Home-Based Fitness Companies

August 11, 2021

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My landlord is a bit of an at-home fitness nut. I know so because she takes up the garden and first-floor living spaces, which, by the sounds of the thudding electronic music and enthusiastic bike instructors, are veritable Equinoxes of one (maybe she even stocks Kiehl’s in her shower). Try as I might, I still haven’t found my preferred method of at-home fitness. I’m a yoga studio devotee and bike-rider by default, but with reopenings of gyms and studios facing significant hiccups due to the rise of the Delta variant, and outdoor cycling in a heatwave sounding lethal, I’m left wondering if an investment in at-home instructor-based fitness might be worth it.

It turns out that at-home offerings are, in 2021, better business than crossing fingers & waiting for mask mandates to be lifted. In an age where some former gym-fanatics believe that gyms are a "raging dumpster fire of Covid bacteria," it might pay to meet people where they're at: home. Today, I’m presenting data-based research into the businesses giving sweat equity a new meaning and perhaps, guiding me towards my next fitness craze.

At-Home Fitness Companies

Tonal Fitness: The best workouts I’ve ever gotten are the free introductory personal training sessions when joining a gym–for days, I wind up sore in muscles I didn’t know existed. It’s appealing then to consider Tonal's sleek piece of equipment and virtual sessions, right in my living room. This smart machine has somehow figured out how to turn a weight machine up to 200 lbs. into a flatscreen with arms. Still, the $3K price tag has me sweating.

FightCamp might be the best way to kill two birds with one stone: pent-up frustration & a good workout. The company provides equipment and tech to develop a solid left hook. Apparently, boxing is every model’s favorite workout, so this might be the one for me if I’m trying to get a Gisele Bundchen-esque physique. Meanwhile, the start-up has developed momentum in 2021 with a $90MM raise, including investments from Floyd Mayweather and the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” Mike Tyson. Cost: $1,219 to get punching.

Obé Fitness: Somewhere in Brooklyn Heights, there’s a windowless neon box where fitness instructors turn celebrity by bringing the energy to at-home fitness. Speaking of celebrity, actress/comedian Tiffany Haddish participated in Obe's recent $15MM funding round alongside Gap’s Athleta brand, Samsung Next, and WW (fka WeightWatchers), bringing the start-up's valuation to $190MM. It's $27 per month to stream 6,000+ classes, but no fancy tech equipment is included.

Runners up: Ergatta for rowing, Mirror for sleek tech & on-demand classes, SoulCycle for shifting from in-studio workouts to an at-home model, and Future for personalized training.