This month’s vlog was filmed at the award-winning boutique studio, One Playground in Sydney, Australia. Many thanks to Founder and CEO, Justin Ashley and his team for their support and hospitality.
Read This Month’s Headlines
- After recent research, McKinsey & Co. estimates the global wellness market at more than USD$1.5 trillion, with an annual growth of 5 to 10 percent.
- Digital Mental Health company, Spring Health, Raises USD$71M, to hit a whopping USD$2.5B Valuation
- The Monarch Collective unveils a USD$100M fund to bring equity to women’s sports.
- Tonal, the US connected fitness company, announced a new CEO, Krystal Zell, at the same time of announcing a new funding round of USD$130M, from existing investors, including L Catterton.
- WeightWatchers acquired telehealth provider Sequence in a USD$132M deal boosting its access to the growing market for new obesity drugs.
- Mark Wahlberg takes a larger role in F45 Training as he is named Chief Brand Officer with Tom Dowd also named as their new CEO.
- The World Active Council has been formed through the collaboration of 50 industry bodies, with the following elections, Barrie Elvish as Chair, Amy Boone Thompson as Vice-Chair and Sean Tan as Treasurer.
- And last but not least, huge congrats to the Inspire Brands Asia team. Some major achievements in 2023 include: 23,796 new members join Anytime Fitness Asia, with their membership base now 236,000 members across Asia. They also secured 13 new franchisees for future growth. Brilliant from Luke, Johannes and the team.
- modo, an Australia-based mental health app, closed A$800K.
- BFT APAC announced new partnership with Hyrox that will see BFT become the exclusive gym partner for Hyrox in Asia Pacific with every BFT studio being “Official Hyrox training Centres”
- Fitstop set to launch their first US location in May 2023, the first studio will be owned and operated corporately by Fitstop. It will be followed by a further California opening in Hermosa Beach.
- The Brisbane Broncos announced a new partnership with global fitness giants World Gym. The iconic brand’s Australian arm that owns 18 fitness centres across Queensland jumped on board as an Official Supplier of the NRL team and sponsor of the club.
- Australian Institute of Fitness introduces a new partnership with WeFlex. This fantastic partnership explores the merge of the disability sector and fitness industry in Australia, uncovering a range of career development opportunities and personal fulfillment for AIF Graduates.
- Australian Sports Commission (ASC) announced a $3.9M funding for Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) coaching programs aiming to get more women in high performance coaching roles in Australia.
- Gynoveda, an Indian Ayurveda-enabled women’s healthcare platform, raised US$10M in a Series A round.
- Indonesian health club chain Fit Hub secured US$6.5M in a seed round.
- Little Farms, a Singapore-based organic grocery chain, landed SGD$2M in new funding
- Yoga Movement opens their 9th studio, this time in Holland Village, Singapore
- Club Pilates opens its 3rd studio in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore.
- KX Pilates opens their first studio in Singapore in Siglap, marking their sixth country market entry globally.
- QUO announced that it will be expanding into the healthcare and wellness sectors and appointed industry veteran Ruben Toral as their new Director of Healthcare + Wellness.
- msfit – new 24-hour All-women gym – will open next month in CBD, Singapore
- The fourth GoFit is now open in Singapore! Well done to the partners for the successful pre-sale of this new club located in Toa Payoh
- Congrats to Naz, Russ and the team at Spartans Boxing Club with their new club opening in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at the luxurious SUN & MOON Riverside Hotel.
- SEARA Cambodia also collaborated with Sun & Moon Riverside Hotel to open the Official Hammer Strength Training Center in Cambodia.
- Relaxy raises pre-seed funding from Sajida; their wellness platform focuses on improving the accessibility and quality of mental health services in Bangladesh.
- Xponential+, Xponential’s digital fitness arm, partners with LG to debut its Immersive Exercise Experience. It brings premium studio workout classes to millions of people and will be available in more than 250 countries through the LG Content Store.
- NICA (National Instructors and Coaches Association) Singapore has partnered with Rezeve to give all NICA members a 2.5-month free trial of their software, designed to help them create their own branded website and apps
- Elitefit.ai partnered with Pure Fitness to offer Virtual Fitness Trainer on their Holistic 360 Online Wellness platform. Members can now receive A.I guided workouts from the comforts of their own homes anytime and anywhere.
- CRANK, the UAE’s trendiest boutique fitness studio, announced plans to expand its operations across the GCC and beyond. As part of this expansion, CRANK has partnered with Core Health & Fitness, which will be the premier supplier of indoor bikes for the signature RIDE offering.
- ABC Fitness announces its ABC TRAINERIZE and ABG Glofox platforms will integrate to allow them to better serve boutique studios by providing deeper member training experiences, advanced digital coaching, hybrid memberships, and powerful tools to better manage their business.
- Equipment giant Technogym’s Mywellness ecosystem is now accessible via any other equipment manufacturer like Precor, Life Fitness, Matrix etc.
- Les Mills Asia Pacific launched a new subscription service for Les Mills Instructors in Southeast Asia and Australia – access to new workouts, music, choreography to excite and retain their members!
- We are proud to announce that Diana Williams, Founder and CEO of Fernwood Fitness, has been chosen as the 2023 John Holsinger Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Di has championed women’s health and fitness for over 30 years, helping millions of women become happier and healthier. She founded and grew one of Australia’s most iconic fitness brands, Fernwood Fitness, helping over 75 franchisees start their own business, while advising and mentoring dozens of business owners over the years. Thank you for your service Di and for being an inspiration.
