the flexibility to use the tub as-is or connect it to the Plunge Pure Pro Chiller, an all-in-one filtration and chilling device. To get started, simply fill the tub with a hose, connect the chiller, and plug it into a standard outlet. With the chiller, the tub cools down to 37 degrees, which, while not the coldest on the market, will still get you shivering. On particularly hot days, you can also add extra ice to lower the temperature further.

Although I was initially concerned about the time required to inflate the tub, it was surprisingly quick, taking just minutes with the included manual pump. The tub also comes with an all-weather insulated lid to keep debris out and maintain the cold, as well as a ground cover for extra protection. For worst-case scenarios, the Plunge Air includes a repair kit. However, the Plunge Air is durable and made from UV-resistant and drop-stitch material. Changing the filter was also quick, giving me confidence that the water remained clean.

For an inflatable tub, it felt remarkably sturdy. If I hadn’t set it up myself, I might not have guessed it was inflatable. The tub comfortably fits two people, making it ideal for social plunging. It might be a bit tight for two people over six feet tall, but still manageable. The Plunge Air is also designed with comfort in mind, unlike others on the market. It features a slanted wall angled for reclining, making longer plunges more enjoyable.

The Plunge Air chiller is also quiet, allowing for a distraction-free plunging experience. The tub comes with a 30-day guarantee, perfect for those wanting to try it out before committing to a purchase.

Credit: Plunge Air

Cons

As of this article’s publication, the Plunge app is not yet compatible with Android devices, so non-iPhone users will need to wait a bit longer to control their tub remotely.

Additionally, the tub only comes with a 1-year warranty. Priced at $3,190 with the chiller, or $3,590 with heating capabilities, the short warranty is surprising for such an expensive product and brand. Moreover, many other inflatable tubs on the market could serve a similar purpose, especially if you’re not investing in the accompanying chiller.

When I first heard “portable” tub, I imagined taking it to friends’ homes, perhaps even on the subway. While that’s possible, the tub is quite heavy even when not inflated. It comes with an included backpack, but as someone on the smaller side, I won’t be bringing it anywhere outside my home. The portability is most useful within your home, where the tub can be moved from the backyard to the basement in just ten minutes. Additionally, the chiller is certainly not portable, so if you plan to use the two together, expect to keep them at home.

Overall, the Plunge Air is a great choice for those who want an inflatable tub with a reliable accompanying chiller. If you don’t have space for a permanent plunge tub or want the option to put it away occasionally, consider the Plunge Air.

The post Product of the Week: Plunge Air appeared first on Athletech News.

The new pregnancy program is designed to help women with their fitness, emotional and nutritional needs, both pre and postnatal

Digital wellness platform Form has launched its pregnancy program, led by Calyn Brooke Robinow, a NASM-certified personal trainer and pronatal certified pre/postnatal trainer. The program offers specialized workouts and support from week five of pregnancy through postnatal recovery.

“Our community has overwhelmingly expressed a need for a prenatal and postnatal workout program, highlighting it as their top request,” said Sami Bernstein Spalter, a co-founder of Form. “Many women have shared that this gap in our offerings has led them to pause their wellness and fitness journeys with Form. To truly become a comprehensive resource for all wellness needs, it’s essential that we support women throughout every phase of their lives, from their college years to motherhood.”

credit: Form

The offering takes women through programming week by week, providing exercises and emotional support for every stage of pregnancy. Starting at week five, the program includes workouts under 30 minutes that are tailored to prepare the body for labor and help manage the physical changes of pregnancy. The postnatal section begins at six weeks postpartum with core rehab sessions and low-impact routines.

“The prenatal section focuses on strength work to alleviate symptoms, promote a healthy delivery, and increase mindfulness,” explained Spalter. “The postnatal section, meanwhile, helps new mothers ease back into fitness with light exercises and affirmations, addressing both the physical and mental challenges women face after childbirth.”

Form’s breathwork sessions guide women through days when they may feel nauseous, need a mental health boost, or are recovering postpartum. “This added support is crucial, providing a gentle yet effective way for women to connect with their bodies during moments of both joy and uncertainty,” added Spalter.

Nutrition is also a core element of the program, with recipes crafted by Form’s in-house dietitian. “The ingredient list was inspired by what pregnant women need most—nourishing meals that are easy to prepare and freezer-friendly, including some of Calyn’s favorites like lactation cookies!” said Spalter.

Form has also created ways for its community to connect. The brand launched a global WhatsApp group that connects expecting mothers, those trying to conceive, and postpartum women.

“We are committed to supporting our mamas community in multiple ways,” noted Sami Clarke, co-founder of Form. “This space fosters peer-to-peer support, and Calyn will actively participate to address questions and offer encouragement.” Form has also launched group walks for pregnant women, for in-person community building.

 “By integrating a dedicated prenatal and postnatal program, Form is providing invaluable support during this transformative period,” Spalter concluded. “As women’s bodies undergo significant changes, having a trusted resource like Calyn and Form to navigate these transitions will greatly benefit our community, offering both direction and encouragement during these crucial stages.”

See also: Lindsay Arnold’s The Movement Club Launches Pregnancy Workout Program

The post FORM Unveils Pregnancy Program and New Pre & Postnatal Trainer appeared first on Athletech News.

By 2023, the global wellness tourism market had fully recovered from its pandemic-era dip. By 2027, the market is projected to reach $1.4 trillion

Marie Driscoll, CFA, serves as an adjunct professor at The New School, FIT and CUNY, and is one of RETHINK Retail’s Top Retail Experts 2021-2024

The refrain of most consumer analysts and consumer brand and retail executives as they navigate a post-pandemic environment: “COVID changed everything.” 

Lockdown and constrained social interaction meant business and personal travel was curtailed for a few years, while wellness – both corporate and personal – became a top-of-mind focus, adding a ripple to travel industry drivers and sparking an already growing pre-COVID trend of wellness tourism. 

COVID-19 accelerated consumer awareness and deepened focus on all things wellness, highlighting the interconnectedness of our physical, mental, social and spiritual health. Entrepreneurs and established hospitality brands are creating wellness solutions that address more than one aspect of wellness, creating community and enjoying higher average tickets as a result.  

Consumers are looking for holistic wellness solutions, as simple as a yoga mat in hotel rooms with dedicated wellness cable channels to nutritional food and beverage offerings. Technology can enhance in-room wellness with sleep and meditation apps. The solutions are as varied as the clients and the locals they travel to.

In California, hiking along the Pacific and sunset meditations are options, while in upstate New York, fly-fishing could be part of a meditative outdoor wellness retreat. Spas will see more IV therapies and non-surgical aesthetic procedures as beauty and wellness are increasingly integrated. ‘

The secular trend of the last twenty years has been a consumer shift to experiential spending over product spending with a short COVID-related reversal. In their search for the next exciting, meaningful, fulfilling experience, wellness tourism is part of the next frontier. 

Wellness Tourism Tops Pre-Pandemic Levels

The Global Wellness Institute (“GWI”) defines wellness tourism as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing,’ while the Wellness Tourism Association says wellness travel is “travel that allows the traveler to maintain, enhance or kick-start a healthy lifestyle, and support or increase one’s sense of wellbeing.” 

An obvious caveat is that the concept of wellbeing is individual, personal, changes through life experiences and is contextual to culture. While wellbeing is a static state, wellness is a multidimensional lifestyle spanning many aspects of self-care – physical, mental, spiritual, financial, social, environmental, dietary, sexual and more. Wellness is also an active pursuit and engagement. 

Suffice it to say, wellness tourism offerings are varied as providers attempt to address one or more of the aforementioned facets. 

credit: Global Wellness Institute

According to data from Statista, the global wellness tourism industry hit $720 billion in 2019 before contracting 51% in 2020 due to COVID. 

By 2023, the global wellness tourism market had fully recovered and stood at $868 billion, up 33% year over year and up 21% from 2019 levels. By 2027, wellness tourism is projected to be a $1.4 trillion global industry, achieving a 12.7% 4-year compound annual growth rate. 

Global Wellness Tourism Market ($-billions; YoY % change) (source: Statista, Global Wellness Institute)

These are big figures and sit under the umbrella of the Global Wellness Institute’s estimate for the global wellness economy of $6.2 trillion in 2023 

Destinations emphasizing fitness and nature-based activities, such as guided hikes, ocean fronts, and coastal settings that blend wellness activities into the location are becoming the status holiday and selfie-moment of many wellness travelers. 

Global Wellness Institute, Global Wellness Tourism Economy, November 2018 (credit: Global Wellness Institute)

Wellness Travelers Spend More Than Traditional Vacationers

Travel/vacations are planned for months in advance, often making the destination and event packed full of anticipation of the extraordinary – meeting new people, learning about new cultures and immersive experiences (cooking lessons, painting, or yoga) spanning new foods, cultural events and, of course, shopping. 

Consumers save and plan for their holidays and there is a freedom with holiday spending that doesn’t occur year-round as consumers rationalize, they are on holiday, won’t return, “deserve it,” etc. And, consumers on wellness holidays spend more than those on traditional holidays. According to GWI, in 2022, the average international wellness tourist spent 41% more than the average tourist at $1,764 per trip. 

Similarly, domestic wellness tourists spent 175% more than the typical domestic tourist (or $668 per trip). In its 2023 Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, GWI stated that in 2022, wellness trips accounted for 7.8% of all tourism trips but represented 18.7% of all tourism expenditures.

In 2022, the U.S. represented 24 % of wellness tourism trips and 39% of all expenditures driven by domestic wellness tourism, which accounted for 96% of wellness trips in 2022. GWI distinguishes between primary and secondary wellness travel – the former when wellness is the motivation of the trip and the latter when wellness is an add-on; secondary wellness trips represented 85% of wellness trips (88% of expenditures) in 2022.  

Wellness for the Rich: Replenish, Recharge & Rehydrate   

While there are explicit wellness destinations – hotel and resort spas account for 44% or more of wellness destinations in 2022 and were the only segment of spa establishments that increased in number since 2019 (up 25%), the growing consumer interest has traditional hoteliers and hospitality venues developing wellness offerings—often distinct, differentiated offerings for specific locations and in tandem with evolving consumer preferences. 

For example, the Four Seasons Hotels (120+ locations in 47 countries) has significantly enhanced its role in the wellness tourism sector with new locations including wellness offerings, both mind and body that can be personalized with one-on-one consultations, fitness workshops and classes led by accredited experts, healthy meals as well as more traditional beauty and spa therapies. 

The three-day retreat offering at Westlake Village includes two 60-minute Tranquility Massages, a facial, combo manicure & pedicure, all meals and snacks from the Wellness Kitchen, a body composition analysis, guided hikes, guided sunrise meditations, Wellness Kitchen cooking classes and group fitness classes, among other things. 

The Spa at the Four Seasons New York Downtown has a variety of IV therapy drip formulations spanning potions to improve immunity, recover from a hangover, aid in weight loss or optimize longevity, gut health, stress, jet lag and detox. For a hefty $12,000, stem cell therapy and for $16,000, a combo drip of stem cell, exosomes and longevity therapy, are offered. 

Spiritual self-care or SoulCare a spiritual practice to slow down the body, quiet the mind and reconnect with the soul is available as well to assist in self-discovery via somatic experiencing, yoga Nidra, visualization, meditation, breathwork and various grounding and nervous system regulation practices.

The Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles goes the extra mile to offer Biohacking treatment on an anti-gravity bed and other procedures taken from sports medicine to restore health and improve well-being. The spa menu also includes a Himalayan salt room, aromatherapy steam room and body scrubs, along with personal and group fitness training.

Marina Kaydanova, ex-banker, entrepreneur and founder of BK Pilates, a New York City-based Pilates studio that has grown from one studio in 2012 to five in 2024 (two in Manhattan, two in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) as she has grown to meet demand for a well-rounded exercise system that complements any physical and mental activity and reflects the growing demand for holistic well-being and the transformative power of mind-body practices.

Kaydanova is currently stretching from Pilates to venture into the world of health, wellness, and hypnotherapy while also launching wellness retreats in fun destinations (she is scouting out her first wellness retreat and considering Bail for 2025). 

“I envision these wellness retreats as an extension of our commitment to holistic wellness and personal growth,” Kaydanova said. “By offering a blend of Pilates classes, hypnotherapy sessions, mindfulness practices, and other wellness activities, these retreats will provide a comprehensive and rejuvenating experience for participants, providing a space to disconnect from their daily routines, reconnect with themselves, and embark on a journey towards improved health and well-being.”

The post Breaking Down the Post-Pandemic Rise of Wellness Tourism  appeared first on Athletech News.

Pilates is already on the upswing, but FS8, an F45 subsidiary, is giving it a lift unlike anyone else

F45 Training’s restructuring under new CEO Tom Dowd hasn’t stopped it from getting in on the Pilates party. With FS8, a new F45 franchise that combines Pilates, tone and Yoga, it’s even situated itself at the center stage.

FS8 launched in Australia back in 2021 but opened its first U.S. location in Austin, Texas, this past spring. The Australia launch came just before the second wave of COVID-19 arrived, and although that hindered things, it gave the brand extra time to sharpen its three-in-one workout and better prepare for expansion. The fruits of those labors are ripening today. 

“We launched the day before the second wave of COVID hit for us, so it was a bit of a tumultuous time,” said Janina Czado, FS8 General Manager. “But that allowed us to hone in and evolve the product to what we really wanted it to be. Now, we’re really ready to go with expansion across the U.S., U.K. and Asian markets as well.”

General Growth of Pilates

Along with some added time for FS8 to load its product, the pandemic helped catalyze an increased public interest in long term health. That’s been instrumental in Pilates’ growth as a whole. 

“Awareness of health and wellness is on the rise, particularly post-COVID,” said Czado. “We now emphasize the need to maintain good health for longevity. It’s no longer about going to a gym to smash yourself and get those endorphins going. It’s about how you can optimize your body for a longer, healthier life.”

credit: F45 Training/FS8

Czado reported that almost 12 million people participated in Pilates last year, illustrating a 15% increase compared to the year before. She also added that the market is set to reach a $420 billion value by 2032. Yelp reported a year-over-year 35% increase in searches for stretching and flexibility training last November as well. 

“People are increasingly recognizing its benefits and how it contributes to quality of life,” said Czado. “I don’t think it’s reached its peak and a greater focus on franchise models like FS8 will contribute to this by enabling mainstream audiences to touch these sorts of modalities.”

How FS8 Moves the Needle

FS8 has already played a significant role in taking Pilates to this next level. The brand noticed competitors were leaving a lot on the table in terms of addressing mainstream audiences. FS8 made that group a priority during its launch. 

“We identified a gap in the market as Pilates and yoga weren’t yet geared towards a mainstream audience. That was obviously due to it previously being more clinical and owned by single operators,” said Czado. “That’s something we really wanted to shift when we came in. Aside from that, Pilates can be seen as intimidating. At FS8, it’s a bit more of an inviting environment. We really wanted to remove the gym-timidation and open up Pilates and yoga specifically to a broader market.”

The brand also breaks down gender barriers separating Pilates from the masses. Little things like alternative studio aesthetics go a long way on that front. 

“We really wanted to kind of tap into the male market as well and not make it a female-only product,” said Czado. “You can see in the studio it’s not really feminine, it’s quite neutral, which is probably a little bit different to other Pilates concepts. It’s been used in sporting codes and male dominated sporting codes for a very long time. It just really hasn’t gone out of that space.”

A Bright Future

The evidence suggesting that Pilates is only getting started lies in its past. The modality has remained a relevant fitness option for years, reaching peak popularity in the 2000s, and becoming a mainstay in the fitness industry. Now, it’s only stepping further into the limelight as it’s enhanced with other modalities like tone and Yoga thanks to brands like FS8.  

“Pilates was developed in the 20th century, so it’s been around for quite a while, and yoga even longer than that,” said Czado. “The exciting thing about Pilates is that it has already stood the test of time and now it’s expanding with brands like FS8, which takes the core principles out of the modality and combines them with others to maximize benefits and elevate offerings.”

“It’s expanding from a franchising perspective as well,” she added. “As more people become aware of health and wellness, they’re really data-driven. They want more education and tracking. They’ve got wearables. People are more in-tune with their bodies and their health and that will continue to drive them to search for ways to enhance their lives and make practices like Pilates and yoga more appealing and relevant.”

FS8 reports six studio locations are already in operation with “more in the pipeline later this year.” F45 also recently launched Vaura Pilates, a total-body athletic conditioning class that takes place on reformers.

“The momentum of franchises like this will keep Pilates and yoga growing,” Czado added. “It’s a pretty exciting time and we’ve come in with a different approach. We’ve taken the best of all of the modalities and tried to mix them together so people can get everything that they need in 50 minutes.”

If you are interested in bringing an FS8 Franchise to your community, visit https://www.fs8invest.com/ for more information.

The post F45 Training Sees Fast Progress with Mixed Pilates Brand FS8 appeared first on Athletech News.