Fitt Insider

Today I'm joined by Krisna Bhargava, CEO of Arena — the complete mobile smart gym. In this episode, we discuss Arena's innovative strength training solution and its focus on human performance — including athletes, strength coaches, and physical therapists. Krisna details the company's plan to accelerate growth. And we cover Arena's mission to replace the dumbbell. Note: Fitt Insider is an investor in Arena 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 Krisna Krisna Bhargava, PhD is a scientist turned entrepreneur whose lifelong love of fitness began with martial arts, skiing, and hiking. Krisna has an extensive background in automation and biophysics, bringing the view that strength training is the foundation of reaching peach performance as much as it is preventative healthcare.

Today I'm joined by Melissa Bentivoglio, co-founder and CEO of Frame Fitness — makers of a connected Pilates reformer. In this episode, Melissa shares how her experience as an athlete, instructor, and designer led to founding Frame. We talk about the company's $5M funding round that included 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov. And we cover content, community, and manufacturing as the company prepares to ship products in 2022. 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 Melissa Melissa Bentivoglio is a classically trained ballet dancer and a renowned pilates and fitness instructor. Melissa credits her dedication to pilates as having changed her life after years of elite level performance. In 2018, she designed her own proprietary reformer for use in her own studio. By launching Frame, she hopes to make pilates more widely available and accessible, so that everyone has a chance to improve their quality of life.

Today I'm joined by Helaine Knapp, CEO of CITYROW. In this episode, we discuss the company's origin as a single boutique fitness studio, the decision to launch a connected rower and digital app, and Helaine's plan to scale an omnichannel experience. 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 Helaine After spending years climbing the corporate ladder, Helaine Knapp left the world of publishing for tech start-up life. Group fitness was her outlet while working hard and taking on the hustle and bustle of New York City. Months of spin and boot camp classes left her with a lower back injury, however, and she began searching for a workout that was low impact, but super effective. After a friend suggested rowing, Helaine initially rejected it as something "my dad did in college," but following a few workouts on a sexy machine, pairing it with total body sculpting moves off the machine, changed her mind and the concept for CITYROW was born. With a mission of delivering a smart, fun, effective workout to all fitness levels, under Knapp's leadership, CITYROW has grown from one studio in New York City to a national omnichannel fitness brand a top-ranked on-demand global program featuring at-home rowers and a fast-growing digital subscription business alongside 12 open studios and 65 franchises sold nationwide! Knapp has yet to row on the water and has been featured as a business leader and a wellness expert on TODAY, Women's Health, ABC, Harper's Bazaar, Shape, Well + Good, Vogue, Yahoo! Finance, and PEOPLE, among many others.

Today I'm joined by Martin Adler, CEO of Brooklyn Boulders — operators of urban climbing, fitness, and community centers. In this episode, we discuss the growing business of rock climbing, leveraging technology to enhance the climbing experience, and falling in love with the joy of movement. 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 Martin Martin Adler is the CEO of Brooklyn Boulders. He previously served as Brooklyn Boulders Vice President of Strategy & Growth and then as Interim CEO. Formerly a co-founder of Healthrageous (Acq. by Humana) and Chief of Product and Strategy at Reflexion Health (Acq. by Smith & Nephew), Adler has spent the past fifteen years developing companies and services that empower people to enhance their own wellbeing. www.brooklynboulders.com Arcade Climbing: www.arcadeclimbing.com linkedin.com/in/martinadler

Today I'm joined by Sarah Robb O'Hagan, CEO of Exos — a human performance company. In this episode, we discuss Sarah's experience at companies like Nike, Gatorade, Equinox, and Flywheel Sports. We talk about Exos programs that span work, sport, and life. Plus, we cover the company's efforts to make elite performance more accessible through in-person and digital offerings. 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 Sarah Sarah Robb O'Hagan took the helm at Exos in 2020 as chief executive officer. In this new era of the business, she's leading Exos' transformation from predominantly gym-based services, to a fully omnichannel performance program and coaching platform. Prior to Exos she served as CEO of Flywheel, global president of Equinox and Gatorade, and held leadership roles at iconic brands like Virgin and Nike. Sarah is the author of "Extreme YOU", a book to help unleash potential in ambitious leaders, and she's been named one of Forbes' Most Powerful Women in Sports and one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business. She sits on the boards of JetBlue Airways and Strava, and is a trustee emeritus of the Women's Sports Foundation.

Today I'm joined by Daniel Sobhani, CEO of Freeletics — an AI-powered fitness app. In today's episode, we discuss the company's evolution from PDF workout plans to a digital fitness platform with more than 50M users. We cover the launch of Staedium, the company's new game-based connected strength training product. And Daniel shares his thoughts on innovation, team building, gamification, and more. 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 Daniel Daniel Sobhani is the CEO at Freeletics, the leading provider of AI-based fitness and mindset coaching, with more than 165 employees and nearly 53 million users worldwide. Born and raised in Munich, Germany, he studied business administration, mechanical engineering, finance and technology management in Munich and Sydney. After working at the renowned Boston Consulting Group, he then joined Freeletics in its early stages as CEO in 2014. At the time, Freeletics was a very small, young startup, but one which was growing rapidly. Daniel helped foster its potential and guided the team to achieve international success in just a short space of time – all as a bootstrapped company. After five successful years as a bootstrapped company, Daniel Sobhani steered Freeletics to the next milestones of the company's history, as it closed a $45 million Series A funding round in 2018 and a $25 million Series B funding round in September 2020, to enable further product innovation, exploring and building new business verticals and to expand Freeletics' global footprint. With its AI-powered and hyper-personalized digital fitness and lifestyle coaching, Freeletics has continued to disrupt a multi-billion-dollar industry which, before the company's existence, had been dominated by stationary gyms and exclusive personal trainers. Aside from its financial success, the company has grown exponentially across the board. With almost one million users in early 2014, today the Freeletics app has over 52 million users in more than 175 countries. The company has continued to build on its product portfolio, also launching an e-commerce platform. With exciting things in the pipeline, Freeletics continues to strive to innovate and disrupt the digital fitness industry. Daniel has enabled and guided Freeletics to become the creator of one of the world's most popular fitness apps, inspiring and challenging people all over the world to become the greatest versions of themselves, both mentally and physically. And this is just the beginning.

Today I'm joined by Akin Akman and Angela Manuel-Davis, co-founders of AARMY — a digital and in-person fitness concept. In this episode, the team explains how AARMY accelerated its digital transformation during the pandemic. We also talk about the importance of building community in a virtual environment. And we discuss the company's hybrid offering that includes studios, pop-ups, digital content, and potentially hardware. 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 AARMY Akin Akman, Co-Founder & Chief Fitness Officer As a tennis prodigy, Akin began his athlete journey at age 7 at the world-renowned IMG Academy training with legendary coach Nick Bollettieri. Akin has channeled all his years of training to create the signature AARMY Method, based on an authentic world-class athlete training philosophy. Transforming people from diverse backgrounds and different levels of fitness into true athletes has not only become Akin's passion, it is also the hallmark of his brand making him widely considered the world's #1 group fitness coach. Angela Manuel-Davis, Co-Founder & Chief Motivation Officer Angela is one of the world's leading fitness coaches and most inspiring motivational speakers. Angela's love of sports began early and directly from her family. The daughter of a legendary professional baseball coach, Angela went on to become a track star and Olympic trial semi-finalist. One of the world's top 25 100 meter runners, Angela knows firsthand how a strong foundation of practice, goal setting, and focus can build strength in every part of life. She blends the transformative power of sport and spirituality to encourage a purpose-driven life in each one of her athletes.

Today I'm joined by Jeff Veldhuizen, CEO of Capti — a game-based smart bike. In this episode, we discuss Capti's immersive gaming experience. Jeff explains how Capti differs from other connected equipment makers. And he shares the company's long-term goal of powering fitness in the metaverse. 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 A respected leader in health and fitness, Jeff's career range includes general manager of high-growth businesses, growth marketer, strategist, and operator in CPG, CE, Sporting Goods, e-commerce, and connected fitness. A tech-driven marketing and direct-to-consumer executive, Jeff has been an integral part of shaping some of the world's most recognizable brands and their online presence. https://capti.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-veldhuizen/ https://www.instagram.com/capti_bike/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/capti-fit/ https://www.facebook.com/CaptiSmartBike

Today I'm joined by Marc Maurer, co-CEO of On — a Swiss-engineered performance footwear and apparel company. In this episode, we discuss the company's recent IPO, including growth opportunities in retail and direct-to-consumer channels. Marc explains how On combines performance, design, and sustainability to stand out in a crowded market. And he shares the company's mission to ignite the human spirit through movement. 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 Marc Marc Maurer has served as the Co-Chief Executive Officer of On since January 2021. Marc joined On in March 2013 and served as the Chief Operating Officer since joining the brand. Prior to joining On, Marc served as Head of Business Development and Marketing for Valora Retail, a publicly-traded European retail company, from April 2012 to March 2013, where he was responsible for driving the company's business development strategy. Marc also worked at McKinsey & Company as an Engagement Manager, from April 2007 to March 2012. Marc serves as a Board Member of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association since 2020. Marc holds a Master's in Business Administration from INSEAD.

Today I'm joined by Kimberly Ang, co-founder and CEO of KAYA — an app for rock climbers. In this episode, Kim shares the company's vision for building the Strava of rock climbing, including a premium subscription, increasing access to climbing, democratizing mentorship, and helping grow participation in the sport. 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 Kimberly Kimberly is Co-Founder & CEO of KAYA, the climber's app. An avid climber for 10+ years, she's passionate about shaping KAYA to drive the growth of climbing and help every climber stay inspired, connected, and progressing. Founded in 2019 with a team of climber technologists, KAYA has quickly grown to become the largest network of climbers, gyms, and climbing areas in North America. Brands such as The North Face, Adidas, and USA Climbing partner with KAYA to run novel digital competitions and experiences. Kimberly has championed KAYA's values-led initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability. Before co-founding KAYA, she was at IDEO, the global design and innovation firm. There she helped Fortune 500 companies stand up new brands and products in clean energy, health and wellness, and consumer technology sectors. Kimberly received her Masters in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago where she studied policy and sociology. She spent the first chapter of her career nerding out in public policy before opting for a more creative and entrepreneurial path. She now lives in Lake Tahoe, CA where she can stay close to her Bay Area roots while enjoying life in the mountains every day.