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Business of Fashion

Can TikTok's ‘Shirtless Race' Become More than a Trend?

NEW YORK — For three days in May, 14,000 men and women stormed New York City's Pier 76, just west of Hudson Yards, many of them in various states of athletic undress — not to party, but certainly to sweat. They were there for what outsiders viewing from TikTok call 'the shirtless race,' and what is known to proponents as Hyrox, a strength-and-endurance fitness race that combines an eight kilometre run with eight functional workouts, including a 330-pound sled drag. Some athletes collapse from exhaustion at the finish line. The last 2024–2025 season attracted over 600,000 participants, who competed in over 80 races worldwide. (Courtesy) Yet, Hyrox has built a devoted and growing global following. Fitness influencer Eric Hinman, NFL tight end Darren Waller and actor Patrick Wilson were among those who competed during the New York event, which had a waitlist, according to Hyrox and its Swiss parent company Infront Sports & Media. The first race, held in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, drew about 650 participants; the last 2024–2025 season attracted over 600,000, who competed in over 80 races worldwide, culminating in the World Championships in Chicago last week. By combining familiar functional movements like rowing and wall balls with running in an open-entry, festival-like marathon atmosphere, Hyrox has become the latest global fitness craze, with almost equal participation by men (52 percent) and women (48). In the past, millions of everyday gym-goers didn't have anything to work towards besides looking good and getting healthy. 'We gave them a definition [and competition] for what they were already doing,' said Moritz 'Mo' Fürste, who, along with Christian Toetzke, co-founded the company in 2017. ADVERTISEMENT Each athlete paid anywhere from $70 to over $200 to participate. While company reps declined to disclose revenue figures, Fürste shared on a Business of Sport podcast earlier this year that the average entry fee is around €130 ($150), putting its annual ticket sales revenue at roughly $90 million. They also generate revenue from event brand sponsors like Redbull, a constellation of 8,000 gyms that pay up to $150 a month to be its affiliates, spectator tickets and partnerships with brands like Puma, which sells co-branded products at the events, its stores and third-party retail partners. 'There's a real loyalty from participants to support the brands that are involved with Hyrox,' said Erin Longin, Puma's vice president of running and training. 'It's really helping us reach more consumers that way.' As the social distancing era fades, athletes are seeking community-driven fitness beyond the walls of traditional gyms. (Courtesy) Hyrox arrives at an opportune moment. As the social distancing era fades, athletes are seeking community-driven fitness beyond the walls of traditional gyms. With its stickiness and built-in social media appeal, Hyrox has the makings of a spectator sport like a marathon or a triathlon. Still, like any sport, it needs to continually find ways to keep its athletes and audiences engaged to avoid becoming another fleeting fad. Off to the Races Hyrox isn't the first strength-and-endurance race out of the blocks. In the 2010s, cultish CrossFit peaked with 415,000 participants in their 2018 Games, and rugged adventure Spartan Race saw 1.3 million participants each year at its height. But most CrossFit Games participants competed in their local affiliate gyms (called 'boxes'), and most Spartan Races were held in far-flung locations without mass-level audiences. During the pandemic, both saw declines in participation. On the surface, Hyrox follows the same formula, but with accessible twists: Athletes can compete in various division such as singles, doubles and relay teams, allowing different ability levels to take part. The format is also simpler. Unlike other races with their involved scoring systems, whoever finishes Hyrox first wins, and the standardized workouts make it a straightforward race for time. 'There is this repetitive combination of things that you have to do, which makes it stickier,' said Fürste. The challenge of completing the race is a draw, allowing participants to not only compete against one another but their own personal records. 'The endorphins you get from doing something that hard are insanely rewarding, and that sense of accomplishment is worth chasing and repeating,' added Heber Cannon, a fitness filmmaker. Hyrox also stages its events in some of the world's biggest media markets in some of the most picturesque locations — New York's Pier 76, Paris' Grand Palais and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands — where everyday athletes and professionals compete in front of packed crowds and seas of iPhones recording their every move. Fürste said the organic growth in participation coincided with the organic growth on social media too. In the past twenty months, views on Hyrox-related terms have surged 654 percent on TikTok, according to a cultural analytics firm. In the month following its first major co-branded product collection with Puma in January, Puma x Hyrox mentions generated $537,000 in media impact value, said data analytics firm Launchmetrics. ADVERTISEMENT And products from the Puma x Hyrox collection sold out within hours of the New York event opening its doors. 'We almost can't figure out the right stock levels to have at these events, because each event just keeps outdoing the last,' said Longin. Tribe Check Behind the social media hype, Hyrox's growth is driven by its 8,000 (and growing) partner gyms, which Fürste called 'the backbone of its ever-expanding global community.' He explained how Hyrox has, in some ways, solved problems for the crowded traditional gym industry, where many businesses compete for fickle consumers solely based on price and convenience. 'It's very difficult for a gym, usually, to create a strong community,' he said. Most are built for solo experiences and feel outdated in a moment where people are craving more social fitness activities, as evidenced by the rise of running clubs and climbing gyms. Even sportswear giants like Nike are noting the behavioural shift — the US company has begun to open Nike Studios, group fitness gyms designed to foster community workouts, starting with a Southern California location in 2023. Competitors run at Hyrox. (Courtesy) After the social distancing era, Magida noticed that people wanted to be connected with each other more than ever. When he launched a Hyrox program in his gym in 2021, 'it revitalised the community, and people were talking to each other, and there was culture forming because people were training with purpose,' said Magida. 'There were more high-fives and hugs than ever before.' Within two years of being a Hyrox partner, he saw a 40 percent increase in his business. Ruben Belliard, who runs The Training Lab in New York City — one of the most competitive markets for gyms — saw his membership jump up to 15 percent in the first year after partnering with Hyrox. In his 17 years in the fitness business, he's seen plenty of fitness trends come and go. 'The next evolution is going to be hybrid training like Hyrox,' he said. 'People want to be able to run fast and be strong at the same time, where, typically, in the past, it was one or the other.' For the upcoming season, which starts next month, many races — in Singapore, Sydney, London — have already sold out, often in minutes of being announced. 'I think it's still in that building phase, building awareness, building participation,' said Longin, noting the previous season's awareness wasn't as widespread. Now the company is preparing to scale further to keep up with growing demand by planning to add more cities and race days. 'The next evolution is going to be hybrid training like Hyrox,' Ruben Belliard said. (Courtesy) But long-term staying power is far from guaranteed. 'It's been proven that people will always train for marathons. People will always train for those types of things,' added Vennare. 'But Hyrox needs to make sure to keep its brand and the competition exciting and fun so that people don't get sick of it.'