The Best One Yet - 💦 “The Fitness Pod” — Our 3 Best Fitness & Apparel Stories

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

Since it’s Spring Break (or you may just need a break from the insane news cycle), we whipped up 3 of our best pop-biz stories on the fitness industry from the last year:#1. Barry’s Bootcamp tries to sell itself for $700M… Because nothing drives cash flow like a cult.#2. Vuori is eating Lululemon’s leggings… And it’s now worth twice as much as Under Armour.#3. Nike’s stock had its worst day in over 20 years… but Nike’s pain is Adidas’ gain.Share this episode with your spotter, your trainer, or your buddy who’s decked out in head-to-toe Alo in Cabo (even though they’re just grabbing coffee).We’ll be back with our usual daily show on Monday… just gotta hit the showers first.And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet” — The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the Real Friday, March 14th. And today's fitness pod is the best one yet. Our top three stories of the last year on fitness and apparel. Yeties, maybe we are catching you on the treadmill, the elliptical, or just a good old-fashioned speedwalk. I love a good old-fashioned speedwalk.

It's good for the heart, good for the health. So many of you listen to the show while you're working out. And since it's spring break time, we thought we'd whip up a special episode for your workout. Sebasties, while you're getting beach ready, this entire episode is on the fitness and athletic apparel industry. So enjoy a break from the insane news cycle and all the tariff whiplash. Because Jack and I are about to hit our three best fitness stories from the last year. Once it's over, send this episode to your buddy who just finished Pilates, who spots you on the squat rack, or who still owns shares of Peloton.

Guilty! All right, we still own shares of Palaton, no big deal. And enjoy this episode over spring break. Jack, what do we got on the fitness pot? For our first story, we're going back to May 3rd, 2024. When Barry's boot camp was trying to sell itself for $1 billion. Because nothing drives cash flow like a cult. For our second story, it's from November 12. Viori was riding Lulu Lemon's coattails and had just hit a $5 billion valuation.

Because Viori's founder's greatest weakness is his greatest strength. And our third and final story is from July 2nd. Nike stock fell 20% in one day. Brutal. The worst day on the stock market for Nike in 20 years. years. But Nike's pain is actually Adidas's game. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. And one and two, and fantastic mix today, Jack. We know what you're wearing right now. Odds are, statistically speaking, you are wearing head to toe at leisure. Because 85% of Americans

wear athleteure, even when they're not working out. Which means 85% of you are in Lulu Leggans while listening to this podcast. Post-pandemic, the fitness industry never looked hot. Workout clubs are how Gen Z does dating. Sweat wicking pants is how you dress even for your finance job. Jack, Planet Fitness, their stock just hit an all-time high. Peloton? I wish. What? The fitness industry has gotten so large. We even covered the biggest sauna in America last year.

So, Yeties, ease up on that pickleball swing. And don't pull a hammock. Because today's pod is our three best fitness stories of the last year. Jack, let's hit it. Let's hear it. years before this song. Two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm.

It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show.

Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, we're going back to May 3, 2020. Barry's Bootcamp. Now, since we covered Berries, they closed a new financing round with a private equity firm, which they're using to expand from 89 cities to 12 more. Let's get to the story. Let's hit it. Barry's Bootcamp is hoping for its biggest workout ever. Berries is trying to sell itself for a billion dollars. 101, 101, 102, 1002, 1003. But if we're going to talk about Barry's, we need to talk about the business of cults.

Jack, to jump in T-boy style to this story, I just booked the class Saturday morning 8.40 a.m. in the marina with Ali E. It's a tough class. You're going to be surrounded by spandex and sweat. Oh, that's San Francisco Marina location, dude. That is a hot mess, baby. But yet he's Barry's. It is a nightclub with dumbbells. Barry's boot camp is a boutique fitness studio full of red lights, treadmills, and pounding diplo music. Honestly, you go to Barry's, it feels like a Berlin discotheca, and everyone is wearing a black sports bra. The only difference with the discotheca, no Velcro. True. True. Barry says they invented the hit workout. High intensity interval training.

What does that look like exactly, Jack? Five minutes on the treadmill, five minutes using weights, five minutes on the floor, 10 minutes of being yelled at. Yeties when you're to Barry's, the instructor has seven calf tats, 14 abs, and may or may not have been on The Bachelor. They're going to tell you their inspirational origin story about how they got where they are. But here's the origin of Barry's boot camp. Berries was actually founded back in 1998 in West Hollywood. So Jack, ironically, Barrys is a lot like its average customer. 26, rich and from L.A. Yes, exactly. And founder Barry J, who started the company,

had no military background. Interestingly, he just decked out the gym and camo and it blew up from there. And he called it a boot camp, even though he didn't go to boot camp. Brands are all about the vibe. But Yetis, here's the news, and this is fascinating. Berries has hired investment bankers because they want to sell the company. Barry's tried to sell itself in 2019 for $700 million, but this time, Berries wants even more. We're pegging the price tag for Barry's at a clean nine digits. One billion dollars.

But yeties, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Since the pandemic, we've noticed that the survivor companies in certain industries have only gotten stronger. Because the pandemic sent revenues and fitness to zero. Because panting in a gym inches from your neighbor's butt, that was not CDC approved. But now, Barry's is setting personal records in the fitness industry. Jack, what kind of numbers we're talking about? Berries has opened 26 studios since the pandemic began. Plus, they launched their own spin studio that looks just like SolSycle.

Oh, and whip out the whiteboard because the financials on Barry's are looking pretty buffed too. Revenues jumped 27% last year, and every single Barry's location is profitable on its own. Sit down, stand up, and give me 20. And get this, Yetis, 140,000 sweaty humans attend a Barry's class at least once a week. And two-thirds of those Berries members are women. Now, Jack, what's the price

of one of those 50-minute classes that you used to do and that I've got coming up in like 24 hours? I used to attend the berries at Swanky Stanford Shopping Center. One class is $37. But then, Jack, Barry's subscribedified their business.

And how much can you pay for a monthly membership to Barry's? They have a global membership for jet setters, because there's a berries in like every high-end city, it's $500 a month. $500 a month. And no, that does not include the flaxseed smoothies. And guess this, it also doesn't include the Hampton's location, which I guess has its own membership. But yet, these, those numbers are big. They're impressive. They are strong. And they're the reason why the big money wants in on Barry's. Barry's two biggest investors are private equity firms

who hope to sell the company right now to an even bigger private equity firm. And the interesting thing, Jack and I notice is that private equity firms are really into boutique fitness these days. Equinox, SoulCycle, Orange Theory. They're all boutique fitness studios and they're all majority owned by private equity. So Jack and I have got to know what is the core part of Barry's business model that these financial firms just love. It's not a tabata.

It's a takeaway. I like what you did there. Now get on that treadmill. So Jack, what's the takeaway? for our buddies over at Berries. Nothing drives cash flow like a cult. Now, I mean, first of all, Jack and I should point out, cults have a bad reputation,

but the definition of a cult is actually very straightforward and fair. If you read the definition of cult, it feels like society's giving it a bad rap, actually. The Dictionary.com definition of a cult is a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. Cult is how the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, even Barry's members describe Barry's boot camp. Preserving that cult status is actually critical to Barry's entire business.

Because Barry's only has 84 locations. But Planet Fitness has 2,500 locations. Berries charges $37 per class. But Planet Fitness charges just $10 per a month. So for Barry's to command the highest pricing power and have so few locations. Well, Berries need loyalty beyond reason. It needs a religious level of devour. It needs a cult.

That is why Berries has 3 a.m. at the club atmosphere. That is why instructors give TED Talks mid-workout. And that is why I'm going to be there at like 7 in the morning, ripping on my shirt, apparently tomorrow, Jay. Colt like falling? That's an asset that every brand wants to have. And that is the reason Barry's is putting a $1 billion price tag on itself. A thousand and one.

A thousand and two. A thousand and three. For our second story, we're going back to November 12th, 2024. Viori, you've probably seen their stuff since then. Viori, the athleisure brand, just hit a $5.5 billion valuation. How is Viori beating Lulu Lemon? By studying where Lulu wouldn't go. Funny thing, Yetis, if you're on a date in San Francisco, then Viori is your third wheel.

I just build Asa Ebole of and you're Viori. Oh, it's okay. We're wearing the same Viori. Yet he's Viori. It's the Athesia brand with like a SoCal kind of vibe, right, Jack? It looks like Lulu Lemons' cooler younger brother. Viori. It was founded by Laxborough in San Diego, who was actually an accountant at Ernst & Young.

Really interesting story. His first two startups actually failed, and then he became an accountant professionally by trade. But his third startup has some news. Viori raised $825 million in a venture capital round that, valued the company at $5.5 billion. They may IPO next year, but Jack, can you sprinkle on some context to those athalizure numbers, please? Lulu Lemon is eight times more valuable than Viori, but Viori is twice as valuable as underarmorist. In fact, SoftBank, the Japanese venture capital firm that invested in WeWork,

they dropped $400 million into Viori as well. Adam Newman definitely wears Viori. And that's one reason why Viori's revenues have nearly quadrupled years. year over year, over year. Viori is growing faster than allel yoga, Athleta, or any other athletician brand. Although this does lead to the big question because we know that you're wondering at besties.

How do you pronounce it? It's Viori. It's not Viori or Viori. It's Viori, which is nothing like it's spelled. And it's Finnish for Mountain because this Laxboro probably studied abroad in Finland. Doesn't make any sense, which is why it makes so much sense.

But besties, the biggest surprise about Viori isn't actually the pronunciation. it is the profits. Because every other direct-to-consumer startup we've covered, from Allbirds to Casper to Warby Parker, they're not profitable for years. And yet Viori isn't just profitable. Viori has been profitable since the very beginning.

Because a funny detail we found in this story. The founder, Joe Cudla, the Laxboro from San Diego, he says he's really bad at raising money. Yeah, remember Jack mentioned his first two startups? They failed. But he is a trained accountant. at Ernst & Young, so he knows how to balance a checkbook. So this guy, he can't impress Andrewson Horwitz, but he can balance the books. So given that he was bad at raising money,

he didn't want to run out of money, so he focused on profitability from the very beginning. He was so paranoid about losing money, he was like, we've got to make these shorts profitable, or we're going to be out of business in two months. That means he couldn't splurge on Instagram ads, promo codes for 40% off your first purchase, or billboards right off the 101. He just focused on adding stores and word of mouth growth and keeping it simple. Now that focus on profitability, it slowed his growth. It's taken him nine years to get where he is with Viori. But nine long years later, Viori is now worth twice as much as Under Armour. Who's protecting this house now? It's Viori and the three other dudes I also saw this weekend wearing the same Viori black camo

shirt as I have Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Viori? Don't avoid the void. jump into the void. Yeties, athleisure brands, they've come and gone, from outdoor voices to fabletics. And yet, Viori hasn't just survived. Viori has thrived.

And the key reason why is that the founder used his rivals for research. The founder studied Lulu Lemon in their stores. Lulu Lemon created the athleisure category. So other brands,

they started copying them with the same similar athleisure ideas. But Joe Cuddle did something different. He walked into Lulu Lemon and looked at what wasn't happening there. Yeah, the one thing Lulu didn't have a section on, it was menswear at the time. There was no men's section, and so he focused on that. He literally walked into a store, found a void, and then jumped into that void with his startup. Eureka, men's focused athleisure. Lulu isn't doing it. So,

give to men what Lulu Lemon gave to women. Now, today, Viori's sales are about 50-50 male-female, and Lulu Lemon has a lot of mail sales too. But that strategy, it worked. And it's a strategy we've covered on this pod before, right, Jack? Remember Shark Ninja, the home appliance company? Yeah, they make the air friars and they make the blenders out there. They create their new products by first checking out their rival's websites, reading the negative reviews, and then finding a product that will solve those customer problems.

That's essentially the same thing Viori did by going into Lulu stores and seeing what they weren't making. Yeties, there's voids all over the marketplace. Sometimes you just need to walk into a rival store to find them. Now a quick word from our sponsor. And our third and final story is from July 2nd, 2024. Oh, a lot has happened since then, Jack, for Nike. They fired their CEO and they promoted their long-term company vet, Elliot Hill, to lead the company.

He started as an intern. Hasn't helped the stock, though. It's down 10% since we originally published this story in July. Adidas, they're up 13% since this story. So, Jack, let's hit it. As Nike falls, the swoosh's pain is Adidas's game. We'll tell you the three reasons why the sneaker industry is getting rearranged, like your shoe drawer. All right, Nike, it's Coach Jack and Coach Nick over here coming to our office.

All right, Jack, what do you think we got to tell Nike? Bring him in here, toss him in the ice bath, and then get him two townhows, three Advils, one theragon, and some bengue. We want you getting massaged by Shaq like it's nobody's business. Because, yeah, it is Nike. Just had its worst day on the stock market since 2001. 2001, Michael Jordan was still playing. LeBron was in high school. True story. Oh, and Nike shares?

They fell 18% on Friday like Shooter McAvin on the 18th hole. LeBron's son hadn't been born yet. The one who just got drafted in the NBA. And it's all because Nike reported sales fell 2% last quarter, and they warned a 10% sales drop is coming this quarter. Nike is looking like Space Jam before they took Michael's secret stuff. Nike right now would not be able to beat the aliens, is what Jack's saying. I mean, a 10% drop for a company like Nike, that is brutal.

In fact, Yetis, Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style, Nike stock is down 50% from its all-time high. Over the past five years, if you owned the S&P 500, your investment has nearly doubled in the past five years. But Nike has fallen by 12% over that same five-year period. And here's why Jack and I find that story fascinating, Yetis, because Nike's pain is Adidas's game. Adidas' sales are up right now, and they're stock. has risen by 20% in the past year. Nike, like we said before, Jack, it's looking less Steve Kerr, more Brian Scalibranie.

Surprisingly, we have said that before. Was he not born right now? I don't know. So, Yadis, we know what you're thinking over there. Why are investors subbing out Nike for Adidas on the floor right now? We found three things that both of them are doing different. Yes, we did. And the first thing that Nike and Adidas are doing differently, Jack?

It's strategic. Nike called the wrong play when it comes to e-commerce. Because Yeties, Nike made them. mistake of pulling out of third-party stores to instead focus on selling Nike shoes in their stores and on Nike.com. Adidas responded by slipping in and filling Nike space at foot lockers at Dix and all the other third-party retailers. Now, the second thing that Nike did that Adidas didn't do was an aesthetic mistake.

A crime of fashion. A crime of fashion. Because Nike's Air Force One is now getting replaced by fashionistas with the more casual Adidasamba. And the third divergence of these two brands is in marketing. Because Nike has lost the love of the leaders. Remember those see-through baseball jerseys? The whole debacle that Nike was responsible for?

I mean, Jack, I'm looking at Shohei Otani right now, and I'm seeing a whole lot of Shoahotani right now. That huge fashion faux pa lost Nike the love of the athletic leaders in the industry. And consumers have followed with them. But there's actually a bigger error that both Nike and Edinas made Funny thing, Jack, I noticed. They both made this mistake, and so we decided to make it our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway about our buddies over in the shoe industry? If you're not in their ears, you're not in their minds.

Now, you guys, Nike and Adidas, they are both fantastic at marketing. You see the Nike and Adidas ads every other subway, like it's everywhere. You always see their commercials. But consumers don't choose what to purchase based on what they see. They choose what to purchase based on what they hear. Bessie's great story in the Wall Street Journal last week about how Nike and Adidas both lost the local running club. Those casual running clubs of America, where the runners influence what the shoe buying trends of the moment are. You have a friend who's in one of these running clubs because they've told you they're in one of these running clubs.

They have really skimpy shorts I've noticed. It's a vibe, Jack. But yet, according to one running club in Portland, Oregon, Nike running reps only run with that club like once a year now. That's a drop. But that running club in Portland sees reps from Hoka, On, Brooks, A6, and other fast-growing running shoe rivals four times a year. Not once a year, four times a year. And those run club runners, they're the ones working in the shoe stores. They're the ones advising friends, and they're the ones who are writing all the sneaker blogs.

And since Nike hasn't been around, those runners are driving sneakers from Nike to upstart shoe companies. And honestly, Jack and I have experienced this, haven't we, Jack? I went to a running shoe store in Essex. They didn't even consider showing me Nike's. They showed me all the other products because that's what the runners are running with. I was told to try on hokas and ons, and I ended up with a pair of ons.

Nike wasn't even in the running yesterday. They sold me Brooks. They didn't even know my son's name was Brooks. Because Yetis, Brooks and other upstar brands, they were in the runner's ears while Nike was not. And if you're not in their ears, you're not in their minds. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, in our daily WTF update with flash tariff forecast. Trump doubled down on tariffs again yesterday. Trump threatened to tariff French, champagne, and European wine by 200%. Yeah, yeah, this is going to like triple the price of your mimosa at brunch. Meanwhile, China is threatening Walmart for trying to push the cost of tariffs onto Chinese suppliers. Stocks, they fell 1.5% on Thursday to a new six-month low on all the tariff. Whiplash. Second, Russia's Vladimir Putin is open to talk about the Trump negotiated ceasefire proposal over in Ukraine. But he does have some demands. First, he wants Ukraine to give Russia

all of the land that Russia invaded. Second, he wants Ukraine to promise never to join NATO. And third, he wants Ukraine to promise to replace President Zelenskyy with somebody else. Of course, reminder here, Putin was the aggressor who invaded Ukraine despite his efforts to twist the truth to justify it. Finally, New York City has a new plan to improve the MTA subway system. Stick Google phones on all the train cars. Yeah, apparently that's it. The MTA wants to put Google phones on subway cars and just like turn the camera on to detect delay issues.

Is it a GPS thing? Is that what they're trying to do? Apparently, Jack, if there's like water on the tracks, they want these Google phones to like see the water, send the info to the cloud and then like keep the train moving or something. Oh, so the phones are basically just security cameras, kind of? I don't know if they've totally thought this through, honestly. Apparently they piloted it last year, and now they want to stick Android phones on the subway to speed up your four train to work.

Can't afford an iPhone? Actually, no, they can't afford an iPhone right now. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me. This is wild. There is a part of the fitness industry that is way bigger than you realize. Yeah, this is pretty shocking.

What is it, Jack? Supplements. Yeah, supplements are bigger than the fitness industry. Way protein. Plant-based protein, creatine, pre-biotic, pre-work, probiotic. All of that. The fitness industry, like your workouts, the gym, that's valued at $20 billion. But the U.S. supplements market is worth more than twice that.

What we are saying, besties, is that people spend more on powder and pills than they spend on hidden treadmills. Peloton, time to launch a protein shake. Yeties, you look fantastic over there. No, we mean it. you look fantastic over there. What are you working with? I'm sorry, are you talking to me? I don't know who I'm talking to at this point.

I figure everyone's working out. Everyone's getting ready for spring break, they really do look fantastic out there. Tell everybody you see at the beach this weekend or at the gym, H-YH, T-B-O-Y. Then offer them some white protein and say, Have you heard the best one yet? Nick and I'll be back Monday with our regular program.

If you know, you know, see you there. Before we go, a happy birthday to the legendary T-K. Teddy. Kramer turning 33 years old down in Brattleboro, Vermont. Do you know he's the former AT&T wireless salesman of the month? You didn't say that confidently, Jack, but we can fact check and enroll with it. Always a great brother. Now thriving as a girl dad of three. I just want to say also best real estate agent in the entire New England region.

Just putting that out there. Greater New England region. And happy birthday to Nella Regalado celebrating down in fancy Las Vegas. Happy 33rd birthday to Doe over in Singapore. Tomas turning 30 years old down in hotland, Atlanta. Happy birthday to Deborah Rios in Washington, D.C., who's turning 40 and running the rock and roll half marathon. And Stephen Chimelousky just got accepted to so many master's programs.

Doesn't know what to do. So we celebrate all of them down in Tucson. And happy birthday to Super Macaroni, the Golden Doodle, who's turning three in San Diego. P-U-P-P-Y. Oh, you know, go boy.