Sqwod Daily
Tuesday, 15 September 2026 · Weekday
The scoreboard is in: 2025 was fitness's biggest year on record — so the real question is whether you captured the wave or watched it.
Connect the dots
Record industry growth means nothing if your studio didn't grow
The 2026 HFA Global Report confirmed double-digit revenue growth across the fitness industry in 2025 — the kind of headline that feels great until you realize rising tides expose who's been swimming naked. If your numbers didn't move with the market, you weren't losing to a bad economy; you were losing to stronger operators in the same tailwind.
That's the uncomfortable gift of a record year: it strips away the 'tough environment' excuse and hands you a clear diagnostic. Pull your 2025 revenue against the industry benchmark. If you underperformed a double-digit growth market, the gap is your actual strategic problem — pricing, retention, programming, or visibility — and 2026 is the year to name it and fix it, not coast on the good-news headline.
In today's episode
- 01 Signal
Wizard Wellness Raises $1M and Lands in 4,000+ Retail Stores
The wellness brand just closed a $1 million raise and pushed its products into more than 4,000 retail locations — a reminder that for the right brand, brick-and-mortar is still a very real growth lever.
- 02 Build
The Fitness Industry Just Had Its Best Year on Record
The 2026 HFA Global Report confirmed 2025 was a landmark year for fitness operators, with double-digit revenue growth across the board — meaning if you've been grinding to grow your studio, the tide really did come in.
- 03 Move
A fitness coach just ranked every type of cardio — worst to best
From post-meal strolls to full-on running, a coach has stacked up the cardio options by actual benefit. If you're programming classes or advising clients, this is a tidy cheat sheet for cutting through the "just move more" noise.
- 04 Gear
Oura's $16B IPO lands on Wall Street, not Helsinki
The Finnish ring maker is skipping its home turf for a US listing at a $16 billion valuation — and for studio owners eyeing wearable partnerships or corporate wellness integrations, this signals Oura is playing in the big leagues now.
- 05 Signal
$1M raised, national rollout done in 4 weeks — Wizard Wellness delivers
Wizard Wellness closed a $1M funding round while simultaneously completing a national mass retail rollout in just four weeks. For fitness founders, it's a reminder that retail distribution and fundraising don't have to happen in sequence — sometimes the shelves don't wait for the wire transfer.
- 06 Build
$14M raised: Aeon bets big on AI preventive health
Zurich-based Aeon has now cleared $14M in funding after closing a seed extension for its AI-driven preventive health platform — a signal that the money chasing 'before the injury' is starting to rival the money chasing 'after the injury.'
Do this today
Sqwod recs
- Try: Map one corporate wellness partnership target this week — identify a local employer with 50+ staff, draft a one-page proposal, and pitch a lunch-and-learn or subsidised membership block. B2B revenue is the most underused stability lever in independent studios.
- Gear: AG1 (Athletic Greens) — our verdict + best price. · Sponsored
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- Wizard Wellness Raises $1M and Lands in 4,000+ Retail Stores
- The Fitness Industry Just Had Its Best Year on Record
- A fitness coach just ranked every type of cardio — worst to best
- Oura's $16B IPO lands on Wall Street, not Helsinki
- $1M raised, national rollout done in 4 weeks — Wizard Wellness delivers
- $14M raised: Aeon bets big on AI preventive health