Active Overwatch 003

Been a minute since our last newsletter.

First, we’re changing the name to “The Active Times”. Previously was called “Business Athlete”.

Second, we’re introducing a new format called “The Story, The Strategy, The Product”. Focused on the fitness & wellness industry. Aimed at covering company stories, news in the space, trends or strategies we are seeing, and new or interesting products in the space. And we will plan on sending this out weekly going forward.

🗞️ The Story - Equinox launches $40,000 gym membership

📈 The Strategy - Gymshark creates “The Sweat Gala”

🛍️ The Product - Patrick Mahomes launches “Throne Coffee”

The Story

Equinox launched a new gym membership called “EQX Optimize”.

And it comes at the cheap price tag of $40,000 a year (or $3,000 a month)…

It is focused on optimizing your life for longevity and health span.

The TLDR of what you get:

• Biotest for 100+ different biomarkers
• Fitness test for VO2 max, strength, and movement range
• Personalized health & fitness plan from those tests
• A personal fitness coach, nutrition coach, sleep coach, and massage therapist
  • You can work with these coaches for 16 hours total throughout each month

Longevity and health optimization is a big trend these days.

Saunas, cold plunges, red light therapy, compression therapy, mouth taping… you name it.

There are products and so called “experts” popping up left and right claiming to help you live a healthier life.

But what actually helps and what is hearsay? And is a longevity membership like Equinox is now offering worth it?

I’m not gonna act like a scientist or an expert.

But putting this longevity optimization stuff in terms of “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”, it is not the foundational bottom that you should focus on first, in my opinion.

Getting good sleep, eating whole foods, and exercising regularly is what a majority of people should focus on. But for those already living a healthy life, implementing longevity optimization is a great added bonus to your life.

Bottom line, technology and science within health & fitness has come a long way and there are a lot of exciting offerings coming to market, including this new membership from Equinox.

The Strategy

The Met Gala took place on May 6th.

And on May 7th, Gymshark created “The Sweat Gala”

They took inspiration from the best dressed celebs at The Met Gala, and made outfits based on those looks, but out of Gymshark clothes they had in storage.

2 strategic plays here:

1. Cultural Relevance - They were in tune with current events and pop culture, and turned it into an advertising play. Most companies resort to basic product showcases or fancy video edits for social media. But Gymshark took something that was happening in the real world that people cared about, and creating content on that. It was topical and increased odds of virality.
2. Reactive Marketing - In a similar vein as above, advertising/content that is topical and relevant to people moves the needle a lot more than basic, traditional marketing graphics. But speed and awareness is necessary to be a good reactive marketer. You must know what’s going on in the world, and be able to act quickly when an opportunity arises.

The Product

Patrick Mahomes is launching “Throne Coffee”, a sport iced coffee in a can. Alongside former BodyArmor exec and beverage industry vet Michael Fedele.

The sports twist, that they coin as “Coffee Plus+”, is that the coffee includes electrolytes, BCAA’s, and B Vitamins.

This adds to the list of beverage CPG products being launched by an athlete, celebrity, or creator with a large audience.

Most products on that list are in the sport drink or energy drink line, however, Mahomes & Fedele chose a bit less saturated of a space in coffee.

Celebrities being the face of a product is nothing new.

But we’re seeing a trend of the celebrity being more than just a marketing line item on the income statement, and instead being a part owner of the company.

It’s the wave of “Creator Operator Companies”.