I moved onto the treadmill, jogging uphill with a 5-minute demo of David Siik’s Precision Run, a dynamic program that tinkers with speed and incline. Equinox’s HIIT videos came next, taking me through push-ups, squats, and mountain climbers on the mat. Afterwards, wiping down with a chilled eucalyptus towel that I should replicate in my own fridge, I left newly inspired to figure out my own version of fitness, as the world retreats into temporary hibernation. An app that serves up a high-end salad bar of offerings (with none of the associated germs) seems like a wisely timed option. Uncannily so.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Equinox Media CEO Jason LaRose told me in a call on Friday afternoon, pointing to the enthusiasm on Instagram about the bike. (“Had my order in w/in seconds of receiving the invite—adrenaline pumping—felt like Monday at noon,” wrote one stoked regular. Another: “YO DAWG WHERE WERE THE AUDITIONS FOR THE AUDIENCE RIDER?”) On the same day that President Trump declared a national emergency, response for the at-home app remained steady. “We’ve had members already reaching out to us, on the first day that they’re getting access, saying, ‘Thank you for this because I live in a part of town where I can’t get in a club anymore,’” LaRose said. “For us, this is really an and answer”—that is, a mission to meet customers wherever they are, in the studio and in the digital sphere. (That is no doubt why the competitor Peloton is set to open a sprawling Hudson Yards flagship studio next week, albeit less a stroke of good timing.) “Those experiences in real life are really compelling,” LaRose added. “But sometimes it just doesn’t work.” His own 80-person team, based in a Manhattan production studio once home to The Daily Show and Sesame Street, has begun decamping from the office in favor of remote locations.
How will this moment—with stir-crazy cycling fanatics cooped up at home, credit card in hand—affect Variis’s arrival onto the fitness scene? Remember: It was just last summer that Stephen Ross, the chairman of Equinox’s parent company, hosted a Trump fundraiser, setting off protests and high-profile defections. (Chrissy Teigen’s tweet to action: “everyone who cancels their equinox and soul cycle memberships, meet me at the library. bring weights.”) Both of the fitness behemoths issued responses at the time, distancing themselves from the Republican billionaire. Now, with global leaders throwing shade at the president’s response to COVID-19, one wonders if Equinox’s image can remain as squeaky clean as its gym equipment now getting thrice-daily wipe-downs with hospital-grade cleaner.
In any case, as we shift into a WFH reality, the movement to WOFH is gaining strength. Mirror, the streaming platform whose hardware offers a svelte full-length reflection, announced a wellness content partnership with Lululemon in January; ambassador Gabby Bernstein leads meditation classes like a serene avatar (if not quite a Lizzo-level guru). Mirror’s CEO and founder Brynn Putnam typically observes an uptick in exercise frequency in the health-conscious new year, but this year member engagement had a five-fold increase. “In recent weeks, we’ve seen that people are twice as likely to purchase a Mirror compared to prior months,” she explained in an email.
For the New York yoga studio Sky Ting, its four-month-old video platform is a saving grace while its three locations grapple with coronavirus. (As of now, the studios remain open, with cautionary measures in place: BYO props and mats, no hands-on adjustments, limited class sizes.) Cofounder Krissy Jones reported in an email that Sky Ting TV had gotten “lots of new customers” this week, ramping up to the high numbers they had seen during holiday travel. Still, as the studios empty out, they’re worried about employees most of all. “We are cancelling some classes, prioritizing the teachers who rely on us the most,” she wrote.