When the fitness industry faces economic headwinds, few voices carry as much weight as Bryan O'Rourke. As CEO of Core Health & Fitness — the company behind brands such as StairMaster, Schwinn, and Nautilus commercial — O'Rourke brings a rare combination of operational depth and long-range strategic vision to one of the sector's most complex leadership roles. He joined Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal of SweatWorks for episode 31 of the LIFTS Podcast to talk candidly about where the commercial fitness market stands right now.
The conversation covers near-term economic pressures, consolidation across both the club and supplier sectors, and the shifting consumer behaviors that operators need to understand in order to stay relevant. O'Rourke and the LIFTS hosts also explore the long-term macro story — why health and wellness fundamentals remain robust even as short-term profitability comes under pressure — and what it will take for forward-thinking leaders to adapt, innovate, and stay ahead of the curve.
What This Episode Covers
Bryan O'Rourke is one of the most seasoned executives in the global commercial fitness industry. As CEO of Core Health & Fitness, he oversees a portfolio of legacy equipment brands that outfit commercial gyms, corporate wellness facilities, and hospitality properties around the world. His career spans leadership roles across manufacturing, technology, and fitness, giving him an unusually broad perspective on how the industry's supply chain, business models, and consumer dynamics interact.
Beyond his operating role, O'Rourke is a recognized industry voice — a speaker, author, and advisor who has consistently argued that fitness operators must embrace technology and behavioral science to meet members where they are. He approaches strategic questions with a data-driven rigor that is grounded in real commercial experience, making him a uniquely credible analyst of the volatility that has characterized the post-pandemic fitness landscape.
On LIFTS, O'Rourke brings that analytical lens to a practical audience. The podcast — co-hosted by Matthew Januszek, partner in Escape Fitness USA, and Mo Iqbal, founder and CEO of SweatWorks — is designed exactly for the kind of industry leader who needs signal, not noise, when navigating a rapidly changing market.
Key Moments from the Conversation
- O'Rourke outlines how near-term economic pressures, including the rise in interest rates, are directly compressing the economics of new gym openings and slowing capital deployment across the commercial sector.
- He identifies consolidation as a defining structural trend — occurring simultaneously at the club level and among equipment and service suppliers — as weaker players exit and stronger operators absorb market share.
- The conversation explores how consumer behaviors around fitness have shifted materially since the pandemic, with at-home fitness having permanently altered the competitive landscape for traditional commercial clubs.
- O'Rourke emphasizes that leaders who want to maintain profitability in this environment must move beyond incremental improvements and commit to genuine innovation in business models, programming, and member experience.
- He argues that removing barriers to entry — through more flexible pricing structures, accessible programming, and reduced friction in the signup process — is one of the most powerful levers operators have in the current climate.
- The group references the ukactive Consumer Engagement Insight Report, which surfaces specific data on what is preventing consumers from joining gyms, providing an evidence base for decisions about how to redesign the onboarding experience.
- Despite short-term headwinds, O'Rourke is clear-eyed about the long-term macro thesis: the societal shift toward preventive health and wellness is structural, not cyclical, and operators who survive the current volatility will benefit from it.
Why This Conversation Matters
The commercial fitness industry is navigating one of its most consequential periods of structural change since the rise of budget gyms in the 2010s. Interest-rate pressures, post-pandemic behavioral shifts, and accelerating consolidation are forcing operators and suppliers alike to rethink assumptions that held for decades. Bryan O'Rourke's willingness to name these dynamics directly — rather than paper over them with optimism — makes this episode an unusually useful reference point for anyone running or investing in a fitness business right now.
For Matthew Januszek and Mo Iqbal, conversations like this sit at the core of what the LIFTS Podcast is built to deliver: honest, peer-level industry dialogue that helps operators and leaders make better decisions. The macro health and wellness tailwind that O'Rourke describes is the same one that has driven Escape Fitness USA's growth strategy — and his analysis reinforces why the brands and operators who lean into innovation today are best positioned for the long game.
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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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