Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal launch something new in this inaugural episode: L.I.F.T.S. — Latest Industry Fitness Trends and Stories — a weekly, sub-30-minute podcast built for fitness professionals who want sharp analysis of the headlines that matter. Matthew, co-founder of Escape Fitness and a partner in Escape Fitness USA, and Mo Iqbal, founder and CEO of SweatWorks, have spent their careers inside the industry. LIFTS is their way of making sense of it, out loud, every week.
For the launch episode, they are joined by Emma Barry, CEO and founder of Trouble Global and author of the best-selling book Building A Badass Boutique. Together, the three cover a news agenda that includes a leadership change at Core Health and Fitness, Lululemon's Peloton content deal alongside the end of its Mirror service, Xponential Fitness's VR launch for Meta Quest 3, and Interactive Strength's acquisition of CLMBR.
What This Episode Covers
LIFTS was built on a simple observation: the fitness industry moves fast and the people running businesses inside it rarely have time to keep up. The show's format — tight, curated, conversational — is a deliberate response to that problem. Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal bring complementary vantage points: Matthew from the equipment and facility design side through Escape Fitness, Mo from the technology and innovation side through SweatWorks.
Emma Barry, the launch episode's guest, is the CEO and founder of Trouble Global and the author of Building A Badass Boutique, a book that has become a reference point in the boutique fitness sector. Her presence for the first episode signals the caliber of voices LIFTS intends to convene — practitioners who can apply real-world judgment to the week's headlines, not just describe them.
The news agenda for the debut episode spans leadership, technology, content, and M&A. A leadership change at Core Health and Fitness, Lululemon's content partnership with Peloton alongside the simultaneous shutdown of Mirror, Xponential Fitness's VR application for Meta Quest 3, and Interactive Strength's acquisition of CLMBR — each story points toward the same underlying question: what does the fitness industry's next chapter actually look like?
Key Moments from the Conversation
- LIFTS launches as a weekly, sub-30-minute podcast dedicated to fitness industry news — co-hosted by Matthew Januszek of Escape Fitness and Mo Iqbal, founder and CEO of SweatWorks — filling a clear gap for busy professionals who need curated analysis rather than long-form interviews.
- A leadership change at Core Health and Fitness is an early agenda item, reflecting the talent and leadership dynamics shaping how major fitness companies are being managed heading into 2024.
- Lululemon's decision to sign a Peloton content deal while simultaneously shutting down its Mirror service illustrates how quickly connected fitness hardware bets can be revised when the market signals change.
- Xponential Fitness's VR application for Meta Quest 3 marks one of the most direct integrations yet between a multi-brand boutique fitness operator and consumer virtual reality hardware.
- Interactive Strength's acquisition of CLMBR points to a growing segment of operators who want premium vertical training options for commercial installations.
- Emma Barry's participation in the launch episode grounds the inaugural conversation in boutique fitness operational experience, adding practitioner depth to what could otherwise be a purely analytical show.
- The LIFTS format is explicitly designed for the professional audience — the gym owner, the equipment buyer, the brand strategist — who needs a reliable weekly briefing without sacrificing the depth to understand why each story matters.
Why This Conversation Matters
The launch of LIFTS represents a meaningful evolution in how Matthew Januszek engages with the fitness industry. Having spent years building Escape Fitness into a globally recognized equipment brand and now focusing on Escape Fitness USA in the North American market, he is translating that accumulated knowledge into a media format — a weekly conversation that reflects what he and Mo Iqbal are actually paying attention to.
For listeners, this first episode is a statement of intent. LIFTS is not a supplement to existing fitness podcasts — it is a different format entirely, built for a specific professional audience. Going back to listen to the very first episode is a way to understand where the show started and how its original ambitions have shaped every episode since.
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube
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About Matthew Januszek
Matthew Januszek is the co-founder of Escape Fitness, the functional-training equipment brand he built from a UK startup into a global name supplying many of the world’s leading gyms, studios, and hotel fitness spaces. Following the separation of the UK and US businesses, Matthew’s focus today is Escape Fitness USA and the next chapter of the brand in North America. He hosted more than 300 episodes of the Escape Your Limits podcast and now co-hosts the LIFTS Podcast with SweatWorks founder Mohammed Iqbal, covering the business, science, and technology shaping the fitness industry. Explore more interviews and episodes on MatthewJanuszek.com.
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