Fresh off FIBO, Matthew Januszek and Mohammed (Mo) Iqbal brought one of the fitness industry's most seasoned executives into the LIFTS studio: Bryan Myers, 2023 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Mid-Atlantic and President and CEO of [solidcore]. The conversation spans three major topics — the launch of HYROX365 and what it says about the evolution of functional fitness formats, the sweeping findings of The Global Wellness Economy Report, and a candid, respectful examination of the mental and emotional dimensions of weight and body image.

Myers brings both strategic depth and firsthand entrepreneurial experience to each thread. The episode reflects on what post-FIBO momentum looks like for the industry, examines the wellness economy's extraordinary growth trajectory, and takes seriously the complex personal and societal dynamics that shape how people relate to their bodies — including the challenges of parenting healthy habits in a modern media environment.

What This Episode Covers

Bryan Myers is the President and CEO of [solidcore], the low-impact, high-intensity Pilates-based studio brand, and was recognized as the 2023 EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic region — a distinction that reflects both the growth he has driven at [solidcore] and his standing among peers as a strategic operator. His career spans senior leadership roles across the fitness and wellness sectors, giving him a panoramic view of how business models, consumer behavior, and cultural forces interact to shape the industry.

Myers's perspective on the wellness economy is shaped by his direct experience scaling a premium boutique concept in a competitive and rapidly evolving landscape. When The Global Wellness Economy Report documents the scale and momentum of health and wellness spending globally, Myers can translate those macro numbers into the day-to-day realities of building a business in that environment — which is exactly what makes his contributions to this episode substantive rather than abstract.

LIFTS — the Latest Industry Fitness Trends and Stories — is the weekly fitness industry show co-hosted by Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal of SweatWorks, available at liftspodcast.com. The show routinely brings operator-level perspective to the stories shaping the industry, and Bryan Myers's appearance is a strong example of the caliber of leaders Matthew and Mo convene.

Key Moments from the Conversation

• FIBO's continued growth as an international trade show is discussed as a marker of the industry's global confidence, with Myers and the hosts reflecting on what the post-FIBO period reveals about where energy and investment are concentrating.
• The launch of HYROX365 — which expands the HYROX brand from a racing format into a year-round training experience — is examined as a significant strategic move, illustrating how event-based fitness concepts can build ongoing community and commercial infrastructure rather than relying solely on episodic competition.
• Findings from The Global Wellness Economy Report are explored in the context of how the overall scale of wellness spending creates structural tailwinds for fitness operators positioned at the intersection of health, performance, and lifestyle.
• US healthcare spending and outcomes are discussed as a backdrop to the wellness industry's growth, with the conversation examining why the gap between what America spends on healthcare and what it achieves in population health outcomes creates both an urgency and an opportunity for preventive fitness and wellness providers.
• The episode addresses the mental and emotional dimensions of weight and body image with care and directness, drawing on the perspectives of all three participants to examine the genuine complexity of how people experience their bodies — separate from the simplifications that often dominate media coverage of these topics.
• The challenges of parenting healthy lifestyles in a modern media and social environment are discussed honestly, with Myers contributing personal perspective alongside industry observation about how culture shapes children's relationship with physical activity and self-image.
• The conversation closes with a broader look at wellness, consciousness, and the personal and generational investment in health — framing the fitness industry's growth not just as a market story but as a societal one about how people are choosing to live.

Why This Conversation Matters

For Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal, this episode does what LIFTS does best: it uses the industry's current headlines — HYROX365, the Wellness Economy Report, the post-FIBO mood — as entry points into larger questions about where fitness is going and what operators need to understand to stay ahead. Bryan Myers's combination of strategic experience and personal candor makes these conversations feel grounded rather than theoretical.

The body image section of this episode deserves particular note: Matthew and Mo handle a genuinely sensitive topic with the seriousness it warrants, centering the psychological complexity of the issue and the responsibility that fitness brands carry in how they communicate with and about the people they serve. It is the kind of conversation that reflects well on LIFTS as a show — and on the standard that Escape Fitness USA brings to industry dialogue.

▶  Watch the full episode on YouTube

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