Peloton losing star instructors, Bandit Running at the Paris Olympics, and Nike x Hyperice new product...
Here’s what we got this week in the business world of health, fitness, & wellness:
🗞️ The Story - Peloton losing 3 star instructors
📈 The Strategy - Bandit running at the Paris Olympics
🛍️ The Product - Nike & Hyperice team up for a new product
3 star instructors announced they are leaving Peloton.
Including Ross Rayburn, Kendall Toole, & Kristin McGee (pictured below in that order):
This adds to the list of negative news Peloton has faced, which includes 2 CEO’s stepping away & rounds of layoffs.
Several reasons for these instructors departures are being tossed around.
But that’s not what I’m pulling from this…
Here’s my main takeaway:
Peloton instructors are like celebs.
Millions hop onto their bike and tune into these instructor’s classes every day.
One of the main things Peloton has going for them is their instructors.
People are itching for in person fitness & community.
And the instructors on their bike screen are a way to capture this feeling, while being at home.
But if you’ve got popular instructors leaving, and are constantly swapping in new faces.
It makes it extremely hard to capture that feeling of connection & community.
Overall, the connected fitness space has been looking gloomy. And I believe the main way companies in this space can win, is by providing community and an engaging experience for the consumer that makes them want to come back day after day.
Bandit Running stole the show at the U.S Track & Field Olympic Trials.
So if you turn on the Olympic Trials, you see athletes dressed head to toe in branded gear.
From Nike, to Adidas, to On, and more…
But you’ll also see 35 track & field athletes dressed in plain all black gear.
No brand. No sponsor. No logos. Nothing.
This is the work of Bandit Running, and their campaign called “The Unsponsored Project”.
And here’s why they did this campaign:
A lot of athletes are sponsored at the Olympic Trials, but there’s a handful that are not.
And they aren’t just fighting for an Olympic spot, they are also fighting for future sponsorship.
Now these athletes could go out and rep regular gear with logos on it.
But then when they make history, who reaps a big reward for free?
The brand they’re wearing that isn’t paying them a dime…
So Bandit Running made gear for these athletes to wear that is completely unbranded.
But the purpose isn’t to stick it to the big brands.
It’s to empower these athletes to declare their independence.
And be a signal that, “Hey I am unsponsored, and I just made history. Who wants me now?”
So these big brands know who to scout and go sign after the fact.
Leading to money in the pockets of these athletes from future deals.
And exposure for Bandit, despite not having their logo plastered on the gear.
It’s a win-win-win for Bandit, the other big brands, & the athletes involved.
Nike & Hyperice debut a first of its kind product.
First, a wearable high top boot that contains dual normatec bladders for heat & air compression to keep your feet & ankles ready to go.
Second, a wearable vest that has autonomous contrast therapy devices for heating & cooling your body & dialing it in to the right temp.
Recovery is all the rage these days.
So Nike & Hyperice decided to team up, combine their strengths, & capitalize on a trendy activity.
Hyperice has become one of the go to brands for recovery products.
Ranging from compression, heating, cooling, massage guns, contrast therapy, & more.
And Nike has the household name & brand behind them.
But they don’t have recovery products of their own, like Hyperice does.
Which is why this partnership makes a lot of sense.
Here’s why I love it:
I am all into recovery, but the worst part of it is the time commitment.
I don’t want to sit there for 30 minutes laying down with leg compression sleeves on.
And these products are optimizing and value stacking the entire recovery process because you can wear them during warm ups and cool downs. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone.
