Fitt Insider

Today I'm joined by Matt Taylor, CEO of Tracksmith In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build a brand from the ground up, using storytelling to cultivate community, and Matt's ambition to make Tracksmith a generational company. Let's get into it. About Matt: Matt Taylor is a runner. From high school track meets to racing cross country and steeplechase at Yale, Matt learned to relish the challenge of competition and the delayed gratification inherent in the sport. After graduating, Matt began his career in the sports industry. From his first role at IMG, Matt moved towards more running-focused positions, ultimately serving as PUMA's Global Head of Marketing for the Running, Training and Fitness categories. He's also the co-creator of Usain Bolt's signature iPhone game. Though deeply immersed in the business of running, Matt became increasingly frustrated with the industry's slow pace, lookalike products and "everyone gets a medal" mentality that diminished the reverence for personal achievement in favor of watered-down fitness messaging. So he set out to create Tracksmith: an independent running brand built on a deep love of the sport. Launched in 2014, Tracksmith has been recognized by outlets like Runner's World, Competitor, the Wall Street Journal, WIRED and more for "further defining what running apparel can be" and for its "anti-Nike" approach to marketing. Based out of the Trackhouse in Boston, MA, Tracksmith crafts products, stories and experiences for the amateur runner. More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, Apple, Peloton, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Dayton Miller, Managing Partner at Boulder Food Group. In this episode, we talked about investing in better-for-you brands, breaking into food and beverage, the four variables Dayton looks for in a startup, and where the category is heading next. About Dayton: Dayton previously co-founded Function, a venture-backed health and wellness beverage company, which Dayton built from idea-conception to $20 million in retail sales until its acquisition by Sunsweet Growers, Inc. Prior to Function, Dayton was an executive in the strategy group at The Walt Disney Company where he worked for over seven years focusing on mergers & acquisitions and operating strategy. Dayton began his career as an analyst in investment banking and spent time as a management consultant for Bain & Co. Dayton serves on the Board of Directors for the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of SoCal and also serves on the Leadership Council of the Fulfillment Fund, an LA non-profit focused on underprivileged youth and education. Dayton was born and raised in Baltimore, MD where he attended McDonogh School. Dayton received his BA from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, Apple, Peloton, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Bill Shufelt, CEO of Athletic Brewing Athletic Brewing makes non-alcoholic craft beer. Back in March, the company closed a $17.5M Series B funding round. In today's episode, we talk about the rise of mindful drinking, making non-alcoholic beer cool, and how Bill was able to raise money from 60 angel investors for a pre-product, pre-revenue company. About Bill Schuflet >> Bill Shufelt is the founder of Athletic Brewing Company - the first brewery in the country dedicated entirely to non-alcoholic craft beer. After spending 12 years in the hedge fund world, healthy lifestyle changes and a love of endurance sports and adventure led him to leave alcohol behind. Along with co-founder and head brewer John Walker, they have set out to revolutionize decades-old stigmas around non-alcoholic beer by making great beer for modern, healthy & active adults. After opening their doors in 2018, Athletic's flagship beers are available nationwide on their website athleticbrewing.com. Bill is married to an incredible gardener and plant-based chef further driving his passion for high-quality fuel and healthy eating. Bill grew up in CT, attended Middlebury College, and now splits his time between breweries in San Diego, CA and Stratford, CT. More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, Apple, Peloton, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Paul F. Austin. Paul is the founder of The Third Wave — a resource for safe and responsible use of psychedelics. In today's episode, we discussed where psychedelics fit in the broader wellness industry, the shift from industrialized medicine to personalized medicine, and what the "Equinox of psychedelics" might look like. More from Paul >> Paul F. Austin is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and educator. He has founded two companies in the emerging psychedelic space, The Third Wave and Synthesis. Within The Third Wave, Paul leads a team of creatives, engineers, and coaches to develop a comprehensive educational platform that serves the psychedelic ecosystem. Currently, The Third Wave offers in-depth psychedelic guides, online courses, and 1-on-1 coaching. Because of his pioneering work at the intersection of microdosing, personal transformation, and professional success, Paul has been featured on the BBC, Forbes, and Rolling Stone. More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, L'Catterton, Peloton, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Josh Clemente, the Founder of Levels — a metabolic fitness company. In today's episode, we talked about continuous glucose monitoring and using Levels to unlock real-time feedback on lifestyle choices, like what you eat, how you exercise, and the quality of your sleep. We also discussed Josh's plan to make metabolic fitness mainstream in hopes of tackling diabetes, obesity, and chronic ailments. About Josh Clemente >> Josh, Founder of Levels, is a mechanical engineer and CrossFit-L2 trainer. At SpaceX, he led a team to develop life support systems that sustained astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on their May 2020 trip to the International Space Station aboard Dragon Endeavor: the first new crew-carrying spacecraft since 1980. Josh has also spent time designing and building Hyperloop technology and leading engineering for a company providing vehicle-based rescue systems for emergency response teams. Josh enjoys the outdoors, functional fitness training, technology, coffee, and restoring motorcycles. More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, L'Catterton, Peloton, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Jason Feldman. Jason is the CEO of Vault Health — a performance healthcare company helping men optimize their well-being. In today's episode, we talked about the barriers preventing men from accessing care, the difference between telehealth and online pharmacies, the company's pivot to COVID testing, and why Jason believes men's health is just the beginning for Vault. More from Jason >> Jason Feldman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vault Health - a fast-growing startup providing specialized healthcare for men and their manhood… at home. Vault makes it easy for men to get the specialized care they need and to perform on the level they strive to achieve. Before founding Vault, Feldman was Head of Prime Video Direct, Amazon's self-service marketplace for studios, distributors and content creators to make their content available on Prime Video in over 200 countries. In his prior leadership role at Amazon, Feldman led Global Innovation and Global Vendor Management, expanding Amazon's retail reach around the world. A long time senior leader in retail and consumer products, Feldman helped build brands, innovate new e-commerce distribution platforms and retail format portfolios for L'Oreal, Hanesbrands and Home Depot. He studied international communications and has a Master's in Public Administration from The George Washington University. Feldman is a father to 17 year old triplets and lives in New York.

Today I'm joined by Nate Forster. Nate is the CEO of NEOU, a platform for streaming and on-demand fitness. In this episode, we talked about how NEOU plans to become the Amazon of fitness, including its digital platform, a 20,000 square-foot production hub in New York City, and content partnerships with a growing number of fitness instructors and brands. Let's get into it. More from Nate >> Nate Forster is a former professional tennis player turned entrepreneur. Nate started his career in hospitality and transitioned into the health and wellness industry in 2010. At the start of his entrepreneurial career, he was an operating partner at dek23 and b.e.d. nightclubs in Miami, in which he brokered the sale of both businesses. In 2010, he became the owner and operator of the first Reebok-partnered CrossFit gym and by 2014, he was the largest CrossFit affiliate owner globally with 15 locations. Nate is now the co-founder and CEO of NEOU, a digital fitness platform that helps fitness influencer and workout brands scale to a larger audience. The mission of NEOU is to bring consumers the best of all types of fitness, health + wellness concepts and trainers to anyone in the world at anytime.

Today I'm joined by PJ Nestler. PJ is the Director of Performance at XPT Life — a performance lifestyle system developed by Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reece. In this episode, we discussed the breath, movement, and recovery methods used at XPT. The rise of the high-performance lifestyle. And how XPT has used retreats, coaching certifications, and its consumer app to grow the brand. More from PJ >> PJ is a human performance specialist with over 13 years of experience preparing top athletes from the UFC, NFL, and NHL for competition. Outside of training top athletes, Coach PJ is devoted to education, sharing his knowledge and experience with the purpose of elevating the fitness profession. He is currently the Director of Performance for XPT Life where his role entails researching & developing educational curriculums around XPT's Breathe-Move-Recover pillars and teaching certification programs for health & fitness professionals around the world. https://www.xptlife.com/ https://www.instagram.com/coachpjnestler More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co

Today I'm joined by Mark Gainey. Mark is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Strava, a global community of athletes with more than 50M members. In this episode, we discussed Strava's business model, including freemium access and paid subscriptions, the company's focus on putting the athlete first, and Mark's plan to make Strava a multi-generational company. More from Mark >> Mark has been building successful companies for 20+ years. He currently serves as the co-founder and executive chairman of Strava, a global community of athletes. Founded in 2009, millions of athletes have joined Strava for the competition and camaraderie found in tracking and sharing their fitness activities. Mark also co-founded Kana Communications, an enterprise CRM firm, in 1996 and served in various capacities, including CEO, president, and chairman. He has offered his expertise to a wide array of companies over the years, joining the boards of Alter-G, BoardVantage, Daum, Clari, and Coaching Corps. Mark holds an AB from Harvard University.

Today I'm joined by Fritz Lanman the CEO of ClassPass. In this episode, we talk about why the company changed its business model and pricing over the years. The opportunity for growth in areas like corporate benefits, wellness experiences, and streaming workouts. What makes ClassPass worth $1B. And Fritz's plan to take the company public. Let's get into it. More from Fritz >> Fritz Lanman is the CEO of ClassPass and previously served as Executive Chairman. He has been involved with the company since 2013 when he led both the Seed and Series A financing. In addition to his role at ClassPass, he is an active angel investor who backed Square, Pinterest, Wish and several other companies. Before ClassPass, Fritz founded Livestar, Verst and Doppler Labs and worked in Product Management and Corporate Strategy at Microsoft. Website: https://classpass.com/ More from Fitt Insider >> Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness. From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing. Website: http://insider.fitt.co