Matthew Januszek returns to the Connected Health and Fitness Summit with co-host Emma Barry for another Escape Your Limits Podcast episode focused on the companies integrating technology with fitness to change the way people move, train, and recover. The Summit's programming highlighted three defining shifts: growing demand for a hybrid approach to fitness, increasing desire for holistic health offerings, and a preference for highly personalized fitness experiences.

In this episode, Matthew and Emma connect with senior leaders from Equinox, Safe Sweat, The Wellness Program, and Fhitting Room — each building businesses that sit at the intersection of those three trends and each offering a distinct perspective on what the fitness industry needs to become.

About The Future of Fitness Business

The Connected Health and Fitness Summit brings together the companies, investors, and executives who are actively working on what comes next in fitness — particularly at the intersection of technology, physical experience, and health outcomes. The 2023 edition centered on a theme that has become increasingly urgent: how do fitness businesses evolve from selling workouts to supporting genuine well-being?

The businesses featured in this episode each represent a different answer to that question. Equinox, one of the premium fitness industry's most recognized names, is navigating how a luxury club brand adapts to shifting consumer expectations. Safe Sweat is building a new concept of what a gym can be, with community at the center. Fhitting Room is a boutique fitness operator that has developed a model for weaving technology into the in-person experience. The Wellness Program is creating an ecosystem approach that wraps fitness inside a broader wellness offering.

The guests featured in this episode include the VP of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development of Equinox, Julia Klim; the CEO and Founder of Safe Sweat, Emre Ozgur; the President of Fhitting Room and Chief Strategy and Systems Officer of Town Sports International, Tristan Saw; and the Co-Founder and CEO of The Wellness Program, Owen Bowling.

Key Insights from the Conversation

• Creating a unique fitness facility and building genuine community are not the same thing — and understanding the difference is one of the most important distinctions for any operator trying to stand out in a crowded market.
• The definition of fitness and wellness is expanding, and the businesses at the Summit are operating with a much broader conception of what they are offering members than a traditional gym ever would have.
• Targeting real beginners — people who have never consistently exercised — is an underexplored business opportunity that several of the leaders at the Summit identified as both high-impact and underserved.
• The hybrid model — combining in-person and digital offerings — has moved from a pandemic-era workaround to a permanent feature of how successful fitness businesses operate.
• Technology needs to be incorporated into the fitness experience in a way that feels seamless rather than forced; operators who bolt on tech without integrating it into the member journey create friction rather than value.
• Creating an ecosystem around fitness — one that connects workouts, nutrition, recovery, and accountability — is increasingly what retains members long-term, as individual service offerings become easier to replicate.
• The biggest changes in consumer trends post-pandemic, as described by leaders from Equinox and others, are less about where people work out and more about what they expect the experience to deliver.

Why This Conversation Matters

Matthew Januszek has spent years thinking about what fitness businesses need to become — not just better gyms, but genuine partners in the health of their members. Escape Fitness's equipment has always been designed with that ambition in mind, and the conversations he and Emma captured at the Connected Health and Fitness Summit reflect how widely that thinking has spread across the industry.

For the chapter Matthew is building now — through Escape Fitness USA and the LIFTS Podcast with Mo Iqbal of SweatWorks — the themes in this episode are directly relevant. What does it mean to serve the whole person, not just the workout? How does a fitness brand remain relevant as the definition of health expands? The leaders in this episode are working on the same questions.

▶  Watch the full episode on YouTube

Related Episodes & Interviews

• Jon Canarick →
• The Connected Health & Fitness Summit →
• Todd Payette →