We Misread the Data, Wellness Quietly Hijacked Black Friday

Did HYROX Just Prove That Boutique Fitness Is Broken?

Did HYROX Just Save Orangetheory?
HYROX isn’t just having a moment; it’s becoming the global participation sport of the decade. With more than 80 races across 30+ countries and hundreds of thousands of athletes, it’s the marathon energy of the 1990s, but built for the functional-fitness era.

Meanwhile, Orangetheory (OTF), once the gold standard, has been losing cultural heat. Growth has slowed, the format hasn’t meaningfully evolved in years, and the boutique landscape has (honestly) sprinted past them. Which is why this partnership is more than just a collab. It’s a signal.

HYROX choosing not to open its own brick-and-mortar studios (for now), but instead embedding inside existing ecosystems. Honestly, it’s a masterclass in staying capital-light while scaling global influence.

They could have gone the CrossFit or Barry’s route and built a four-wall empire. Instead, they’re positioning themselves as the sport layer that gyms train for.

And tapping Orangetheory as a training partner is a fascinating strategic move: OTF suddenly gets to reposition itself as the official “practice field” for a sport that’s exploding. It injects purpose, identity, and community into a model that’s felt increasingly flat. Their members now get a tangible “why”. Classes become training blocks for a global race.

Suddenly, OTF isn’t behind the curve, it’s aligned with the fastest-growing fitness sport in the world. And for HYROX, this unlocks scale at a velocity that would’ve taken years to build alone. Thousands of OTF studios worldwide become instant feeders into the HYROX ecosystem, meaning more athletes, more competitive rigor, and more cultural dominance.

Zooming out, this partnership hints at the next evolution of boutique fitness: gyms as the training infrastructure for sport IP, not standalone destinations. HYROX gets distribution and daily touchpoints; OTF gets cultural relevance and retention; consumers get a clear, measurable goal that makes their weekly routine actually mean something. We’re officially in the rise of event-driven fitness.

The Most Misunderstood Trend of the Season
As we roll into Black Friday week (the unofficial Super Bowl for every marketer you know), the numbers are sending mixed signals. Some forecast overall retail sales to rise over 4%, yet others report that the average shopper plans to spend 4% less than last year. Confusing at first glance. But the real story isn’t total spend. It is where the money is migrating.

Consumers are moving their dollars into wellness. I wrote last week about McKinsey’s point that fashion is losing share because people are spending in wellness. That same shift is showing up in holiday behavior. Prestige skincare is up nearly 14%. Sephora’s foot traffic is up double digits this quarter. Oura has a $11B valuation. The data keeps telling the same story. People are choosing control over clutter.

And here is the contrarian take. DTC as we knew it is over because the consumer is no longer interested in buying more. They are interested in buying better. Premium grocery, premium workouts, premium skincare, premium rituals that make them feel anchored. The future belongs to the brands that give people clarity and confidence in their daily lives.

Forget the Shot. The GLP-1 Economy Is Built in the Aftercare.
Everyone is screaming “GLP-1 boom,” but the interesting part is not the shot. It is the ecosystem it forces into existence. One in eight U.S. adults is already on a GLP-1, and global patients are set to jump from 13 million to more than 50 million by 2030. That is no longer a trend. That is a rewiring of consumer behavior. Once someone is eating less by default, the question becomes: what else has to upgrade so they lose fat, not their health, muscle, or face.

You can see it right in the grocery cart. Data shows…

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