Last month ClassPass reported that strength training was the #1 workout in 2022, while sculpt was the fastest-growing class.
Happy Sunday Gym World!
Last month ClassPass reported that strength training was the #1 workout in 2022, while sculpt was the fastest-growing class.
This is interesting because roughly 90% of ClassPass users are female.
While strength training isn’t new, more women wanting to get strong is.
When I started my CrossFit gym in 2012, the #1 thing I heard from prospective female clients was, “won’t lifting weights make me bulky?”
The objection was so common that CrossFit released a video that year addressing it:
With 3.3 million views, it’s one of the most-watched videos that CrossFit published.
So what has changed in the last 10 years?
Fitness media is no longer controlled by magazines like Shape and Women’s Health.
Every day thousands of female fitness influencers share their strength-based workouts. Collectively they have chipped away at the misconception that lifting makes you bulky.
So now, more women are looking to lift so they can build a skinny waist and a “dumpy.”
Surprisingly, most large fitness chains were not positioned for this shift, and many of them are scrambling to build strength-oriented offerings for women that want to lift:
- World Gym is equipping its new signature gyms with an area called “Booty Boulevard,” which they say is “guaranteed to be one of the most in-demand areas of the new gym.”
- CorePower Yoga, the largest yoga franchise in the US, announced a new class called “Strength X,” which is their first new offering in 10 years.
- In Q4 of last year, New York Sports Club acquired Fhitting Room, an NYC boutique concept known for its strength programming.
- In 2021, the largest boutique fitness brand, Xponential, bought Body Fit Training which provides “group strength programs for all fitness levels.”
While the smart money scrambles, one fitness influencer is riding this trend to the bank.
Powerlifter Megsquats amassed 1.2M followers across Tiktok, Youtube, and Instagram over the last 7 years.
In a recent podcast, she said her app, Stronger by the Day, has about 15,000 customers paying around $10/mo.
While selling almost $150k/mo in strength programs is impressive, that is only one of her income streams. The others include:
- Buff Chick Supplements -> supplements & apparel
- Strong Strong Supply Co. -> lifting accessories & merch
- Strong Strong Friends -> pregnancy & postpartum programs
- YouTube ad revenue
- Affiliate links
All these businesses are targeted at women who want to lift.
In October, she posted a video saying she had done $3M in revenue YTD.
Since most D2C businesses have their best months in November/December, and her sites get more traffic each month, I am guessing monthly revenue is currently around $350k.
Also, a quick LinkedIn search reveals that the operation is lean and likely very profitable.
This made me think:
Is Megsquats the richest self-made female powerlifter?
Powerlifting isn’t known as a lucrative niche. This 2017 article by EliteFTS owner Dave Tate summarizes industry sentiment well:
Even some powerlifters with big audiences have trouble making ends meet.
On Gym World Worldwide, we discussed a powerlifter and gym owner with 230k followers that went viral after posting his daily routine to TikTok.
The list of powerlifters that make a lot of money with ancillary businesses is short.
Few, if any, do the kind of numbers that Megsquats is doing.
She is proving once again that fame is a good business model.
Until next week,
JiB
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