[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody. Welcome to the Future of Fitness, a top-rated fitness industry podcast for over
[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_00]: four years and running. I am your host, Eric Malzone, and I have the absolute pleasure of
[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: talking to entrepreneurs, executives, thought leaders, and cutting edge technology experts
[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: within the extremely fast-paced industries of fitness, wellness, and health sciences.
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[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: That is G-O-T-E-A-M-U-P.com. Julie Carrite, welcome to The Future of Fitness.
[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Thanks so much for having me, Eric. I'm excited to be here.
[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm excited as well. This is a very dynamic time for you and P-Volve. And
[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: as we were just chatting pre-recording, I don't know if I've seen the market trends,
[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: like just completely all the trends, right? Just come and just kind of point
[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: right in your guy's direction, where you're sitting, where you position yourself. So it's
[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: a really cool time for you and P-Volve. I'm sure it's very exciting, very nerve-wracking,
[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: very tiring, but all the emotions are bundled into what's going on with you and P-Volve
[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: right now. And I really appreciate you making the time to have this conversation.
[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think always a good place to start, Julie, is just if you give us insights into
[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: your background, how you got to be the president there. I know you came from,
[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: you've been in a long time in entertainment, right? And kind of saw the beginnings of
[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: fitness content as we call it now. Definitely.
[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: We can both talk about VHS tapes and doing workouts back then. So
[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got to be where you are.
[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. No, I mean, it is kind of like a wild ride that I've had. I started my career in
[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_03]: home entertainment, which was at the time VHS. And I worked for a company that was really
[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_03]: the majority by stars, the cable channel. It was a home entertainment company. We released,
[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know, anywhere between 20 and 30 movies a month and sold them to major mass retailers.
[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_03]: And I really got my marketing chops, certainly my product development chops there. I was there
[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: for about 18 years. But I think the more relevant aspect of my job is that I was also
[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_03]: the general manager of our fitness division. And our fitness division, oh my gosh,
[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_03]: worked with like crunch. I worked with Donna Richardson, Leslie Sansone, Billy Blanks,
[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Weight Watchers, the brand. And we also developed a bunch of proprietary brands as well.
[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And it was really, really exciting. Tracy Anderson, Julian Michaels, Bob Harper.
[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, go on and goes on and on because we were like one of the best. We would help them
[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_03]: to develop content, produce their content, package it on VHS originally, then DVD,
[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and then digital as the years went on. And it was definitely my passion. It was the reason
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_03]: I wanted to get up in the morning. It was like sort of my baby. And this industry is small.
[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_03]: And so when this young, young entrepreneur, Rachel Katzman, had this brilliant idea,
[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I think she was 23 at the time, she had gotten my name and she just kept at it.
[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_03]: The woman would not take no for an answer because we had just gotten purchased by
[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Lionsgate. I felt like I had arrived, you know, and just like, oh, I work for Lionsgate.
[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03]: I run home entertainment for Lionsgate. And this woman is just like chirping for a lot of
[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_03]: year. And I was like, okay, finally, I'll just take a meeting with you. And she sat across from
[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_03]: me, very impressive young woman. I was 40 at the time. And I think that's important
[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_03]: for really where we were at in life and how we were interpreting sort of this big idea
[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_03]: that she had. And so I can talk a little bit about that because it explains really what P-Vaub is.
[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_03]: She was bouncing around from boutique fitness to boutique fitness in the New York area.
[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_03]: And she was really seeking a specific aesthetic. You know, she wanted lifted butt and like toned
[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_03]: core and all of that's awesome. But she was like powering through pain. She had back pain
[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_03]: every single day. And she was like, this is what you're supposed to do. No pain, no gain.
[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_03]: And this is just part of it in order to get a really great body. And she got diagnosed with
[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_03]: scoliosis and, you know, through trying to figure out how to really get the body that she wanted,
[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_03]: she was introduced to functional movement through a trainer. And that functional movement
[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_03]: really changed the way that she felt. So she was getting the body that she wanted.
[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_03]: She absolutely got that lifted butt that she was looking for, the defined arms.
[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_03]: But more importantly, she was waking up without pain and she was really,
[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_03]: she put a lot of emphasis on that. Like why don't more people do this? And so when she was telling
[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_03]: me that story, it's something I couldn't deny. It was at the end of like really, and I have mad
[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_03]: respect for every modality. So this isn't a hit on CrossFit, but a number of people were
[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_03]: getting hurt, you know, in CrossFit at the time. And I was 40, my husband who has always
[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_03]: been physically active, he had just had shoulder surgery because of all of the high impact stuff
[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_03]: he had done his entire life to look a particular way perhaps. And so it just resonated with me.
[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_03]: And I was like, oh gosh, well here we go. I'm going to help you. I'm not going to leave my
[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_03]: day job, but I'm going to help you. And that was the beginning, January of 2017.
[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_03]: And so the rest is sort of history. It was a crazy year.
[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Yeah, that's great. And it is interesting. I mean, so I came from a CrossFit
[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: background. I always joke, I'm like, well, I actually only got injured once. It just happened
[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: to move around my body constantly the source of injury. And it's true. I mean, I'm actually
[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: going to have a conversation soon with Dawn, a fall from CrossFit about, you know, let's be
[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: honest about CrossFit and some of these high intensity modalities. Like we say it's, you
[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: know, there aren't injuries, but there are. And then, you know, I ran a gym for nine years
[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00]: and it just happens. But you have to be honest about it upfront. You can't say no,
[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: but this is what you're getting into. Super fun, super intense. Really, you know, really
[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: it's a great time, right? Really rewarding is the word I'm looking for. So anyway, enough
[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_00]: about CrossFit. Tell me, let's start with this. Just maybe explain in its current form,
[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: what is the P-Volve customer experience? You know, we can talk about my wife, she tried it.
[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: She was dealing with back pain, severe back pain actually. But you know, when you guys
[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: describe it, because there's so many different parts of the experience, right? The omnichannel,
[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00]: like truly, truly omnichannel. So how do you explain the client experience?
[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. I mean, I think what I forgot to sort of explain is what is P-Volve. So P-Volve
[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_03]: is really functional movement and resistance based equipment together. It's not separated.
[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_03]: It's not just functional movement. It's not just resistance based equipment. It's a low
[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_03]: impact workout that delivers really high intensity results. And so that's really important
[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_03]: because all of our clinical backing has to do with functional movement and the resistance
[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_03]: based equipment. And our resistance equipment is also patented. So we have like always
[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_03]: started that way where we were going to deliver a digital experience to a global audience.
[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_03]: And so we started really natively digital. And so we had videos that we were filming
[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_03]: that were the functional movement and the resistance based equipment together.
[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_03]: And we started to deliver not only that digital subscription, but also you would purchase
[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_03]: the resistance based equipment through our e-commerce site. So that was like the native
[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_03]: customer experience. But we always knew that that wasn't going to be enough.
[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Rachel Katzman, the founder and I, we just really knew that you had to have an in-person
[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_03]: option that we wanted to build local communities that we felt like there are days when
[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_03]: our member will need that extra accountability or that frankly they want to meet their
[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_03]: friends there, or they want on really hands-on help with our really precise form.
[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_03]: So we quickly started to open up three owned and operated locations in New York, Chicago,
[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_03]: and LA. And then we started franchising in 2019, which we'll talk about that. And that's like a
[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_03]: huge part of our business. So really the customer experience is truly omnichannel. We
[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_03]: were omnichannel well before that was sort of the must have in fitness when COVID
[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_03]: really happened. We were lucky because prior to COVID, we only had one location open.
[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_03]: And we actually opened two during COVID, which is interesting, but really the growth
[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_03]: our in-person happened post-COVID. And now we have an audience that is doing both. And
[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_03]: our hypothesis when we started that was that the more that we removed barriers from her being
[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_03]: able to engage in the modality that she most wanted to, the more retained, the more
[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_03]: satisfied, the better results that she would have. And that's exactly what we're seeing.
[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_03]: So you can either start in studio. Now we've got 14 locations open and 21 by the end of this year,
[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_03]: or you can start digitally. And we have both types of members, but we have a growing cohort
[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_03]: of members that are both. So they engage in both experiences.
[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_00]: What a great way to be. I mean, from, you know, I was alluding to my wife's experience.
[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So she tweaked her back and you and I were joking, we were recording like when my wife
[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_00]: is not active, it's nobody's having a good time in our house. She's just like,
[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_00]: uber-uber active. So she says she calls it. Yeah, I wasn't, they put me in timeout with her
[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_00]: back. So, you know, the package came really cool looking, very nice unpacking experience,
[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_00]: high quality. I watched, you know, one of her sessions and the mats on the floor,
[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_00]: it's like numbered grids, right? There's some really interesting band work. She described it as
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: strength training meets like, she hasn't done a lot of Pilates, but she said,
[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and then also foundation training, which came from Dr. Eric Goodman back in the day.
[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So it's kind of like this mix of very interesting modalities, which are all by their
[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_00]: own, you know, effective. So I guess, yeah, how would you just explain like the
[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_03]: modality itself? Yeah. So, I mean, it is low impact, but we are using, you know, product
[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_03]: that other fitness modalities do not use. I mean, three of our pieces of resistance
[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_03]: equipment are patented, the P ball, the P band and the P three. And then we also use
[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_03]: proprietary pieces of product too. That map that you described is called the precision
[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_03]: mat. It looks like a giant clock. It really helps you to move in three planes of motion.
[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_03]: So the importance of the three planes of motion is, is that we really want to help
[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_03]: you to live better. So we want to support your everyday movements and you're always moving in
[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, different planes of motion, whether you're reaching behind to grab something out of your
[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_03]: kids' hands while you're driving or you're reaching up and like grabbing something from,
[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, something that's higher than you or you're just stepping out of the car. So
[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_03]: that movement pattern is very important and it ties into our like, and benefits. Like,
[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_03]: so we'll get you an unbelievable body, like a lifted butt and really strong core and defined
[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_03]: arms. And God, do I care about that? You know, I really care about the way that I look, but more
[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_03]: importantly, it's going to help you with balance. It's going to help you with flexibility. It's
[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_03]: going to help you with your mobility and your mobility. Like, oh boy, when you become 48,
[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_03]: you care a hell of a lot about that. And so these movements you really haven't seen before,
[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_03]: but also coupled with this resistance based equipment that kind of looks new. Those two
[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_03]: things together really delivers on this like unbelievable results. So that's really the
[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: differentiator. Yeah, yeah. That's super interesting. And out of curiosity, is there any men doing
[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_03]: this? Or is there like, do you have clients? Oh my gosh. Yes, definitely, Eric. As a matter of
[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_03]: fact, we were just seeing some potential franchisee candidates yesterday and we,
[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_03]: first of all, we have male trainers, a number of them. And then we also have a number of male
[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_03]: members that are digital, but also male members that are members of our studio. You know, I
[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_03]: would say that we're about 90% women right now, but that's not because we're curves for women.
[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't market that we're only for women. We take fitness from a women's first lens.
[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's a really important point because it will work for a man as well. But women have very
[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_03]: unique needs because of our hormones. And we are taking functional movement and all of the
[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_03]: benefits that functional movement can have for somebody. And we're thinking about a woman first.
[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's like, you'll see that in our programming digitally, you'll see that we've
[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_03]: got functional movement workouts for menopause and specific to the symptoms that you
[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_03]: experience during that transition to phase and function, which is all about your four phases of
[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_03]: menstrual cycle to pelvic floor, which Eric, you have a pelvic floor too. But you know,
[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_03]: pelvic floor dysfunction you do, but you know that the pelvic floor discussion that women go
[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_03]: through, whether it's when they're in childbearing years or for other reasons,
[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_03]: infertility. So those are some of our specialized programming that again, we're thinking about
[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_03]: women and Eric, it also segues into like this groundbreaking clinical study that we were in
[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_03]: to, which I would love to talk further about. But that's so, so we absolutely are for men as
[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_03]: well, but we're going to super serve a woman. We're proud of that.
[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Yeah. It should be. It should be. I mean,
[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: that's something that I've talked about a lot on this podcast is the, it's a great,
[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to call it a trend. I'm just going to call it the emergence,
[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_00]: right? Cause it's not going to go away anytime soon. You know how it's embarrassing,
[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: right? How little research has been done on women, female physiology, right?
[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_00]: We can talk about all the reasons we probably don't have enough time on that podcast. But
[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: the point is, is like there's a lot more research being done. I definitely want to
[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_00]: talk about the clinical trials that you guys have done, the research, because that's really,
[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: it's really valuable to, you know, the industry or just humanity at large.
[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_00]: But when we talked about all these trends kind of converging on your,
[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_00]: your vector, right? It's like we have longevity, right? We have women's health and strength.
[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Huge, huge megatrend. And then Omni-Channel. Now Omni-Channel was kind of a buzzword in 2020,
[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_00]: 2020. Yeah, it was.
[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Dove for a while, but you guys are, you know, call whatever you want. You're,
[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_00]: you're offering in a way that consumers like, cause you know, nowadays the,
[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_00]: the best way to describe it is like the, the consumer is the center of their fitness and
[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: wellness. It's not just the gym, right? That used to be the center of the wheel
[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_00]: when the spokes came off of it. Now it's the consumer. So they have all these different
[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: options of, you know, well, I don't want to do something outdoors right today. I want to
[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_00]: do something in the home because I'm busy. I want to go somewhere and be in a class and be,
[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_00]: you know, get that community vibe. So it's like, you guys are creating that all around
[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_00]: experience based on, you know, one specific brand, one specific methodology. And then
[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: you add those other two factors, the longevity of women's health and strength, like boom,
[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: like things, things are right at coming at you. So how does that feel?
[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, Erin, it feels so amazing. I mean, I will tell you back in 2019, when we were talking
[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_03]: about longevity, when we were actually producing our pelvic floor, you know, workouts with our
[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_03]: doctors that sit on our board, I swear that there's, there has to be so many people
[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_03]: thought that we were crazy and we were, but we were really listening to our customer
[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and we were just hearing about their needs and we knew that we could serve them. We knew that
[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_03]: we had really highly certified trainers that really know this method inside and out,
[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_03]: but we also were working with a team of doctors. We got four doctors that sit on our
[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_03]: boards that are the board that is very involved in, you know, our programming development.
[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_03]: So back then I would have called us a little bit ambitious and also our omnichannel. I mean,
[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_03]: when we talked to the investor, oh my gosh, I'm just like, we're going to franchise,
[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_03]: we're going to open up locations. You know, digital is typically viewed as high margin,
[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, that you can deliver that service on a reoccurring revenue perspective. And,
[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, investors typically liked that back in 2018, 2019, but we were really dense set,
[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Rachel and I were like dense set on that. That is not the way that of the future. And
[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_03]: we're so lucky, but it really the industry didn't really catch up.
[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_03]: And so like here we were at this inflection point and gosh, does it feel good? It was hard
[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_03]: before because we were like banging on people's sides and being like,
[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Milsmit can do so much more for you. Milsmit can be medicine for what it is that you're
[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_03]: experiencing. And people didn't really necessarily want to hear it or it was really expensive
[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_03]: to hear it. You know, it just like the frequency of message and now the industry, that's all they
[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_03]: they're talking about is longevity. And we have a healthy aging study that we've been in for two
[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_03]: years where we've got, we're clinically back to actually help you to have a better health span.
[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's bad ass. And then, you know, women's health, I mean, it's at the,
[00:18:59] [SPEAKER_03]: our programming alone will just show you that that is just like a huge part of a reasons
[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_03]: to believe in this brand. And then Omnichannel, we've got, we've awarded 52 franchise locations.
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_03]: We have three that we own and operate in three major markets. And we have our 14th
[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_03]: that just opened two weeks ago and we're going to open three more in the next 45 days.
[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_03]: It's here. And our franchising model is advantageous to the Omnichannel. We really
[00:19:27] [SPEAKER_03]: make sure that the franchise owners experience the benefit of their studio members, you know,
[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_03]: having that additional value in their unlimited membership. We have communities of digital
[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_03]: members in those markets prior to opening that we are working actively to change into
[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_03]: a hybrid member. It's better for us, you know, so that's nice too. So yeah, it's,
[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_03]: a fun time. I wouldn't have told you that necessarily. I mean, I've always been passionate,
[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_03]: but I wouldn't have told you that necessarily like three years ago, four years ago. It was
[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_03]: horror, but lots of really great learnings. I'm glad it's happening now.
[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting. One of the questions I was curious about,
[00:20:11] [SPEAKER_00]: because I've started a lot of businesses to varying degrees of success and failure,
[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_00]: been a part of startups and things like that. One of the things that's difficult is focus.
[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Right. Like you and I talked about this pre-recording, like attention creep is a very
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_00]: real thing. You start to get opportunities, start to come your way and like they sound great,
[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_00]: but then they pull valuable resources and time away from the core. And you know,
[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it looks from the outside looking in, it looks even more challenging to maintain
[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_00]: focus because you guys do have the Omnichannel approach. It's like, well, where do you put
[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_00]: resources in the franchising or digital, right? Branding, like all these different parts. So
[00:20:48] [SPEAKER_00]: how do you keep the between the rails, right? How do you, is there a mission that you guys
[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_00]: always go back to that you're like, okay, this is our focus. If it falls in this category,
[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_00]: then we go for it. If we don't, we forget about it for now. Like how do you maintain
[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_03]: that focus? Yeah, Eric, that is a hard lesson that we have learned. And so I'm so grateful.
[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, we grew about 165% last year and we're growing so rapidly this year for two
[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_03]: reasons. You know, really, I mean, it's not just because it's this inflection point in the
[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_03]: industry, but also, you know, we'll talk in depth about like the most craziest thing ever.
[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's Jennifer Aniston joining the company and for helping to really educate on this new
[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_03]: way to work out and what it can actually do. She's broken through the clutter, you know,
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_03]: work or the competition of this industry and really has helped us to get our message across.
[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_03]: But also we always knew we were going to grow pretty rapidly in 2024 because our studios are
[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_03]: starting to open that we've been, you know, really selling since 2019. So that like, I think
[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_03]: I was talking to Eric about this before we even started, but like, thank God our massive
[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_03]: growth is happening six and a half years in because had it happened early on, because I
[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_03]: would tell you we were distracted. We were like, yeah, if we can do this, we can also
[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_03]: do this. And let's, you know what? Okay. While you're doing that, let's also do this. Like
[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_03]: we were ambitious and that's like a fun thing to be like we just, but we were also distracted
[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and we lacked real focus on what it is that we do really, really well. And what we do
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_03]: really, really well is we deliver functional movement and resistance based equipment, both
[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_03]: digitally and in person at an exceptional level. So we have to deliver it that way
[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_03]: because we're clinically backed. Our programs have been in multiple clinical studies.
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_03]: And so keeping that precision, that prescription really tight, especially as you start to
[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_03]: franchise. I mean like it's everything to us. We're not looking to just sell thousands of
[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_03]: franchises and let this clinically backed like really impactful method get watered down.
[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't want to do it like everybody else. So, Eric, that's some like hard, hard lessons.
[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, if I went back and told you some of the things that we started, you know, back in
[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_03]: like 2019, I'm actually embarrassed by it. You know, it's like, yeah, we'll do that too.
[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_03]: And now it's so funny when something comes across our desk, we're just like, if it
[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_03]: doesn't really like add to this method, I mean, and its credibility and its stance in
[00:23:23] [SPEAKER_03]: market and making it the very, the Kleenex of tissues for functional movement. We don't
[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_03]: want it. So that's where we're at. You can learn a lot of lessons through hard times.
[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Yeah. The timing is really good for you guys. And it is, I mean, anybody who's run
[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_00]: a company just knows it's, you know, when you're struggling to get traction early on,
[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_00]: you're willing to try anything. You'll take anybody on as a client. You'll do whatever,
[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_00]: right? You just need to get that initial traction. And then as you start to mature
[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_00]: a little bit, you're starting to see very clear like, okay, that was a huge waste of time and
[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_00]: resources. And then boom, then it gets real clear. Like this is what we do. You know,
[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_00]: like I said, if it's not in that target zone, then we say no thank you for now.
[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And we move on. And that's a hard part about leadership. And we commend you for
[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00]: figuring that out. And sometimes people, even six and a half years in, maybe 15 years
[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_00]: in, people don't figure that out. Right? And they're still kind of chasing squirrels
[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_03]: everywhere. Yeah. I think, Eric, the other thing though that I think is really important
[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_03]: is that we knew what this method could do. We knew that we were taking an approach from
[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_03]: local women's first, like women's health. We knew that we could improve your health span.
[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_03]: And yet when that messaging didn't work, you know, in 2019 or 2020, we would just like
[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_03]: fall back. Like we would fall back and be like, okay, let's only talk about that lifted butt
[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_03]: that it can get you. Because that's all that everybody wants to hear. And I'm disappointed
[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_03]: in that. You know what I mean? Like that is right now we don't, we're not sorry for what it is
[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_03]: that we're saying. You know, like we fundamentally believe this is what you need and we have more
[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_03]: confidence in what it is that we're saying. And it doesn't matter that the rest of the
[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_03]: market isn't saying that exactly. I mean, now they are, but you know, it's like,
[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_03]: we're trying to stay very true to that. Even the women aspect, it's a hard thing sometimes
[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_03]: when I'm talking to franchise potential, franchise owners, they're just like, so are you
[00:25:16] [SPEAKER_03]: not thinking about this other market? I was like, no, of course I'm thinking about
[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_03]: men and they're going to be a huge audience for us. But we do not lose sight of the
[00:25:25] [SPEAKER_03]: fact that we take a women's first lens and we're not apologetic for it anymore.
[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's another way I think you stay focused and you stay more firm on who you are and who
[00:25:33] [SPEAKER_03]: you're not. And you just don't want to just be something else because it'd be easier.
[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Yeah. And it's critical to building a brand. I had a conversation this week on a podcast with,
[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_00]: it was Brandon from metabolic and Eddie from athletic. And we were talking about different
[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_00]: brands like, you know, Equinox, gym shark, like even metabolic. Like you can look,
[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_00]: like we talked about this on another one about plant fitness. I look at plant fitness and I'm
[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_00]: like, they're branding like, no, not for me. Right. But that's ideal. Like you want to
[00:26:08] [SPEAKER_00]: almost push away the people who are not in your core and then really pull in the people who are.
[00:26:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not saying that's what you guys are doing, but like when you look at really good
[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_00]: branding, it's like, well, this is our core audience. We're going to speak directly to
[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_00]: them. If other people don't get it, that actually means we're probably doing our job
[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_00]: well. That's really interesting. Branding is fascinating to me. It's so art and science
[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_00]: combined to this whole thing at the end of the day when it's done right. So yeah.
[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, definitely.
[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Question for you. I want to get into the research. I want to make sure we give that
[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_00]: due time so you guys have been pumping out some clinical trials, healthy aging,
[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_00]: all these different things. Tell me about how are you guys gathering all this data and
[00:26:45] [SPEAKER_00]: information and what are some of the key insights that you're pulling from it? Not
[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_00]: just for what you guys are doing, but maybe for the industry overall.
[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey friends, Eric Malzone here. I've had the honor of interviewing over 750 professionals
[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_00]: across the fitness, health and wellness industries. There's one thing I know for
[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_00]: sure. Without a doubt, there is a tremendous opportunity to leverage a highly valuable
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[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I've launched the podcast collective. The ultimate solution designed to empower executives,
[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_00]: founders and thought leaders in the fitness, health and wellness sectors.
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[00:28:02] [SPEAKER_00]: unparalleled value that only a professional network like ours can offer. We work with
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[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_00]: learn more. Go to podcastcollective.io to learn more and contact me directly. That's podcastcollective.io.
[00:28:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, the first clinical study that we got into was 2019. It was at the University of Minnesota
[00:28:27] [SPEAKER_03]: and we actually were awarded a grant, which is like really great because somebody else paid
[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_03]: for it, which is these things are not inexpensive. But now it's really about chronic
[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_03]: lower back pain. So that's a huge total addressable market. Basically everybody at
[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_03]: some level has chronic lower back pain. And so it was this idea of the way in which we move
[00:28:47] [SPEAKER_03]: in our method can help to reduce chronic lower back pain, which seriously impacts people's
[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_03]: quality of life. So that was done. It started in person and then unfortunately was impacted
[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_03]: by COVID, but our patients had MRIs. So it's like all of our clinical studies are done at
[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_03]: highest, highest of levels. And about two years later we sort of get those results and
[00:29:11] [SPEAKER_03]: significantly reduce like from pain levels of eight and nine down to three. But I think the
[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_03]: bigger thing Eric is that these markers, and this was all overseen by a doctor, our
[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_03]: trainers and one of our doctors or doctor of physical therapy would fly to Minnesota and meet
[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_03]: with the patient. So it was, and we were very, very involved and the entire clinical
[00:29:33] [SPEAKER_03]: study had to do with our movements plus our patented piece of equipment, our people. And it
[00:29:39] [SPEAKER_03]: really is about pelvic floor articulation. That's why I mentioned Eric, you've got a pelvic floor
[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_03]: too. And if you're not moving in the right way, it can actually seriously impact your
[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_03]: chronic lower back pain. But the big deal there is that it was about quality of life.
[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_03]: It's about these people were finally able to pick up their grandchildren, that they were
[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_03]: able to walk their dog all the way around the block instead of only like down the street.
[00:30:00] [SPEAKER_03]: And that is, I think the beginning for us, you know, where we were like, wow, you know, by
[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_03]: moving in the right way, you can actually get your life back or preserve the life that you
[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_03]: live. So I think we got like a little addicted. We immediately got into a clinical study that's
[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_03]: run by one of the doctors on our board, Dr. Nima. He's our head researcher at the University
[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_03]: of Exeter, which is where Nike does a lot of their global sports and clinical research. So
[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_03]: they're really known to be one of the top globally. And we started off just being like,
[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_03]: okay, we know that we can improve your quality of life, but let's talk about healthy aging.
[00:30:41] [SPEAKER_03]: And this was in like, we got into this clinical study back in 2020, maybe one,
[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_03]: and you know, like, let's prove out that we can improve your balance, that we can improve
[00:30:50] [SPEAKER_03]: your mobility, that we can improve your strength. But as we were like kind of going through the
[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_03]: protocol, we're like, what if we only did it on women? What if we only did it on women that
[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_03]: were 40 plus? Because we know that there are things that go on with our biology because of
[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_03]: our hormones that will break our body down, that one in four women fall after the age of
[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_03]: 50, that this is like unfair. And here I am, like at the time I was probably 45. And I'm
[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_03]: just like, it's not fair. We've got to do something about it. Less than 6% of like sports,
[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_03]: research has to do with women. And the reason is because of hormones. Hormones are too much
[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_03]: of a variable, you know, and it's usually done in men and women fundamentally have been like
[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_03]: underserved in that regard. So we got into that and it was like all, it was 12 weeks of
[00:31:34] [SPEAKER_03]: people like following this regime. And I mean, the outcomes, we just announced them in January
[00:31:41] [SPEAKER_03]: this year. The outcomes are unreal. I mean, a 20% increase in your hip function, in your knee
[00:31:50] [SPEAKER_03]: function, improved balance, which is again, you know, plays into this one in four women fall
[00:31:56] [SPEAKER_03]: after the age of 50. But then it's also these other markers, quality of life, better sleep,
[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_03]: blood lipids. Like it's like what? That's what our method does. So now it's like an ethos
[00:32:07] [SPEAKER_03]: of everything that we do. We're just getting ready for our next clinical setting, which I
[00:32:11] [SPEAKER_03]: think is going to be groundbreaking as well. But again, these things take some time, but we're that
[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_03]: positive, you know, that this method can deliver on these other things that are so necessary that
[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_03]: you better take stock in, you know, certainly in your 20s, but hopefully in your 30s and
[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_03]: definitely by your 40s. Like start to think about these things because you got a lot of
[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_03]: to live and I want to live. I want to be able to meet my kids, grandkids. I really do. And
[00:32:42] [SPEAKER_03]: actually be able to like move. And so it's awesome. And you know, it's definitely like
[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_00]: here to stay. He's available. Like in, can people check out these core? Like where,
[00:32:52] [SPEAKER_03]: yeah, where they find them. Yeah. You definitely find them on people.com.
[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_03]: You'll see the clinical studies. We're actually about to surface them a little bit more
[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_03]: clearly in the upper nap, but you can find it in the footer and you can read all about.
[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And it has like even exactly how the study was like pulled together and then exactly what you can.
[00:33:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. You know, one of the things that's seems to be come together as a little micro
[00:33:15] [SPEAKER_00]: trend that I'm noticing is the conversations around rotational strength and power when it
[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_00]: comes to longevity, like, you know, to Eric Cressy about it, Proteus recently came out
[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_00]: with their state of power report and the importance of that and how, I mean, when you
[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_00]: think about it makes total sense, right? If someone's going to have the unfortunate
[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_00]: incident of like breaking a hip when they're older, it's because they don't have a rotational
[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_00]: strength and power. So you counteract the fall, right? They can't swing around. They
[00:33:43] [SPEAKER_00]: can't fight against the ground force as they land. And that turns to bad things that go even
[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_00]: worse faster. So it's like, I think that's something in, and even it can be as simple,
[00:33:52] [SPEAKER_00]: you know, for people who are listening here, just run their gym, just start incorporating
[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_00]: medicine ball throws into your warmups, right? Things as simple as that. But obviously you
[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_00]: guys have got it down to a science. And I mean, is that something that, I mean, obviously
[00:34:05] [SPEAKER_00]: you're very aware of that, but maybe give us some insights into how critical that may be.
[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, it's good. I mean, it's so critical. I think that, and you've probably seen your
[00:34:12] [SPEAKER_03]: wife do this when you watch her do our method, but everything is about turning.
[00:34:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Everything is about your hip rotation. As a matter of fact, even I'm a really bad golfer,
[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_03]: but I'm a better golfer now, you know, after practicing P-mall for seven years because,
[00:34:28] [SPEAKER_03]: and people can see it with me. There's that, why is your swing so powerful? And it's like,
[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_03]: because I practice P-mall and like I'm constantly rotating. That is a, that's like a foundational
[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_03]: part of our method is hip rotations. And really again, moving in three planes of motion,
[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_03]: not just two where you're just doing the same up and down movement in some other modalities.
[00:34:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's a, that's a big part of our clinical study, you know, obviously around mobility and
[00:34:58] [SPEAKER_03]: just your overall joint health. So I couldn't agree more. I think you're going to be hearing
[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_00]: more about that. I agree. I agree. I mean, a lot of really smart people are really honing in
[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_00]: on it. You know, it's stuff that like maybe people who've been in sports or performance
[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_00]: their whole life, it's like, well, duh, right? But then like for everybody else, they're
[00:35:17] [SPEAKER_00]: really starting to figure it out. So it's really good once again, you know, the trend
[00:35:20] [SPEAKER_00]: that you guys seems to be coming directly at you guys. Talk about Jennifer Aniston. I was
[00:35:25] [SPEAKER_00]: listening to an interview you did with Joe Venneri and it was a really funny way to
[00:35:30] [SPEAKER_00]: speculate. I thought we were getting pumped, right? So maybe go talk to us about how did this
[00:35:35] [SPEAKER_00]: whole Jennifer Aniston thing happen? And I mean, I couldn't imagine a better spokesperson
[00:35:39] [SPEAKER_00]: for you just specifically within that age group, right? Like friends is like legendary
[00:35:44] [SPEAKER_00]: amongst our age group and bracket and she's just, she's a great spokesperson. So yeah,
[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_03]: walk us through that story. It's pretty funny. Oh my gosh. Well, I think that when I was on
[00:35:53] [SPEAKER_03]: that said insider podcast, I think it had like recently happened and I think I got emotional.
[00:35:57] [SPEAKER_03]: You're emotional. You're emotional. Yeah, I did. I can't hide it because you work,
[00:36:04] [SPEAKER_03]: work. We dream big. We never dreamed that big. I'm going to tell you right now. So
[00:36:08] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, we, she, she had been secret streaming for like a year. We didn't know. She was under
[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_03]: an alias. Like we didn't, we had no idea. And it was, it was August. It was August of 2022.
[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_03]: And we got like D up by her team that just said like, hi, you know, Jennifer Aniston's team.
[00:36:24] [SPEAKER_03]: And we're all like calling each other. We're like, this is we're getting,
[00:36:29] [SPEAKER_03]: somebody's out to get us. Of course this is real. Can you get on the phone on Monday?
[00:36:34] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, like we're like, you know, we're like Google or thing where like allegedly this
[00:36:39] [SPEAKER_03]: person can be, I mean, Eric, it was like a conspiracy theory. It was really funny. And
[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_03]: of course I'm just like, I take this call and it really was in fact for her long time manager,
[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_03]: who's just like soaping out and all like very matter of fact. And he's like,
[00:36:53] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't even know who you are, but she's obsessed with you. And have you ever thought
[00:36:57] [SPEAKER_03]: about her joining the company? You know, I'm trying to be cool. I'm just like, yeah.
[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Like what? No, we're talking about Jennifer Aniston. There could be no,
[00:37:08] [SPEAKER_03]: she's a first of all, a business woman. She's highly respected. You basically only love her
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_03]: like that is she's the most beloved, but she also she's, she's partnered with really great,
[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_03]: very few, but really great brands that she's obsessed with. And it's so authentically clear.
[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm a huge fan obviously of hers. And, and so that was the beginning. That was the beginning
[00:37:32] [SPEAKER_03]: of us, you know, just starting to have those conversations, you know? And I think when we got
[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_03]: the phone with her, I, you know, and we were over zoom and it really was her. And I, I couldn't
[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_03]: believe it. And she's so down to earth and so passionate. And, you know, she said, oh my gosh,
[00:37:48] [SPEAKER_03]: like one of my friends, and she, she says this in interviews all the time. And she's like,
[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_03]: one of my friends, you know, just had this complete transformation. Not only did they look
[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_03]: amazing, but they had more energy. And I've said, what are you doing? Like this is Jen
[00:37:59] [SPEAKER_03]: talking and she's like, I'm doing this like people thing, you know? And, and so Jen
[00:38:04] [SPEAKER_03]: immediately ordered the entire bundle and she started to stream. And when she got on the phone
[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_03]: with Rachel and I, she's just like, why does nobody know about you guys? Like what, like,
[00:38:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I am going to use my platform and make sure that everybody knows about you because it's so
[00:38:21] [SPEAKER_03]: important what you're doing. And I think that her story really ties. So it's, it's so funny
[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_03]: to like your wife's story too, and our founder story. And that was she didn't want
[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_03]: to sit on the sidelines. She was injured. She, you know, because she was very active
[00:38:35] [SPEAKER_03]: and she was injured and she couldn't do anything, you know? And she's just like,
[00:38:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I am miserable when I'm not able to do something and it's not okay that I sit on
[00:38:43] [SPEAKER_03]: the sidelines. I need to lose my body in order to feel good. And this was the first
[00:38:48] [SPEAKER_03]: workout that really allowed her to get back and, and feel stronger. I mean, she works out
[00:38:52] [SPEAKER_03]: with us three times a week. And it's so funny from the time that we launched her publicly
[00:38:58] [SPEAKER_03]: last year in June, and we just had another photo shoot and production shoot with her
[00:39:03] [SPEAKER_03]: just in May of this year. And Eric, I'm not just saying this, wait until you see
[00:39:08] [SPEAKER_03]: the photos that we're going to release of her. It's absolutely unreal the way that her body
[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_03]: has transformed, but also the way that her mind has too. She's stronger than she's ever been.
[00:39:20] [SPEAKER_03]: She's, she was already beautiful, but so I don't know what parts I skipped. I think I
[00:39:27] [SPEAKER_03]: know like the founder and I just want to picture ourselves. Like I feel so blessed. She cares so
[00:39:35] [SPEAKER_03]: deeply for this method. She cares so deeply for our trainers. She's got it, you know? And so,
[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_03]: and she's authentic and she uses the, and you know, it's just all about this idea that
[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_03]: like we're in our second and third acts or you're in your first act. And it's just like,
[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_03]: it's not fair. It's not fair for a body doesn't move the way that we want. It just
[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_03]: isn't. And we can do something about it. So yeah, I don't know. I think I'm like bright red.
[00:40:00] [SPEAKER_03]: It's so awesome and significantly impacted our growth and I'm forever grateful.
[00:40:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's amazing. And I love watching you tell the story. It's really fun entertaining. I
[00:40:13] [SPEAKER_00]: presume it's safe to say you were a little starstruck at the beginning.
[00:40:17] [SPEAKER_02]: It's like, I hate it in the back. I mean, she loves Rachel. She like loves Rachel.
[00:40:21] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm just like, I'm just so great. Yes, she's, but she makes me feel so comfortable.
[00:40:28] [SPEAKER_03]: She's so lovely. Yeah. She's just like us, I guess, you know?
[00:40:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying to think. Like I've met a handful of celebrities along the way or people that
[00:40:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I thought, you know, are really famous. Like, and there's only one person who I was
[00:40:40] [SPEAKER_00]: truly starstruck by. It was like early 2000s. I was working at radio stations and
[00:40:44] [SPEAKER_00]: was in an elevator with Alicia Keys. And I was like, she said like, oh, hi. And I was like,
[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_00]: nothing. I don't think anything came out of my mouth. I was so intimidated by that person.
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, of course I go back to it, you know, 20 years from now and I was like, oh, god,
[00:41:01] [SPEAKER_00]: this is what I would have said if I had my wits, right? But it's, yeah, starstruck's a
[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_00]: funny thing. Sometimes it strikes, sometimes it doesn't. It's awesome though. It's really
[00:41:08] [SPEAKER_00]: good for you guys. I'm super excited for you guys. Tell me about, you know, moving.
[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, let's go back to this. This is a, you know, a businessy podcast. So what can you share
[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_00]: about the state of the business now? And this is Q3 2024. Like any numbers you can. I
[00:41:24] [SPEAKER_00]: know you're a private company, but give us some insights into the health of the company.
[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. So, you know, I'll tell you this and I think I said this like early on,
[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_03]: we grew 165% like last year, top line revenue. We're growing significantly. We
[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_03]: should have growth of at least 60 to 70% even over last year this year. And we're
[00:41:43] [SPEAKER_03]: gearing up for quite a fun back half that I think everybody will be excited about.
[00:41:48] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's really great. And just our subscriber base alone, just to kind of put it in
[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_03]: perspective, grew 100% in the last six months of last year. So there's quite a bit of
[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_03]: subscriber growth, which helps across the board. It helps with our franchise business too.
[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_03]: We've awarded 52 locations and every single month we're awarding to the right type of
[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_03]: franchise owners. And so that's really exciting. The franchise business, you know,
[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_03]: is still new for us and we've certainly had to learn some lessons. I'm deeply,
[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_03]: deeply involved. If you ever talk to any of our franchise owners, they know my cell phone
[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_03]: by heart and I don't care. Like people warned us like be careful of that. It's like no way.
[00:42:34] [SPEAKER_03]: It's my day that's on this, you know, we're still early stage. They get access and they always will.
[00:42:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe I should have said that like publicly, but I take it really seriously. So that is
[00:42:45] [SPEAKER_03]: franchising right now. Does it contribute significantly to our bottom line? As you
[00:42:49] [SPEAKER_03]: probably can imagine, we've opened the majority. We only had two open last year.
[00:42:53] [SPEAKER_03]: All the majority of them are opening this year and then go forward. But it significantly
[00:42:57] [SPEAKER_03]: impacts our three-year model at the end of 2025. And that is a huge part of our growth.
[00:43:03] [SPEAKER_03]: So when you look at really our three-legged stool of proprietary patented pieces of equipment
[00:43:10] [SPEAKER_03]: that we sell globally through an e-commerce site, a subscription service, and then also
[00:43:16] [SPEAKER_03]: our franchise and studio business. There is a time where that starts to balance out.
[00:43:22] [SPEAKER_03]: But right now the majority of our sales really come from equipment and streaming,
[00:43:27] [SPEAKER_03]: like 80% of our revenue. So that's probably too much of what I've shared,
[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_03]: because we do can keep it close to best. But I think you're going to see a lot from us
[00:43:40] [SPEAKER_03]: over the course of the next year and a half for sure. So the business is very strong.
[00:43:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Fantastic. And I want to put a general time stamp on this. So it's like,
[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_00]: let's say 2026, we're having this conversation again. Where do you see
[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_03]: all that? What is that going to look like? Yeah. At the heart of it, and this actually
[00:43:59] [SPEAKER_03]: is much of a business response, but I'm really hoping that more people are this modality,
[00:44:09] [SPEAKER_03]: the same way that they're like, yeah, I do yoga and I do Pilates or I do yoga and cycling.
[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_03]: It's sort of like part of their mixture of the things that they do actively. And we still
[00:44:21] [SPEAKER_03]: are building that. Certainly we're still fairly new to market, so really standing for
[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_03]: excellence for functional fitness. And again, all of us being the clean-up sub-tissues in that
[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_03]: space is incredibly important to us. So I think that that is something that is a goal of ours.
[00:44:37] [SPEAKER_03]: At the same time, we certainly want to have the right amount of locations in market. We
[00:44:51] [SPEAKER_03]: say this often, we just got out of a discovery day yesterday with three candidates. And I think
[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_03]: that what's important is that we're not a one-trick pony. We're not just trying to sell a bunch
[00:45:01] [SPEAKER_03]: of franchises. We're trying to establish a world-class functional fitness modality
[00:45:07] [SPEAKER_03]: that we're not just solely reliant on that one revenue stream. And I think that that allows
[00:45:12] [SPEAKER_03]: us to be a little bit more deliberate in our actions. So by 2030, we hope to see 35, 35,
[00:45:20] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, well, that would be too much. But, you know, of the revenue balance out. But again,
[00:45:28] [SPEAKER_03]: I think we're going to continue to shock the industry in the clinical aspect of what it is
[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_03]: that we're doing because we're really serious about it. We're very serious about proving this
[00:45:39] [SPEAKER_03]: out and really showing you that this has to be a part of your activity, whether it's one day
[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_03]: week or five days. So, Eric, I guess that's it. That's what we're really focused on right now.
[00:45:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Right on. Last question. So if people want to reach out to you, which they probably will
[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_00]: after listening, who would you like to hear from? How can the industry help you and then how
[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_03]: can they get in touch with you? Yeah, I'm a huge person that is
[00:46:11] [SPEAKER_03]: constantly reaching out for advice. We're always going through a first, you know, of what it is
[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_03]: that we're doing because we're still relatively new. So I certainly have been helped already
[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_03]: by a number of people in the industry, you know, people that have been in my shoes before.
[00:46:27] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm always eager to hear from them, but I'm also eager to hear from I'm willing to pay it
[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_03]: forward. I am. I'm also willing to hear from somebody who maybe is at three stages prior to
[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_03]: where we're at right now, and I'm happy to help them too. I'm also, you know, obviously I'd love
[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_03]: to talk to franchisees that want to be an owner. That's certainly a big part of our growth
[00:46:51] [SPEAKER_03]: in the future. But I am always learning from others in the industry. Awesome. And best place
[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_00]: to follow you, I think you're on LinkedIn, you're decently active, right? Where would you
[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_03]: like people to go? Yeah, I'm very active on LinkedIn. I check it every single day. So I
[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_03]: think LinkedIn is perfect. Julie Cartwright is my name and, you know, certainly I would love to
[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_00]: hear from you and promise to get back. Well, thank you for spending some of your Friday.
[00:47:18] [SPEAKER_00]: This has been a lot of fun. I've been looking forward to this interview for a while and
[00:47:22] [SPEAKER_00]: shout out to Alexis on your team for having everything so well prepared. She did a great
[00:47:26] [SPEAKER_00]: job and yeah, keep up the great work. Ladies and gentlemen, Julie Cartwright.
[00:47:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much, Eric. Hey, wait, don't leave yet. This is your host, Eric Malzone,
[00:47:35] [SPEAKER_00]: and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Future of Feminist. If you did, I'm going to ask you
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[00:48:06] [SPEAKER_00]: of work into and we want to make sure that as many people are getting value out of it
[00:48:09] [SPEAKER_00]: as possible. Lastly, if you'd like to learn more or get in touch with me, simply go to
[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_00]: thefutureoffitness.co. You can subscribe to our newsletter there or you can simply
[00:48:19] [SPEAKER_00]: get in touch with me as I love to hear from our listeners. So thank you so much.
[00:48:24] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Eric Malzone and this is the Future of Fitness. Have a great day.