Active Overwatch 027

Here’s your weekly roundup of news, trends, stories, and products in the health & fitness space that I found interesting. A shortlist of what’s happening, new innovations, interesting finds, and more.

Weekly roundup

2024 NYC Marathon takes place. The world major race set a world record for the largest marathon ever. More than 55,000 runners took part in the historic race.

• I ran this marathon last weekend. It was one of the coolest races I’ve ever done and a chilling experience at times. The history, the amount of crowd support, the sheer number of people - all super cool.
• There’s a lot I could talk about here, but I want to highlight something most are not mentioning. So there were a ton of extremely well done and creative brand pop ups surrounding the event. Bandit, Asics, Endorphins, Runna, Tracksmith, Fleet Feet, and more. BUT these reinforced an opinion I’ve always had. Sanctioned races have weak merch and pre-race experiences. Most of the time, a big company pays a bunch of money to be the main event sponsor, then puts out average merch & experiences. The real fun and creative brand activations ALWAYS happen outside of the main event. I know money is a big part of this, but I’d love to see more races collab with these new age brands putting on unique creative experiences.

Roka and Andrew Huberman launch filtered eyewear. These lenses filter blue and green light to optimize your sleep and circadian rhythm. Along with reducing stress and improving mood.

• The king of sunlight and circadian rhythm has made his move. Huberman has been pushing these topics for years now, and is probably his most known piece of advice. This collab makes perfect sense. And I especially like it because I feel like blue light glasses have lost their luster. People have become much more informed about circadian rhythm and how light affects this for quality sleep, but there was never really a product that marketed to this specifically.

Time releases “Best inventions of 2024” list. 200 innovations that are changing the way we live. Including several categories and products in the health, fitness, and wellness space.

• First off, people build some pretty cool stuff. It’s worth looking at the entire list, not just for the fitness and wellness innovations.
• Second, let me share the handful of innovations I found the most intriguing.
  • Aescape - Automated robot massage machine.
  • MO/GO - Hiking exoskeleton pants.
  • Wheely-X - Treadmill for wheelchair users.
  • Magic AI - AI mirror fitness trainer.
  • Omius Headband - Cooling running headband.
  • BackAware Belt - Workout form feedback belt.
  • On Lightspray - Robotic spray on shoe technology.
  • Normatec Elite - Wireless compression recovery boots.
  • Masimo W1 - Medical grade health wearable.
  • TrueLoo - AI powered toilet seat.
  • Moonbird - Breathing coach and sleep aid.

Oura acquires Sparta Science. A performance analytics company that mainly tracks vitals for enterprise clients. Oura aims to utilize their enterprise capabilities to expand their B2B offering.

• This is Oura’s third acquisition in 2 years. Buying Proxy in May of 2024 and Veri in September of 2024. They are on a tear expanding their smart ring offering and business capabilities. Now, I’ve talked about my intrigue with niche wearables like toilet trackers, glucose monitors, and more. And while I think this is a growing space that’s only at it’s beginning, I also believe mass appeal with always be with generalized wearables that offer a wider range of capabilities. And Oura is clearly positioning themselves to be one of the most comprehensive wearables on the market.