eBusiness Weekly
At the beginning of this year, I made a conscious decision to place a greater focus on my health. Nothing was wrong, necessarily, I just felt that my energy level, focus, rest, and recovery had suffered since starting this newsletter last July.
In the simplest of terms, I prioritized my business over my health. That was a mistake.
Now, over the last few months, increasing my fitness level has quickly become a competitive advantage. I did ‘flashy’ things, like turning back on my Whoop subscription and sleeping on an Eight Sleep, but truthfully, nothing has had a greater impact than recommitting to daily, strenuous exercise.
The interesting part: With gyms closed, I tried everything. Home workouts got old quickly, while Peloton was on backorder, and Apple Fitness lacked variety.
The result? I’m more convinced than ever that marketplaces will be a foundational component of the future fitness ecosystem. That’s why I’m officially announcing an exclusive partnership with Recess, the world’s leading virtual fitness marketplace.
Today, I’ll run you through how it works and why you should care.
Everyone is familiar with Airbnb, the community-based platform founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nate Blecharczyk in 2008. It’s now a $100 billion company, but the business model is actually very simple.
At its core, Airbnb is a two-sided marketplace that facilitates access for people looking for travel accommodations.
The platform has 3 million hosts worldwide, more than 7 million active listings at any given point in time, and operates in more than 100 000 cities and 220 countries and regions. It’s transformed the hospitality industry, and more generally, how society operates today.
But why does this matter? Because Recess is doing the same thing for fitness.
Founded in 2018 by Nathaniel Jewell, Recess is a fully integrated virtual fitness marketplace that seamlessly connects fitness instructors and consumers.
Here’s how it works: Typically, if you want to exercise at home, you are programming your own workouts, watching pre-recorded videos, or confined to the specific instructors/workouts offered by Peloton, Apple Fitness, and others. If you’re traveling, it’s even harder.
Instead, Recess has a created a searchable marketplace that enables you to easily sort through 1 000+ instructors from all over the world, teaching more than 10 000+ live, on-demand, and private classes.
The best part? The options are endless.
Want to take a live HIIT class with your favorite instructor? You can do that.
Prefer a pre-recorded yoga class from an instructor abroad? That’s not a problem either. Enjoy one-on-one time or group sessions? Either option works also.
I could go on, but you get the point; by creating a vertically integrated marketplace that connects fitness instructors and consumers globally, Recess is expanding the total addressable market through product innovation.
For fitness instructors, it’s a home run. You can now access more clients, building a virtual and global business while offering users the same high energy and interactive experience.
For consumers, it expands optionality & reduces friction. Rather than spending hours searching for and setting up Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet sessions with a personal trainer, Recess helps bridge the gap. Now, you have access to 10 000+ instructors globally teaching everything from HIIT & strength classes to yoga & meditation.
My favorite part? The technology is incredible. Unlike other platforms, which consistently have spotty connections, lack proper integration, and require workaround payment systems, Recess has spent the last three years building superior technology to solve these problems.
The solution is automated payments, integrated music streaming, detailed health metrics, and live streaming without issues.
In the end, as technological innovation continues to occur and humans demand additional freedom and flexibility, the transition from brick and mortar gym memberships to at-home fitness will only compound. COVID-19 was just an accelerant.
I believe Recess is uniquely positioned to capture significant market share due to a special combination of superior, vertically integrated tech and the most diverse set of instructors and classes online. — Huddle Up (Online Newsletter)
