Blog

Omnichannel Fitness

15 Dec
,
2023

Is Monetized Gamification Part of the Future of Healthcare? And Who Should Pay? Part 2

In part 1 of this blog, we saw that being fitter can reduce healthcare costs, and set the groundwork for the idea of financial incentives to change behavior in insured populations. Here in part 2, we’re going to look at whether financial incentives could work - to achieve the right outcomes and from a regulatory perspective - and then what could be tracked, who could drive adoption and how Tribe can help.
by
Justin Marston
12
min read
15 Nov
,
2023

Is Monetized Gamification Part of the Future of Healthcare? And Who Should Pay? Part 1

There are two primary techniques used in encouraging people into doing more exercise today: Community: Because doing fitness with coaches and friends you know brings more fun and camaraderie to distract you from the hard work. Gamification: For people who have a competitive streak, gamification brings targets.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
3 Oct
,
2023

Community is Critical in Digital Fitness - Part 2

In part 1 of this blog series, we made our case for why community in digital fitness is so important, but summarized that it really hasn’t been done that well yet, especially for local and grassroots fitness creators (influencers and traditional boutique brands and studios).
by
Justin Marston
18
min read
11 Aug
,
2023

Community is Critical in Digital Fitness - Part 1

In the world of digital fitness, community is king. Community can provide motivation, accountability, and support, all of which are essential for long-term success. Unfortunately, many digital fitness platforms do a poor job of creating community. Let's explore the importance of community in digital fitness and highlight three companies that are doing it well: Strava, Zwift, and FitOn.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
20 Jun
,
2023

Will AI Revolutionize Fitness? Probably not

While AI has undeniably made impressive strides in various fields, its impact on revolutionizing fitness remains somewhat limited. Although AI can assist in counting reps, analyzing form, and offering customized workouts, it falls short in providing a consistent and authentic voice or genuine empathy.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
2 Jun
,
2023

The At Home Fitness Market - Perception vs Reality

Discover the intriguing dynamics of the at-home fitness market and explore the growing demand for at-home fitness, challenges faced by brick-and-mortar brands, and the potential for local boutique fitness businesses to thrive in the digital space.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
30 May
,
2023

The Move Away from Connected Hardware

Expensive and proprietary hardware is increasingly not the answer for at-home fitness. Is the pendulum now swinging back to apps?
by
Justin Marston
2
min read
8 Mar
,
2023

A Good Day to be Xponential

Xponential just announced its Q4 financial results, and they beat out analyst expectations, with system-wide sales passing $1B for the first time. The stock popped up 14%, and is currently trading around an all time high, up 140% from its IPO price in the Summer of 2021.
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
27 Jan
,
2023

Are Watch Parties the Future of At-Home Fitness? - Part 2

In Part 2, we’re focused on watch parties - who’s using them, how they work and how Tribe’s software can make them even better.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
1 Jan
,
2023

Are Watch Parties the Future of At-Home Fitness? - Part 1

Do people still want to work out at home? Read how watch parties may change at-home fitness classes from local studios
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
24 Dec
,
2022

The Software Cost of Creating Connected Fitness

This will be one of our shorter blogs, but it actually took a lot of work to research and gather the data.
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
19 Nov
,
2022

Do People Still Want to Workout At-Home?

Recent surveys how that people are continuing to workout from home, just like hybrid working will likely now be around forever in many companies.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
14 Oct
,
2022

Zoom's New Vision for Online Fitness

Everyone knows Zoom. During Covid, everyone has used Zoom regularly, and if you’re reading this you probably took or even led a group fitness class on Zoom.
by
Justin Marston
4
min read
30 Sep
,
2022

Building Community for Millennials and Gen Z for Your Gym or Studio

You own a gym or boutique studio, you have a great “in real life” culture and sense of community, you’re trying to figure out the right answer for hosting that community online.
by
Ranessa Santos
4
min read
24 Sep
,
2022

When YouTube Decided that Fitness Videos weren't Good Enough

YouTube is the center of mass for all things video. There are now over 30 million fitness videos on YouTube - it’s an astonishing number.
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
9 Sep
,
2022

6 Ways to Get Members to Join Your Online Fitness Classes

You’ve been hosting online fitness classes for a while now, your members are starting to come back to your physical studio, and you’re seeing fewer members attend your virtual classes.
by
Patricia David
3
min read
29 Aug
,
2022

The At-Home Pivot to Personal Training

Connected fitness has been a major upgrade to at-home fitness over the past decade, moving from DVDs and video streaming with zero interactivity to video streaming with leaderboards and some coach shoutouts.
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
19 Aug
,
2022

The End of Cheap Money in Connected Fitness

Recent warning signs have been hitting the headlines about how the party is over for start-ups, including the fitness tech industry.
by
Andy P.
3
min read
29 Jul
,
2022

It's the Platform, not the Coaches

I fundamentally disagree with this defeatism about online at the local level, and in this blog I’m going to set out why.
by
Justin Marston
6
min read
8 Jul
,
2022

If You Like It Then You Should Have Put a Screen on It - Part 2

I’ll run through a few considerations here, but whether to put an embedded screen on a piece of fitness hardware is not a cut and dried decision, which is why we saw an almost equal weighting in our market survey in part 1 of this blog set.
by
Justin Marston
8
min read
1 Jul
,
2022

If You Like It Then You Should Have Put a Screen on It - Part 1

To have a screen or not to have a screen, that is the question in the connected fitness hardware world. Having a screen can make the device feel more premium and self contained, but it also adds cost, bulk and a long-term maintenance tail.
by
Justin Marston
8
min read
13 May
,
2022

Why Virtual Fitness Coach Tools & Marketplaces Died

In the first half of 2020 a new generation of fitness coach tools was born or greatly accelerated, mostly with non-fitness founders, several with high profile investors.
by
Justin Marston
12
min read
13 Apr
,
2022

Multi-Channel, Omnichannel, Hybrid – What do they Mean?

“Digital”, “virtual”, “online”, “connected” – there are so many adjectives bouncing around “fitness” right now. But when words mean different things to different people, everyone can end up talking past each other. 
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
25 Feb
,
2022

Peloton - the Second Act?

For anyone who didn’t notice yet, Peloton has gone through a rollercoaster few months, culminating in its founder and CEO stepping up to a chairman role, and a new CEO being appointed - Barry McCarthy.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
28 Jan
,
2022

A Virtual Fitness Ladder for Local Boutiques and Gyms

The last few years have seen the majority of local fitness brands venture into the digital space by necessity. At Tribe, we’ve talked with everyone from single location studios to brands with thousands of locations, and there’s a great deal of diversity in what owners have been trying.
by
Justin Marston
11
min read
13 Jan
,
2022

7 Cameras for Online Workouts

You want to stream your workouts online, and now you’re figuring out the tech. Here we’re going to talk about camera options to give you more of a professional feel for your workout.
by
Justin Marston
10
min read
29 Nov
,
2021

The Rising Cost of Customer Acquisition in Connected Fitness

Connected fitness is getting more expensive - not for consumers, but for the companies selling products and services in the sector as a whole.
by
Justin Marston
7
min read
10 Nov
,
2021

Community as a Success Driver in Fitness Brands

What do Gymshark, Lululemon, SoulCycle, Peloton, and the likes all have in common? Community. When we talk about community, we think of social unity, a sense of belonging, and a safe place to be yourself - almost as if we were talking about religion with commonly shared values. In today’s article I wish to highlight four prominent fitness brands that have leveraged community to their advantage.
by
Patricia David
5
min read
12 Oct
,
2021

How Peloton Motivates its Users to Do Extraordinary Things

As a software company, we ask ourselves how to make our product more engaging every day. There are various ways to create software that looks pleasing to the eye and feels like a seamless user experience.
by
Andy P.
5
min read
22 Sep
,
2021

7 Questions to Ask a Successful Boutique Studio Owner

In our freshly launched Tribe Flow Series, we have highlighted the faces behind our partners and most prominent advocates. We are keen on understanding what motivates them to keep going every day and how they have built and sustain successful businesses.
by
Andy P.
6
min read
1 Jul
,
2021

How to Out-Peloton Peloton

We know what you must be thinking - "that's impossible". Respectfully, at Tribe, we disagree. Read on what makes Peloton great and see why we believe you can compete on that stage. [Photo: Peloton App]
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
3 Jun
,
2021

Why Virtual Must be Easy and Affordable for Local Studios

Studios are back! Nine out of 10 gym-goers plan to return but researches have shown that virtual is here to stay. What does this mean for you and your brand? How can you make it work hand in hand with operating a physical location?
by
Justin Marston
8
min read
21 May
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 7: The Bottom Line

Wrapping up this series on your tech options for running online workouts, let's look at the key take home messages. (Photo: Member App powered by Tribe)
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
7 May
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 6: Custom Fitness App

To build or not to build your own fitness app? Know more about the road to custom-building an app, what are your options, and what could be a good alternative that will give you what you need and more. (Photo: Centr App)
by
Justin Marston
6
min read
22 Apr
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 5: White Labeled Fitness Apps

White labeled fitness apps are a lot like regular fitness apps, but they have some custom branding and a separate icon in the app store for the studio. If you want one, you'll probably find what you're looking for in this article.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
8 Apr
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 4: Fitness Specific Apps

In this next installment, we're looking at some of your options that are fitness specific. Check out which one will fit your needs and how much you will need to budget to access them.
by
Justin Marston
6
min read
23 Mar
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 3: Broad Technology Platforms

Today we'll explore the most common platforms that gyms and boutique studios are using for their virtual workouts. While some are low-cost or free, the experience is not designed for fitness.
by
Justin Marston
3
min read
9 Mar
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 2: What About Fitness Apps?

Let's look at specific options that boutiques, gyms, trainers and influencers can use to take their workouts online.
by
Justin Marston
4
min read
26 Feb
,
2021

Hosting Online Workouts Part 1: Definitions and Building Blocks

Join me in this 7-part series tackling the technology behind the options to host your online workouts. APIs, SAAS, white-labelling, custom-made apps - dive deeper into what they mean for your studio and your business.
by
Justin Marston
9
min read
19 Feb
,
2021

E-fitness: Digital as a New Channel for Local Fitness

E-fitness is the next e-commerce/e-sports boom. To be successful at engaging members from a distance, as you would face-to-face in a physical location - online training has to be more than video streaming and video chat.
by
Ranessa Santos
6
min read
29 Jan
,
2021

Why Hybrids are the Future of Local Fitness

Home fitness 2.0 is bright and shiny right now, but it’s missing the community and accountability that have let boutique studios disrupt big box gyms. Hybrids combine the actual in-studio boutique fitness experience with as similar experience as possible when doing a workout from home
by
Justin Marston
7
min read
8 Jan
,
2021

15 Challenges with using Zoom for Your Workouts

Zoom is an amazing tool. I use it every day, and in our tests the video quality is better than any of the other video chat platforms.
by
Justin Marston
6
min read
17 Dec
,
2020

Why the "Netflix of Fitness" is a Bad Idea

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Netflix user and fan. But it’s a totally different mindset and experience to fitness.
by
Justin Marston
5
min read
3 Dec
,
2020

How Local Studios Can Compete with Peloton

Peloton has developed a brand with loyalists and evangelists that other home fitness brands can only dream of.
by
Ranessa Santos
4
min read
20 Nov
,
2020

8 Reasons Peloton Rocks

Peloton has turned into an incredible rocket over this past year, and has built the preeminent “workout at home” brand.
by
Justin Marston
8
min read

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