Future of Fitness

Karl Foster, Sport Alliance’s Head of AI, shares early results from AI-timed member messages that brought more lapsed members back to the gym. He also explains why staff adoption, not the software, decides whether any of it pays off. Get Eric’s free Q2 State of Fitness Report: → https://q2-report.future-of-fitness.info/ Karl Foster returns to Future of Fitness to explain how Sport Alliance, parent company of Perfect Gym, is building AI for three types of operators: high value low cost, mid-ma...

Months after announcing the EGYM and Playlist merger, Fritz Lanman and Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer explain why their first rule was not to break each other's business, and why a GLP-1 clinical study could be their way into employer health budgets. Get Eric's free Q2 State of Fitness Report: → https://q2-report.future-of-fitness.info/ Recorded at Playlist Summit 2026 in Boulder, Eric Malzone sits down with Fritz Lanman, CEO and Co-Founder of Playlist, and Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, CEO of EG...

Eight Sleep's Dr. Nicole Moyen has data from millions of nights of sleep, and it shows menopausal and pregnant women want the coldest beds of anyone. So why has almost no research looked at temperature and sleep in women? Get Eric's free Q2 State of Fitness Report: → https://q2-report.future-of-fitness.info/ Dr. Nicole Moyen, Senior Director of Science and Clinical Research at Eight Sleep, joins Eric to break down what close to 200,000 members and millions of nights of data say about temper...

What if the next major shift in fitness and health isn't another wearable or blood panel, but knowing which of your organs is aging fastest, and whether the things you're doing to improve your health are actually working? Paul Coletta is Co-Founder and CEO of Vero Bioscience, a predictive health company commercializing Stanford research in proteomic organ aging. Before Vero, Paul spent decades building consumer businesses and brands across Disney, MTV, Hewlett-Packard, Jamba Juice and...

Jon Ward left the influencer playbook behind at Plunge to build something with no media, no selling, and an NDA at the door — and he's already turned away over a hundred applicants to protect it. Jon Ward, Founder and CEO of The Assembly, joins Eric to unpack why he's betting on trust over reach in an industry drowning in pitches. Jon breaks down how GLP-1s are splitting the gym-going population in half, why brands like Evolve went from zero to over $100 million in under a year, and why he th...

James Hurlock went from professional rugby to founding Fitura Brands, the multi-concept franchise platform behind Padel SWT, Core Precinct, and ContrasTheory. He explains why he's betting on three categories at once — and why he's deliberately taking the slow, expensive route to franchising. James Hurlock is the Founder and CEO of Fitura Brands, a Utah-based wellness holding company that launched in 2026 at a $20 million pre-money valuation. Before founding Fitura, Hurlock served as founding ...

Jon Canarick has spent 25 years investing in gyms, and he's still trying to explain why doctors won't write a prescription for exercise. As Managing Partner at North Castle Partners, he helped build Equinox, turned around Curves, and backed Barry's long before boutique fitness was a category. Canarick walks through what actually changed in fitness private equity since he joined North Castle in 2001, from the corporate franchise wave that built 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness to Planet Fitness...