In the final episode of their three-part live series recorded at Beyond Activ New York City, Matthew Januszek — co-founder of Escape Fitness and a partner in Escape Fitness USA — and Mo Iqbal, Founder and CEO of SweatWorks, go deep on where smart money is flowing in fitness and what that reveals about where the industry is heading.

This conversation brings together investors, a Pilates equipment innovator, a private equity managing director, and the co-founders of a Reformer Pilates brand to examine the boutique fitness market, the rise of high-value low-price clubs, and the forces sustaining the Pilates boom.

What This Episode Covers

Beyond Activ NYC is a leadership, investment, and business development event serving owners, managers, and investors across the fitness and wellness sectors — and its September 2024 edition served as the backdrop for this three-part LIFTS series.

This final installment features investors and operators spanning private equity, boutique fitness content, Nordic-inspired strength concepts, and Reformer Pilates manufacturing — each contributing a distinct view of where capital and consumer demand are concentrating.

Together, the guests cover investment strategy, boutique fitness's structural challenges, the emergence of Nordic-influenced strength concepts, and the talent constraints that continue to limit Pilates studios' ability to scale.

Key Moments from the Conversation

• Strategic location choices and lease terms are among the most consequential decisions a fitness operator can make, and the panel outlines why site selection discipline separates sustainable businesses from struggling ones.
• Trying to serve every demographic and modality at once is a common growth trap, and the panelists are direct about the risks of brands that lose their identity by chasing breadth over depth.
• The scaling of Pilates-adjacent formats is cited as evidence that the category can achieve real reach, and the conversation interrogates what makes that kind of trajectory possible.
• Metabolic training and new athletic-club formats are highlighted as emerging trends worth watching as fitness operators look for the next category with staying power.
• A Nordic-inspired fitness concept grounded in the Nordic way of life is introduced, with plans for both studio and at-home product integration.
• The investment discussion maps where capital is flowing, naming value-tier players reshaping the high-value low-price segment.
• The evolution of high-value low-price clubs — and the concurrent rise of the social wellness club — represents a structural shift in how large-format gyms are positioning themselves to compete.
• The instructor talent shortage remains the single biggest constraint on Pilates growth, and the panelists discuss practical approaches to solving a problem that no amount of demand can outpace on its own.

Why This Conversation Matters

Understanding where investment capital is concentrating — and why — is one of the most reliable signals available to fitness operators planning their next move. Matthew Januszek brings his own experience building and scaling a global brand to these conversations, which gives the investment discussion a practical operational grounding that pure financial analysis often misses.

The Pilates boom is real, but as this episode makes clear, sustaining it requires solving for instructor supply, strategic real estate, and clear brand identity — challenges that apply far beyond any single modality.

▶  Watch the full episode on YouTube

Related Episodes & Interviews

• The Pilates Boom & Healthcare →
• Beyond Activ NYC (Part 1) →
• Michael Ramsey →