Fitt Insider's framing this week is blunt: fitness is richness. Priced out of homes and delaying traditional milestones, Gen Z and millennials have decided an optimized self is the real asset. The supporting numbers are striking — under-35s account for nearly half of all US gym memberships and pay the highest monthly dues, and 36% of 18–24s have signed up, the highest of any cohort ever, per HFA data cited in the issue.
For operators, this is the most valuable cohort in the building. It's also the one most likely to leave, because what they're buying isn't just access to equipment.
They are buying status and company, in that order
Two data points from the issue matter more than the rest. First, a third of young members say the gym's happiness ROI justifies the splurge — they're explicitly pricing the emotional return, not the facility. Second, 57% join the gym primarily for community, and Strava's trend report found two-thirds would rather spend on workout gear than on a date.
That reframes churn. When a member joined for community and the community never materialized, they don't complain — they just quietly stop coming. The equipment was never the product.
It also explains why this group is unusually receptive to putting money behind a goal. A cohort that already treats fitness spending as an investment in identity doesn't find a stake strange. They find it motivating.
Make the community obligation explicit
Most gyms try to manufacture community with events and a group chat, and hope it takes. Cadoo Games makes it structural instead: members stake their own money with friends on a fitness goal, and the game runs on a repeating cycle. There's a scoreboard among people who actually know each other, a real consequence for going quiet, and a fresh reason to re-engage every cycle.
- Peer validation, which is what they came for. Verified workouts become shareable, skinned videos — the kind of proof this cohort already posts.
- Consistency between visits. Games run on the days a member isn't in your building, which is where the drift starts.
- Real data. The camera counts reps and scores form. Steps and distance come from Apple Health or Google Health Connect.
- Small stakes, chosen by the member. The pot isn't the point; the commitment is.
The category is racing toward the same customer
The rest of the issue shows how hard everyone is chasing this. Nike unveiled Nike Hybrid, a two-shoe system built for HYROX-style training, after shuttering its boutique studios and launching an elite training division for pro HYROXers. Fitt Insider notes it enters a crowded field against PUMA's HYROX deal, adidas' ATHX co-sign, and drops from On and Gymshark.
On the device side, Meta and Oakley launched AI performance glasses with Garmin and Strava integrations, Oura is reportedly exploring smart glasses after acquiring Doublepoint, and WHOOP partnered with Natural Cycles on hormone-free birth control. In the money column, Procter & Gamble acquired supplement maker Thorne for $3.8B.
Everyone is buying a piece of the young wellness consumer's attention. The brands that keep it will be the ones that give that consumer somewhere to belong, not just something to wear.
The practical version
Take the cohort you already have — a class, a run club, a location — and give them a recurring game with a stake they set themselves. You are not adding a new program so much as making the social layer they wanted visible and repeating.
We're also building toward letting winnings convert into credit or perks at the brand. That's on our roadmap and not live yet, but for a cohort that already treats fitness as an investment, closing that loop is the obvious end state.
If you want to run one with your members, start at Cadoo for brands or email Tim@cadoo.io.
Frequently asked questions
Why are under-35s paying the highest gym dues?
The issue ties it to a shift in what counts as wealth. With homeownership and other milestones delayed, this cohort treats an optimized self as the real asset, and a third say the gym's happiness ROI justifies the cost. They are buying identity and wellbeing, not just facility access.
What actually drives retention with younger members?
Community. The issue cites 57% joining the gym primarily for community. When that connection doesn't form, members drift quietly rather than complaining, which is why social structure tends to outperform discounting as a retention lever.
Will younger members really put money on the line?
This is a cohort that already spends heavily and deliberately on fitness — Strava's report found two-thirds would rather buy workout gear than go on a date. Members choose their own stake, so it can start small. The commitment and the audience do the motivating.
How does this connect to the hybrid training trend?
Hybrid racing formats like HYROX are popular because they combine competition with a shared identity. A recurring staked game gives members the same loop between events, so training stays social when there's no race on the calendar.
