Latest news with #Hyrox
New York Times
an hour ago
- Business
- New York Times
E.T.F.s Are Booming. Mutual Funds Want In on the Action.
Good morning. Andrew here. This Saturday, we take a deep dive into a potentially major shift in the investing world. Ian Frisch, who has been writing about surprising trends in business for a decade, takes us into the $30 trillion question of whether mutual funds can also market themselves as E.T.F.s. Plus, Calum Marsh, a DealBook contributor who has reported extensively on fitness trends and wrote an upcoming book about the history of CrossFit, speaks with the C.E.O. of Hyrox, a global fitness craze that wants to become an established sport. The modern market for exchange-traded funds has enabled retail investors to easily put money into basically anything. That includes various cryptocurrencies ($IBIT and $ETH), the investment strategies of Congressional Democrats ($NANC), pet-care brands ($PAWZ), and private equity funds with exposure to Elon Musk' s SpaceX ($XOVR) and OpenAI ($ARKVX). Mutual funds wish they could say the same. But the Securities and Exchange Commission long ago built a firewall between those funds, which are typically accessible through private investment companies, and E.T.F.s, which trade on public exchanges like single stocks. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business of Fashion
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Can TikTok's ‘Shirtless Race' Become More than a Trend?
NEW YORK — For three days in May, 14,000 men and women stormed New York City's Pier 76, just west of Hudson Yards, many of them in various states of athletic undress — not to party, but certainly to sweat. They were there for what outsiders viewing from TikTok call 'the shirtless race,' and what is known to proponents as Hyrox, a strength-and-endurance fitness race that combines an eight kilometre run with eight functional workouts, including a 330-pound sled drag. Some athletes collapse from exhaustion at the finish line. The last 2024–2025 season attracted over 600,000 participants, who competed in over 80 races worldwide. (Courtesy) Yet, Hyrox has built a devoted and growing global following. Fitness influencer Eric Hinman, NFL tight end Darren Waller and actor Patrick Wilson were among those who competed during the New York event, which had a waitlist, according to Hyrox and its Swiss parent company Infront Sports & Media. The first race, held in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, drew about 650 participants; the last 2024–2025 season attracted over 600,000, who competed in over 80 races worldwide, culminating in the World Championships in Chicago last week. By combining familiar functional movements like rowing and wall balls with running in an open-entry, festival-like marathon atmosphere, Hyrox has become the latest global fitness craze, with almost equal participation by men (52 percent) and women (48). In the past, millions of everyday gym-goers didn't have anything to work towards besides looking good and getting healthy. 'We gave them a definition [and competition] for what they were already doing,' said Moritz 'Mo' Fürste, who, along with Christian Toetzke, co-founded the company in 2017. ADVERTISEMENT Each athlete paid anywhere from $70 to over $200 to participate. While company reps declined to disclose revenue figures, Fürste shared on a Business of Sport podcast earlier this year that the average entry fee is around €130 ($150), putting its annual ticket sales revenue at roughly $90 million. They also generate revenue from event brand sponsors like Redbull, a constellation of 8,000 gyms that pay up to $150 a month to be its affiliates, spectator tickets and partnerships with brands like Puma, which sells co-branded products at the events, its stores and third-party retail partners. 'There's a real loyalty from participants to support the brands that are involved with Hyrox,' said Erin Longin, Puma's vice president of running and training. 'It's really helping us reach more consumers that way.' As the social distancing era fades, athletes are seeking community-driven fitness beyond the walls of traditional gyms. (Courtesy) Hyrox arrives at an opportune moment. As the social distancing era fades, athletes are seeking community-driven fitness beyond the walls of traditional gyms. With its stickiness and built-in social media appeal, Hyrox has the makings of a spectator sport like a marathon or a triathlon. Still, like any sport, it needs to continually find ways to keep its athletes and audiences engaged to avoid becoming another fleeting fad. Off to the Races Hyrox isn't the first strength-and-endurance race out of the blocks. In the 2010s, cultish CrossFit peaked with 415,000 participants in their 2018 Games, and rugged adventure Spartan Race saw 1.3 million participants each year at its height. But most CrossFit Games participants competed in their local affiliate gyms (called 'boxes'), and most Spartan Races were held in far-flung locations without mass-level audiences. During the pandemic, both saw declines in participation. On the surface, Hyrox follows the same formula, but with accessible twists: Athletes can compete in various division such as singles, doubles and relay teams, allowing different ability levels to take part. The format is also simpler. Unlike other races with their involved scoring systems, whoever finishes Hyrox first wins, and the standardized workouts make it a straightforward race for time. 'There is this repetitive combination of things that you have to do, which makes it stickier,' said Fürste. The challenge of completing the race is a draw, allowing participants to not only compete against one another but their own personal records. 'The endorphins you get from doing something that hard are insanely rewarding, and that sense of accomplishment is worth chasing and repeating,' added Heber Cannon, a fitness filmmaker. Hyrox also stages its events in some of the world's biggest media markets in some of the most picturesque locations — New York's Pier 76, Paris' Grand Palais and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands — where everyday athletes and professionals compete in front of packed crowds and seas of iPhones recording their every move. Fürste said the organic growth in participation coincided with the organic growth on social media too. In the past twenty months, views on Hyrox-related terms have surged 654 percent on TikTok, according to a cultural analytics firm. In the month following its first major co-branded product collection with Puma in January, Puma x Hyrox mentions generated $537,000 in media impact value, said data analytics firm Launchmetrics. ADVERTISEMENT And products from the Puma x Hyrox collection sold out within hours of the New York event opening its doors. 'We almost can't figure out the right stock levels to have at these events, because each event just keeps outdoing the last,' said Longin. Tribe Check Behind the social media hype, Hyrox's growth is driven by its 8,000 (and growing) partner gyms, which Fürste called 'the backbone of its ever-expanding global community.' He explained how Hyrox has, in some ways, solved problems for the crowded traditional gym industry, where many businesses compete for fickle consumers solely based on price and convenience. 'It's very difficult for a gym, usually, to create a strong community,' he said. Most are built for solo experiences and feel outdated in a moment where people are craving more social fitness activities, as evidenced by the rise of running clubs and climbing gyms. Even sportswear giants like Nike are noting the behavioural shift — the US company has begun to open Nike Studios, group fitness gyms designed to foster community workouts, starting with a Southern California location in 2023. Competitors run at Hyrox. (Courtesy) After the social distancing era, Magida noticed that people wanted to be connected with each other more than ever. When he launched a Hyrox program in his gym in 2021, 'it revitalised the community, and people were talking to each other, and there was culture forming because people were training with purpose,' said Magida. 'There were more high-fives and hugs than ever before.' Within two years of being a Hyrox partner, he saw a 40 percent increase in his business. Ruben Belliard, who runs The Training Lab in New York City — one of the most competitive markets for gyms — saw his membership jump up to 15 percent in the first year after partnering with Hyrox. In his 17 years in the fitness business, he's seen plenty of fitness trends come and go. 'The next evolution is going to be hybrid training like Hyrox,' he said. 'People want to be able to run fast and be strong at the same time, where, typically, in the past, it was one or the other.' For the upcoming season, which starts next month, many races — in Singapore, Sydney, London — have already sold out, often in minutes of being announced. 'I think it's still in that building phase, building awareness, building participation,' said Longin, noting the previous season's awareness wasn't as widespread. Now the company is preparing to scale further to keep up with growing demand by planning to add more cities and race days. 'The next evolution is going to be hybrid training like Hyrox,' Ruben Belliard said. (Courtesy) But long-term staying power is far from guaranteed. 'It's been proven that people will always train for marathons. People will always train for those types of things,' added Vennare. 'But Hyrox needs to make sure to keep its brand and the competition exciting and fun so that people don't get sick of it.'
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Getting tickets for fitness competitions like Hyrox is almost as hard as seeing Taylor Swift
Emily Harding had four screens poised and ready to try to get tickets when they were released. "I almost thought about roping in my housemate too," the 34-year-old yoga teacher from London told Business Insider. This wasn't a Taylor Swift or Burning Man ticket release. It was Hyrox, a fitness race that's taking the world by storm. "It was like Glastonbury," Harding said. In Hyrox, competitors work in pairs or individually to perform functional exercises, such as wall balls, sled pushes, and rowing. These movements are sandwiched between eight one-kilometer runs. You win by finishing first. Entry costs up to $185 and the winner of the pro division gets a prize of up to $7,500. Unlike CrossFit, which was the dominant fitness contest in the 2010s and features highly technical movements like Olympic lifts, Hyrox was designed to be accessible to anyone who works out regularly. However, as Hyrox grows more popular — even drawing away pro athletes from other sports, like CrossFit GOAT Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr — it is becoming harder to snag tickets, which are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The first race, in Germany in 2017, featured 650 people. In 2024, over 650,000 participants competed in Hyrox contests globally, making it one of the world's fastest-growing fitness events. The hype is prompting gyms to launch their own alternative fitness contests, to cater to members who can't get Hyrox tickets — mass fitness events that typically cost a little less to enter, and usually have a cash prize. Moritz Fürste, one of the cofounders of Hyrox, told BI the organization is aware of the demand and is pushing to keep expanding and optimizing their service. Still, some of the event's biggest fans are say change is overdue. Tickets like 'gold dust' Harding described a Hyrox ticket as "gold dust." She first entered three years ago and had no trouble getting in. In fact, when she had to pull out for medical reasons, she couldn't find anyone to take her ticket. Her second attempt was in June 2025. "I was really gobsmacked how different it was from now to then," Harding said. Tickets were released in two waves, at 12 p.m. and then 5 p.m. Harding was applying for women's doubles, so she and her friend each joined the queue on their phones and laptops. Harding was around 6,000th in the queue, and her friend was 10,000th, but then the queue glitched, and they jumped up to around 30,000th. Harding's phone kept pushing her to the back of the queue, she said. "If you were only doing this on your phone, I can imagine you'd be absolutely fuming," Harding said. Fürste said that server capacities are hard to control, but they are working hard to make the process fair, and it works very well 95% of the time. In 2024, Hyrox UK trialled a New York City Marathon -style ballot system to allocate race places, but the format was scrapped due to overwhelming demand and push-back from affiliates. Harding and her friend finally got through on a laptop, but the tickets they wanted were sold out. They considered finding two guys to do mixed doubles, but while they thought about it, those tickets sold out too. They finally got tickets when they tried again in the 5 p.m. release. "The queueing system was horrible," Harding said. Jamie Thorpe, a sales director from Leicestershire, has competed in two Hyrox games since 2022. He likes the event's accessibility and energy, "even if many of the competitors seem to forget their shirts." The first time he entered, "we got a place easily — no queues, no ticket drops, no random ballots," he told BI. In the years since, Thorpe, 34, has tried to get tickets more times than he can remember, often recruiting friends to assist, but it's got "significantly" harder, he said. "The organizers can hardly be blamed for the success of their event, and I am fortunate to have attended two already, but that doesn't stop it from being immensely frustrating to miss out so consistently," he said. Danny Rae, the UK men's open Hyrox champion, told BI he's competed in over 25 of the events and advises people struggling to get tickets to join an affiliate gym so they get early access. "They do still get sold out because it's in such high demand, but you get a better shot," he said. "Another thing to consider is: people will naturally sign up for the Open races. People are scared of the prospect of doing Pro because of the word 'Pro'. If you are active and you train most days, then just go for Pro and you'll be more likely to get a ticket." Clifford Saul, a personal trainer of 17 years and the owner of The 200 Strong gym in Leicestershire, UK, thinks the rise of Hyrox is in large part due to the proliferation of fitness culture on social media. "If social media were as prevalent as it is now, 10 years ago, I think that boom would've happened sooner," he said. "If you put on an event now, it's thrown in your face. All you need to do is look at one reel, and then the algorithms send you loads more." Gyms are putting on their own events for people who can't get tickets Saul is one of many coaches launching other fitness competitions to cater to members who can't get Hyrox tickets. He is part of a 30-person strong WhatsApp group of local fitness fans who all try to get tickets for each other. Some people never seem to have any luck, others have never had issues, Saul said. With so many of his members missing out on Hyrox tickets, Saul decided to partner with another local gym to host their own group fitness competition called The District Games. "The idea is that all the gyms in the area can enter teams," he said. "We want to get all the local community together, put food on, have a DJ, drinks, a bouncy castle for kids," he said. "And we're doing this because we can't get tickets for Hyrox. We can do it a bit differently, and it won't cost £100 each." Tickets cost £149 for a team of four. On the other hand, some gym owners are staging large-scale events to rival Hyrox. There's Athx, a functional fitness contest, launched in 2023, that focuses more on strength than Hyrox. Another is Metrix, launched in March 2025 — an immersive fitness competition that combines high-intensity workouts with club-level production and world-class DJs. Each pair does as much as they can in each of the five 10-minute stations, with four minutes of recovery in between each. Metrix founder Will McLaren, a personal trainer and former Royal Marine based in London, launched Metrix in March 2025, told BI the atmosphere is dark, so people don't feel like they're being watched, and the exercises are designed to be even more accessible than those in Hyrox. "50% of people can't do a wall ball because they haven't got the mechanics, the overhead extension of the spine, and the anchor mobility to be able to pull them off, so I didn't want to fall into that trap of being stuck in a set workout," McLaren told BI. Metrix also sells separate "social" tickets for those who just want to have fun and don't care about competing — there's a cash prize for whoever wins, though. "It's really important that everyone starts together and everyone finishes together. There's no winners and there's no losers unless you do want to compete for the money." The community aspect is important for McLaren too. Metrix has food vans, ice baths, saunas, and kids' games for people to enjoy afterward. "You're paying £120 for a ticket for Hyrox. It's a lot. People get the patch, they get half a banana, and they get told to go," McLaren said. "So we wanted to make sure people could stay all day, enjoy the music, enjoy the atmosphere, and meet other people." Metrix is priced the same, but McLaren said he wants to offer more for that price. He said he is also hoping to partner with a dating app, to build on the trend of run clubs and fitness events as a place to find love. Hyrox is rushing to keep up with its own success Saul believes the younger generations' love of fitness means group events won't be going away anytime soon. "17- to 24-year-olds, they're not going out, drinking, and partying as much anymore," he said. "They're meeting up and doing fitness events." In a 2023 survey from McKinsey, more than 50% of Gen Z respondents (generally 13 to 28 years old) said fitness was a very high priority for them, compared to 40% of people across all age groups. In the UK, 25- to 34-year-olds make up 42% of Hyrox's demographics, and while there are older people doing Hyrox, the brand is mostly driven by millennials and Gen Z. Fürste, the Hyrox cofounder mentioned earlier, said Hyrox's next goal is "to deliver the best possible race experience for more than 1 million people in the 2025/26 season." They are planning to keep up with demand by launching more races in more countries and cities, with the aim of "taking the sport to as many people as possible across the world," he said. But for long-term Hyrox fans, the competition's growth, both in the number of applicants and the fitness standard, has seen it evolve from the approachability that was part of its initial appeal. Thorpe has done the pairs event twice with a very fit friend, and although their times have improved in many areas, their rankings have dropped dramatically. "The increase in overall standard was extremely noticeable," Thorpe said. "This is, of course, not a problem, but part of what attracted me to the event in the first place was the accessibility, and I hope they don't lose this as the standard continues to rise."
NZ Herald
18 hours ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Kerikeri retirees become first over-70s Hyrox world champions
Northland retirees Bob and Sophia Warren have achieved an 'incredible' feat, becoming the first over-70s world champions in a sport they'd only heard about six months ago. The Warrens were encouraged to try Hyrox - a global fitness competition that combines running and strength activities - by their son
Graziadaily
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
All There Is To Know About Love Island's Dejon Noel-Williams, Including His Famous Dad's Advice
Love Island might have only started on 9 June, but some of the characters have already made themselves at home in the Majorcan villa. One of which is Dejon Noel-Williams who is not only one of the biggest personalities on the show so far, but he is also one of the biggest heartbreakers. He has been coupled up with Meg Moore since the beginning, but has a penchant for flirting with the new bombshells, much to Meg's dismay. In fact, last week he was at the centre of a showdown between Meg and new girl Malisha (who has already left) because Malisha took Dejon on a date. Earlier this week, Dejon was picked to go to The Sleepover, a new house outside the main villa, by the two new girls and Meg was shown another video of him having a little too much fun over there. As he prepares to return to the main villa tonight, he's bound to face plenty of drama. Here's everything you need to know about Dejon, from his famous father to his career as a semi-pro footballer. Dejon is a fitness fanatic and footballer hoping to find love in the villa this summer. So far he has been coupled up with Meg, but it's only been two weeks so all that stands to change. If you've noticed his ripped body as he struts around the pool, it's courtesy of his gym obsession. Dejon recently completed a Hyrox, just like new boy Will Means, so perhaps they can strike up a friendship (or a training schedule). Dejon works as a semi-pro footballer and personal trainer. One of his recent clients is none other than Tyrique Hyde from Love Island season 10. Dejon has also played football for a number of teams including Oxford United and Slough Town as well as the national team of Grenada. Dejon is one of this year's nepo babies as his dad Gifton Noel-Williams is a former professional footballer. Speaking about growing up around the game, he said: 'I've met all kinds of famous people through [my dad]. When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice.' Dejon also told Hello! his dad supported his decision to go on Love Island and is behind him all the way. 'He's like my best friend, so he was happy with it. He knows me, he knows my heart. So he has nothing to worry about. He said: 'Just be yourself.' On Love Island, Dejon is looking for 'someone who is beautiful on the inside and out, looks after themselves and is healthy'. Of course, we're yet to come across an islander who doesn't. You can follow him on Instagram at @dejonnoelwilliams. If you're looking to find more than fitness videos and sports brand promotions, you might be a tad disappointed. Love Island continues at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).
