Robb Wolf - Why Market-Based Healthcare Is Fitness's Next Big Opportunity
Release Date: 01/11/2026
Doug Gremmen - From 600 to 1.8 Million Participants: Inside Hyrox's Rocket Ship Growth
Future of Fitness
Eric Malzone sits down live with Doug Gremmen, Chief Growth Officer at HYROX, at the Connected Health and Fitness Summit in Beverly Hills. They dive into how HYROX went from just 600 finishers back in 2018 to a projected 1.8 million in 2026 — basically a rocket ship in the fitness world. Doug shares how they built the brand from the ground up by knocking on gym doors, the massive role community and user-generated content played, and why the super consistent race format makes it so easy to scale everywhere from LA to China and beyond. They talk gym affiliates (now at 14,000 worldwide), what...
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Karl Sanft - COVID, Bankruptcy, and Back: The 24 Hour Fitness Turnaround
Future of Fitness
In this conversation, 24 Hour Fitness CEO Karl Sanft opens up about steering the iconic brand through a once‑in‑a‑generation pandemic, bankruptcy, and a full operational turnaround—only to welcome back founder Mark Mastrov as executive chair. Karl shares why shifting from an “access” to a “usage” model during COVID became a defining moment, how private equity sharpened his leadership edge, and why doubling down on the middle‑market (great strength floors at a $30–$50 price point) is the winning strategy. He also reveals their three‑phase capital plan: remodel 50 clubs a...
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Jim LaValle - Peptides, GLP-1s, and the Product Problem: What Longevity Brands Are Missing
Future of Fitness
In this episode, Eric Malzone hangs out with Jim LaValle—a legend in metabolic health who’s been deep in this world for over 40 years—for a real conversation about GLP-1s, peptides, and what it actually takes to build a healthier, longer life. Jim gets honest about why these drugs can be a game-changer but also why so many people use them wrong, the sketchy side of the “research only” peptide market, and which peptides he’s actually excited about for gut health, hormones, and fixing your sleep. They also talk about why the fitness industry hasn’t quite cracked the longevity code...
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Sarah Luna - Pilates 3.0: How Pilates Addiction Plans to Scale to 1,000 Units by 2030
Future of Fitness
In this episode of The Future of Fitness, host Eric Malzone sits down with Sarah Luna, CEO of Pilates Addiction, to explore the brand’s rapid rise and what she calls “Pilates 3.0.” With a background as a professional dancer, certified Pilates instructor, and franchise owner, Sarah brings a unique blend of hands-on experience and business acumen to the forefront. She breaks down how Pilates Addiction combines the best of traditional studio Pilates and modern high-intensity reformer workouts into a 50-minute, full-body experience designed for maximum efficiency. From the patented gold...
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Juliet Starrett & Alex Alimanestianu - Quarterly Reports: $7.5 Billion Merger, a Surprise IPO, and Executive Shuffles
Future of Fitness
In this episode, Eric Malzone, Juliet Starrett, and Alex find themselves at the intersection of a shifting fitness economy, dissecting a massive Q1 2026 that has left the industry bifurcated between high-end luxury and high-volume value . The team breaks down the "K-shaped" recovery where premium powerhouses like Lifetime are flex-pricing their way to record margins while mid-market players and franchise models like Xponential Fitness face mounting regulatory and internal pressure . From the blockbuster $7.5 billion Mindbody-EGYM merger to Strava’s surprise IPO filing, this deep dive...
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John Ford - EGYM's Bet: The Untrained Market Is Where the Real Health Impact Is
Future of Fitness
In this episode, we sit down with John Ford, Chief Product Officer at eGym, to explore the massive shift currently happening at the intersection of fitness and healthcare. From his early days founding Virtual Active and licensing cinematic workout content to industry giants like Peloton, to his current role leading product strategy at a global fitness unicorn, John offers a masterclass in behavioral science and hardware integration. We dive deep into the launch of Genius AI, discussing how it removes the "intimidation barrier" for gym beginners and provides the objective data—like...
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Mike Ranfone & Dr. Marko Lujic - The Gym of the Future Will Change the Future of Healthcare: RTS's Integration Model
Future of Fitness
What happens when a lifelong friendship meets a shared frustration with broken systems? Mike Ranfone and Dr. Marko Lujic did something most people only talk about — they actually built the gym-medical hybrid model that the health and fitness industry has been circling around for years. In this episode, Dr. Lujic opens up about the moment he realized he wasn't practicing healthcare — he was practicing sick care — and how that wake-up call led him and Mike to launch RTS Health in Hampton, Connecticut. Together, they walk us through their full client experience: from DEXA scans and...
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Andrew Sugerman - 1.8 Million Athletes, 2 Million Pounds of Equipment: Centr's Hyrox Partnership
Future of Fitness
Andrew Sugerman of Centr returns to the Future of Fitness to break down how the brand has completely transformed since their last conversation in 2023 — moving from a broad wellness platform to becoming the performance infrastructure behind one of the fastest-growing fitness movements in the world. Andrew pulls back the curtain on Centr's official partnership with Hyrox, including how they engineered custom competition equipment from the ground up (yes, even the kettlebells got a redesign), why fitness-as-sport is the most powerful retention tool gym operators aren't fully using yet, and...
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Chris Mirabile - Redefining Longevity: NOVOS, Healthspan, and What Really Works
Future of Fitness
In this episode of the Future of Fitness Podcast, host Eric Malzone sits down with Chris Mirabile, founder of NOVOS, to unpack the science and business of longevity. Chris shares how surviving a brain tumor as a teenager reshaped his perspective on health and pushed him to study aging at a biological level. The conversation dives into what longevity actually means beyond buzzwords—how it differs from simply living a healthy lifestyle, why healthspan matters just as much as lifespan, and the science behind targeting the biological “hallmarks of aging.” Chris also explains why some popular...
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Pat Rigsby - Franchising Reality Check: B2B Acquisition, Broker Dependency, and Loss of Control
Future of Fitness
From franchising fitness empires to developing the next generation of athletes — Pat Rigsby has seen it all, and he's not done yet. In this episode, Pat joins Eric to break down what's actually shifting in the fitness and sports performance industry in 2025, why the gap between "trainer who pays rent" and real business owner has never been wider, and what two decades of franchising experience taught him before launching Athletes Accelerated. Pat pulls no punches on what it really takes to franchise a concept (hint: it's a legal marriage, not a passive income play), why the youth sports...
info_outlineIn this episode, Robb Wolf returns to discuss the rapid advancements in AI, the state of the longevity and health industries, the impact of GLP-1 medications, and the systemic challenges within modern healthcare. He shares personal insights on using AI for language learning and health diagnostics, critiques the "majoring in the minors" in the longevity space, and explores how AI could democratize access to high-quality health information. Robb also delves into the potential of market-based reforms to address the healthcare crisis and gives an update on his company, LMNT.
🔹 **AI as a Personal Health & Learning Tool** – Robb uses Grok to learn Italian and as a preliminary health advisor, noting its potential to lower costs and democratize advanced medical insight.
🧠**Longevity = Fundamentals First** – True longevity comes from strength training, Zone 2 cardio, sleep, sunlight, and community—not just chasing telomere length or exotic supplements.
⚕️ **GLP-1s: Net Positive with Caveats** – These drugs show strong appetite control benefits but can cause muscle wasting; combining them with protein and resistance training is key.
🏥 **Healthcare System Is Broken** – Robb argues for a return to catastrophic insurance paired with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and transparent, market-based pricing to incentivize health.
🩺 **Diagnostic Starter Kit for AI Health** – Start with genetic data (23andMe), basic metabolic panel, hormone profile, and optionally a DUTCH test—all under $300—to give an AI a baseline.
🌞 **Sunlight as Powerful Medicine** – Adequate sun exposure may reduce all-cause mortality as significantly as not smoking a pack a day.
🤖 **AI Could Replace "Meat-Bot" Doctors** – AI’s pattern recognition and infinite memory may soon outperform human doctors in diagnostics, making functional medicine insights widely accessible.
💧 **LMNT & Electrolyte Research** – Robb’s company is funding metabolic health research, including an upcoming ketogenic diet study for bipolar and schizophrenia at an Ivy League institution.
🔬 **Hidden Gut Issues Missed by Standard Tests** – Robb shares his own struggle with parasites and candida overgrowth that routine labs missed, highlighting the need for specialized testing.
LINKS:
https://connectedhealthandfitness.com/events/connected-health-fitness-summit-2026