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Topics

Capital and M&A

Capital and M&A raise practical questions about how fitness businesses grow, combine, and find the right partners. These conversations offer a place to explore them through merger decisions, private equity experience, and relationships behind deal flow. Fritz Lanman and Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer discuss integration priorities, investment capacity, and what their combination could mean for operators. Jon Canarick revisits investments in Equinox and Curves, including the challenge of bringing nutrition and fitness together. Jon Ward considers how trusted networks can connect founders with capital and support partnerships across fitness, wellness, and healthcare. Along the way, guests examine where scale might help, where business models constrain expansion, and how leaders weigh new opportunities without losing focus on the businesses they run every day.

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Latest conversations

Trent Ward - FORME Life & Connecting Effort to Outcomes47 min

capital

Trent Ward - FORME Life & Connecting Effort to Outcomes

Trent Ward

Chris Duffin - Kabuki Strength & The Unconventional Executive52 min

capital

Chris Duffin - Kabuki Strength & The Unconventional Executive

Chris Duffin

Jeff Byers: NFL to CEO - Momentous & A Systematic Approach to Human Performance51 min

capital

Jeff Byers: NFL to CEO - Momentous & A Systematic Approach to Human Performance

Jeff Byers

Badal Shah - The Anthos Group39 min

capital

Badal Shah - The Anthos Group

Badal Shah

Chris Ashenden: Athletic Greens & The Beauty in Simplicity49 min

capital

Chris Ashenden: Athletic Greens & The Beauty in Simplicity

Chris Ashenden

Jim Huether: Hyperice & The Hyper-Connected Recovery Ecosystem42 min

capital

Jim Huether: Hyperice & The Hyper-Connected Recovery Ecosystem

Jim Huether

Conor O'Loughlin: A Strong Conviction For the In-Person Experience40 min

tech

Conor O'Loughlin: A Strong Conviction For the In-Person Experience

Conor O'Loughlin

Autophagy, Spermidine, and COVID-19 - Don Moxley42 min

longevity

Autophagy, Spermidine, and COVID-19 - Don Moxley

Fitness Industry Review 2020 - Jim Crowell51 min

capital

Fitness Industry Review 2020 - Jim Crowell

Garage Gym Athlete - Jerred Moon37 min

operators

Garage Gym Athlete - Jerred Moon

Jerred Moon

Podcasting for Entrepreneurs - Joe Sanok35 min

capital

Podcasting for Entrepreneurs - Joe Sanok

Joe Sanok

"The Grid" - The Ultimate Coaching Platform - Joel Jamieson46 min

tech

"The Grid" - The Ultimate Coaching Platform - Joel Jamieson

9Rounds Keeps Kicking - Shannon Hudson42 min

operators

9Rounds Keeps Kicking - Shannon Hudson

Focus on Quality in The New Digital Age - Fabio Zonin42 min

operators

Focus on Quality in The New Digital Age - Fabio Zonin

Teambuildr & The Decentralization of Fitness - Hewitt Tomlin34 min

tech

Teambuildr & The Decentralization of Fitness - Hewitt Tomlin

Making Alternative Medicine Primary - Max Coleman33 min

tech

Making Alternative Medicine Primary - Max Coleman

Making Alternative Medicine Primary

Think Different.  Be Different - Justin Devonshire36 min

capital

Think Different. Be Different - Justin Devonshire

Think Different. Be Different

Asensei & The Future of Connected Coaching - Steven Webster40 min

tech

Asensei & The Future of Connected Coaching - Steven Webster

Motosumo - Fitness Gamified - Kresten Jensen33 min

tech

Motosumo - Fitness Gamified - Kresten Jensen

Creating Structure in Chaos - Mark Fisher40 min

operators

Creating Structure in Chaos - Mark Fisher

Vulnerability in Crisis...and Cat Memes - Tony Gentilcore34 min

operators

Vulnerability in Crisis...and Cat Memes - Tony Gentilcore

The Mental Trainer - Alan Heary36 min

longevity

The Mental Trainer - Alan Heary

Alan Heary

The Visionary Planner - Vito LaFata44 min

operators

The Visionary Planner - Vito LaFata

Vito LaFata

No Guts, No Glory - Amber Vilhauer59 min

capital

No Guts, No Glory - Amber Vilhauer

No Guts

Voices in the conversation

From the conversations

How are the merger leaders approaching integration?

“And so we've been very, very cautious about integration for the sake of integration and have spent a lot of energy thinking about okay, how do we make sure we work really well together?”

Inside the $7.5B Merger Behind Mindbody, ClassPass and EGYM with Fritz Lanman & Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer · 7:33 ↗

What happened when Canarick's team combined fitness and diet through the Jenny Craig acquisition?

“Uh, we ended up buying Jenny Craig uh as part of that. And so we actually sort of brought in this we created this combined center trying to bring fitness and diet together under one roof. I'm I'm I'm not embarrassed to tell you it did not work.”

Jon Canarick, North Castle Partners, on Curves, Equinox, and GLP-1s in Fitness · 8:00 ↗

How does Ward describe capital introductions within his network?

“Or you're looking for capital. I know a guy like literally fits this family office model that you're talking about, and he knows other people. Can I connect you? Yeah, like who is he? Sends the link, there you go, off and running.”

The Assembly Founder Jon Ward on GLP-1s, Deal Flow and Fitness's Future · 21:21 ↗

THE FUTURE OF FITNESS NEWSLETTER

What I’m paying attention to.

Every week, I talk with founders, operators, investors and scientists across fitness, health and wellness, then share the ideas that stayed with me, the shifts worth watching and what they could mean for the industry.

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