At Equinox, group fitness classes like Playground Experience (PGX)—a training circuit which can be broken out into different teams—is a popular place for members to bring clients. According to Bloomberg, PGX has attracted finance people like Strauss Zelnick, founder of Zelnick Media Capital.
“Our mission at Equinox is to empower our members to maximize their potential,” says Equinox chief marketing officer, Vimla Black Gupta. “Our mission rings especially true for those members working in the finance industry where finding balance isn’t a luxury they can always enjoy.”
Earlier this year, Equinox, who own SoulCycle, invested in the boxing-oriented fitness company, Rumble, which has an outpost in NoHo and has a big following in the business community.
Sanford Bernstein’s Liebowitz said that there has been a noticeable trend towards more health-related and fewer boozy-type events, adding that “less traders want to be out late or simply feel gross the next day because of a huge meal or drinking.”
These fitness temples aren’t just work out destinations for the business world. They’ve become places of employment for former finance people as well. Among its employees, Barry’s counts Austin Caghley who went from being a business analyst at Goldman Sachs to a popular instructor. Justin Meli, a business consultant with an MBA, now teaches Barry’s in Washington.
“His background helps him bond with and understand the mentality of business leaders,” says Devin Murphy, who spent over 4 years at the hedge fund Coatue Management and then four more at Sypartners, consulting for Fortune 100 companies. She was a five-times-a-week Barry’s client; now she’s the vice president of operations.
In the last year, Murphy has seen an increase in a demand for classes at Barry’s as what makes businesses competitive for employees. “We keep hearing from human resources in finance, ‘all our employees are banging down the door to make this part of our wellness package.’”
Some companies take an even more direct approach, according to Murphy. She says it’s common for hedge funds to buy-out entire classes for just 15 people. “It’s partly networking and partly team-building. We see people from finance do buy outs at least once a week.”
The cost to book an entire class at a peak time: $5,000.
“They take the 5 a.m. class. That way they still get to work early. And it’s also the accountability,” she says. “You would hear it if you get to the trading desk and you were the one who didn’t show up for class.”