Fitt Insider

Today I'm joined by Adrian Aoun, Founder and CEO of Forward, a technology-driven healthcare system.

Forward started from scratch to build a system that's completely different and radically improves healthcare. Forward is on a mission to lower costs, improve results, and make quality care available to those who need it most.

In this episode we talk about re-imagining healthcare from the ground up by vertically integrating every aspect of the experience. Adrian also shares his vision to create a more personalized, preventative, and affordable healthcare system. In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Forward's technology is reinventing healthcare
• Why current incentives in healthcare are counterproductive to our wellbeing
• Forward's strategies for dramatically reducing healthcare costs

Links & Resources

• Subscribe to the Fitt Insider newsletter
• Visit the Fitt Insider jobs board
• View current Fitt Insider investment and get in touch

Adrian Aoun's Links

• Follow Adrian on Twitter
• Forward's website
• Follow Forward on Twitter
• Forward is on Instagram
• Check out Forward on YouTube

Today on the podcast I'm joined by SoulCycle CEO, Evelyn Webster.

SoulCycle offers indoor cycling and spinning workout classes. With one-of-a-kind playlists, legendary instructors, and more than 83 studios (and counting) across the U.S., Canada, and the UK, SoulCycle creates an inspiring indoor cycling class experience.

In this episode, we talk about the pandemic's impact on brick-and-mortar fitness. Evelyn shares how SoulCycle navigated the rollercoaster of re-openings and restrictions. We also discuss the company's omni-channel offering, including its smart bike, digital content, and outdoor classes. In this episode, you'll learn:

• The business model SoulCycle uses for predictable recurring revenue
• How SoulCycle blends brick-and-mortar studios with their digital platform
• SoulCycle's strategies for retaining top talent in their industry

Links & Resources

• Calm
• Nike Training Club app
• Subscribe to the Fitt Insider newsletter
• Visit the Fitt Insider jobs board
• View current Fitt Insider investment and get in touch

Evelyn Webster's Links

• SoulCycle's website
• Follow SoulCycle on Instagram
• Equinox+ website and app
• SoulCycle SOUL Renew subscription

Today I'm joined by Sarah Jones Simmer, CEO of Found, a modern weight care platform. Found improves people's wellbeing by making evidence based weight loss accessible & affordable. Instead of focusing on short term weight loss, Found emphasizes long term weight care backed by science.

On today's show we talk about Found's digital weight management solution. Sarah explains how advancements in tele-health and prescription medication are transforming weight loss. We also discuss Found's approach to de-stigmatizing dieting and obesity by focusing on personalized weight care.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why weight care is more than eating less, exercising, and will power
• Found's personalized precision care advantage in weight management
• Why Found's weight care platform is more than a weight loss program
• Sarah's marketing strategy to educate customers about Found and its benefits

Links & Resources

• Bumble
• American Board of Obesity Medicine
• Happify Health
• Subscribe to the Fitt Insider newsletter
• Visit the Fitt Insider jobs board
• View current Fitt Insider investment and get in touch

Sarah Jones Simmer's Links

• Found's website
• Found's app is in the App Store
• Follow Found on Facebook
• Found is on Instagram
• Follow Found on Twitter

Today I'm joined by Hydrow founder and CEO, Bruce Smith. Hydrow completely re-engineered the rowing machine with patented technology, and built an immersive experience around it. Hydrow is designed from the ground up. It's a unique in-home rowing machine that is elegant and sophisticated. Hydrow's engineering is unmatched in performance, and their machines are built to last. In this episode we talk about the pandemic's impact on the connected fitness category. Bruce explains how Hydrow was able to achieve sustainable growth, and we discuss what's next for the company. We talk about Hydrow's new content, additional equipment, if they're open to an acquisition, and whether they'll go public. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Hydrow delivers a better workout than biking or using a treadmill
• Hydrow's partnering strategy with brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy
• Why celebrities are eager to invest in Hydrow
• What the post-pandemic future of in-home fitness looks like

Links & Resources

• Subscribe to the Fitt Insider newsletter
• Visit the Fitt Insider jobs board
• View current Fitt Insider investment and get in touch

Guest's Links

• Hydrow's website
• Fabletics

On today's show I talk with Joel Lieginger, CEO at Paceline. Paceline is the first-ever holistic approach to improving the health of individuals and society. Paceline incentivizes physical, mental, and financial health in a continuous virtuous cycle. Paceline brings best-in-class digital products and financial services together, through a credit card and insurance, to pay people to live a healthy lifestyle. In this episode we talk about paying people to workout, Paceline's wellness credit card, and Joel's vision to transform the sick care and life insurance industries. In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Paceline connects brands with consumers
• Paceline's innovative way to get people to prioritize their health
• How Paceline gets brand partners a 10X conversion rate
• A clever solution for unused gym memberships

Links & Resources

• Subscribe to the Fitt Insider newsletter
• Visit our jobs board
• View current investment and get in touch

Joel Lieginger's Links

• Paceline's website
• Paceline app
• Paceline is on Instagram

Today I'm joined by Jason McCarthy — a former Special Forces operator turned entrepreneur, who bootstrapped the rucksack and events brand GORUCK into a $30M a year business.

In this episode, we talk about Jason's vision to make rucking more popular than running, the importance of real-life, social interaction, and his latest venture, Sandlot Technology, that aims to decentralize fitness.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to build a community and your brand
• Can you grow a community without ads?
• Why you need to use your unfair advantage
• The downside of the metaverse and its impact on social health
• How to create a profitable and impactful business

More from Fitt Insider

Fitt Insider helps operators stay informed and make better decisions. We produce a weekly newsletter and podcast, curate an industry jobs board, and invest in early-stage companies.

*** Subscribe to our newsletter

*** Visit the jobs board

*** View current investment and get in touch

More from Jason

***Follow Jason on Instagram

***Jason is on Facebook

***Jason's LinkedIn page

***GORUCK's website

Jason enlisted in the Army after 9/11 because of 9/11 and served in Special Forces in Iraq and the Sahel region of West Africa. In 2006, Jason's wife Emily was a Case Officer in the CIA working in French-speaking West Africa. Applying what he had learned in war, Jason built Emily a "go-bag", or "go-ruck" for her to keep in her vehicle and at home, ready to go at all times.

Jason's commitment to the Special Forces way of life and the idea for a "go-ruck" led him to start GORUCK in 2008. It took over two years to design and manufacture the rucksacks and ensure they would thrive in both Baghdad and NYC — Green Berets were judge and jury of quality and functionality. In order to raise awareness for the gear, Jason started community building through physically grueling events based on Special Forces training called the GORUCK Challenge.

Over 7,000 events and 160,000 participants later, GORUCK has become The Rucking Company, a people first organization centered around increasing global activity through rucking, strengthening communities, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. In every way, the GORUCK community represents a bridge between the civilian and military worlds and there are over 500 Official GORUCK Clubs all over the world, accessible and open to all.

In 2020, Jason co-founded Sandlot Technology Inc. with B.J. Naedele, a GORUCK Board Member and former COO of Nike+ who worked on four #1 Apps in the App store, with the mission to unite and democratize fitness, centered around trainers. The platform is making its real world debut at Sandlot Jax - Fitness Festival in April of 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida, in partnership with global thought leaders, trainers, and brands in the health and fitness space.

Jason can usually be found rucking around Jacksonville Beach, FL with his wife Emily, three kids — Natalie, Jack, and Ryan — and chocolate lab Monster who is lovingly referred to as the President of GORUCK Nation.

Today I'm joined by Mohammed Iqbal, Founder and CEO of SweatWorks — a digital agency that powers top fitness and wellness brands.

In this episode, we discuss the evolution of SweatWorks, trends in artificial intelligence, connected fitness, and wearable technology. And we explore untapped opportunities in hybrid fitness, integrated wellness, and democratizing well-being.

More from Fitt Insider

Fitt Insider helps operators stay informed and make better decisions. We produce a weekly newsletter and podcast, curate an industry jobs board, and invest in early-stage companies.

*** Subscribe to our newsletter: https://insider.fitt.co/newsletter/

*** Visit the jobs board: https://jobs.fitt.co/

*** View current investment and get in touch: https://insider.fitt.co/investments/

More from Mohammad

Mohammed Iqbal strives to enhance people's lives. He believes the key to leading a healthier life is having access to fitness knowledge and acting on it. He founded SweatWorks, the leading digital agency in fitness design and technology to create meaningful wellness journeys for everyone.

As founder and CEO, Mohammed has established SweatWorks as a wellness technology brand unlike any other. The agency pursues innovation to make fitness engaging, beautiful and accessible to all.

Mohammed also contributes to the wellness industry via speaking engagements at leading events and fitness conferences around the world. His personal commitment to his fitness journey is an inspiration to all those he comes in contact with. Daily, he immerses himself in strategic and creative thinking, fitness, and innovation. For ten years Mohammed has worked at exploring the intersection of fitness and technology, paving the way towards a more tangible wellness and healthcare future.

SweatWorks collaborates with top-tier fitness brands to provide design, technology and marketplace expertise to produce first-to-market fitness and wellness products. It has made the Inc 5000 list as one of the fastest growing private companies five years in a row.

Today I'm joined by Adam Crofts, founder and CEO of Prevayl.

In this episode, we discuss the company's Smartwear clothing, which combines performance apparel and wearable technology. We cover the Prevayl's recent $10M funding round. And Adam shares his vision for the evolution of athleisure.

More from Fitt Insider

Fitt Insider helps operators stay informed and make better decisions. We produce a weekly newsletter and podcast, curate an industry jobs board, and invest in early-stage companies.

*** Subscribe to our newsletter: https://insider.fitt.co/newsletter/

*** Visit the jobs board: https://jobs.fitt.co/

*** View current investment and get in touch: https://insider.fitt.co/investments/

More from Adam

Adam Crofts is the founder and CEO of Prevayl, a fast emerging brand that has created a stunning apparel range that houses near-invisible technology, providing the world's most accurate insights into health and performance data to consumers through their app. Prevayl has bought to market the evolution in Sportswear that leaves simple athleisure brands behind.

Social: @Prevayl

Website: www.prevayl.com

Today I'm joined by Jeff Krahel, co-founder and CEO of Playbook — an app that helps trainers, athletes, and influencers build a digital fitness business.

In this episode, we discuss the rise of the fitness creator, Playbook's approach to developing a creator-first platform, and Jeff explains how some fitness creators have built multi-million dollar businesses.

More from Fitt Insider

Fitt Insider helps operators stay informed and make better decisions. We produce a weekly newsletter and podcast, curate an industry jobs board, and invest in early-stage companies.

*** Subscribe to our newsletter: https://insider.fitt.co/newsletter/

*** Visit the jobs board: https://jobs.fitt.co/

*** View current investment and get in touch: https://insider.fitt.co/investments/

More from Jeff

Jeff Krahel is Co-Founder and CEO of Playbook, a mobile marketplace enabling top instructors in fitness and athletics to turn their iPhone content into a subscription income. In this role, Jeff oversees all business operations for the company, including monetization, product development, instructor onboarding, community building and investments. Prior to founding Playbook, Jeff was Director at Halmos Capital, where he helped to found and scale a $100M special situations private equity fund which invested across real assets and tech. In addition to his role at Playbook, Jeff is an investor An Ironman athlete, Jeff played D1 soccer at the University of Buffalo, where he majored in Management and Corporate Finance.

Social: https://www.instagram.com/playbook_app/

Website: https://playbookapp.io/

Today I'm joined by Ron Schneidermann, CEO of AllTrails — a guide to the outdoors.

In this episode, we discuss the company's content flywheel, free app, and subscription product. We cover the intersection of technology and the outdoors, as well as the company's recent $150M funding round, fueling community, personalization, and international expansion.

More from Fitt Insider

Fitt Insider helps operators stay informed and make better decisions. We produce a weekly newsletter and podcast, curate an industry jobs board, and invest in early-stage companies.

*** Subscribe to our newsletter: https://insider.fitt.co/newsletter/

*** Visit the jobs board: https://jobs.fitt.co/

*** View current investment and get in touch: https://insider.fitt.co/investments/

More from Ron

Ron Schneidermann is an entrepreneur who is passionate about building great companies that help people have authentic, organic, real-world experiences. He is the CEO of AllTrails, the most trusted and used outdoors platform in the world. In 2005, Ron co-founded Liftopia, the global leader in ski lift ticket bookings, and was Head of Growth at Yelp Reservations. Ron attended UCLA, earning his bachelor's degree in Communications, and lives in California with his wife Jenny, their three children, and their dog Sally Toodle the Golden Doodle. Ron loves riding his mountain bike, but his all-time favorite trail is the Na Pali Coast Trail in Kauai.