The new ‘Hyrox’ obsession signals a radical shift in India’s fitness industry

On  a Sunday morning in June 2025 in Dehradun, a city better known for retirees than ripped athletes, over 100 people turned up to sprint, lunge, and burpee under a blazing sun. A DJ played. Influencers posed. 

To the fitness ignoramus, this might seem like a regular weekend sports meetup. But in this tier-2 city with only a handful of gyms and little to no fitness culture, this was no ordinary feat. It was a Hyrox “simulation”. 

What is Hyrox? 

In a world increasingly obsessed with fitness, Hyrox—short for “Hybrid Rockstar”—is a global fitness race that blends an eight-kilometre run with strength-based workouts like sled pushes, rowing and burpees. Created in Germany by Olympic medallist Moritz Furste and entrepreneur Christian Toetzke, it began with 650 participants in Hamburg in 2017. By the 2024-2025 season that number has grown to over 500,000 participants across the globe. The format is simple: An eight kilometre-run interspersed with strength-based workouts such as sled pushes, burpees, and rowing in an air-conditioned, indoor arena. Designed to be competitive yet inclusive. Social media is inundated with images of ripped participants lifting heavy or sprinting.But Hyrox has one message: Anybody can do it.

So far, this formula has worked. Its financials aren’t public, but Furste estimated that they’ve reached $140 million in topline revenue just this year, mainly from ticket sales—ranging from $100 to $200—that sold out in record time. In some countries, Hyrox introduced the ballots to beat high demand. In India, Hyrox launched in Mumbai on 3 May 2025, shaking the country’s $20-million fitness market. 

“Not everyone in India plays a sport or runs. In fact, the biggest community of [fitness] are those who use the gym”  - Deepak Raj

“The set-up [at the Mumbai event] blew my mind. Everyone is made to feel like a winner there,” Lakhwinder Singh, fitness coach and owner of 360 Bodyshaper that organised the Dehradun event to imitate the Hyrox experience, tells The Established. He says that Hyrox’s entry goes alongside a post-pandemic shift in fitness attitudes among most Indians. “Earlier, people would join a gym to get a good body,” he says. “Now, there’s more awareness. They want more.” As social media is abuzz with Hyrox drills and simulations across the country, Singh calls Hyrox’s expansion in India spectacular. “Everyone wants to be a part of this phenomenon now,” he adds. “A sense of FOMO has been created.”

How Hyrox is disrupting India’s fitness industry

In a country where traditional notions of physical activity—either as a source of enjoyment, weight loss, or a professional line of work—often cast a shadow over the concept of well-being, Hyrox’s dramatic entry into the fitness industry in India is worth noting. Only around  0.2 percent Indians have gym memberships even as lifestyle disorders are on the rise. But Deepak Raj, who runs Yoska, a fit-tech company in Bengaluru, and brought Ironman races to India, saw an opportunity in that. 

“Not everyone in India plays a sport or runs. In fact, the biggest community of [fitness] are those who use the gym,” says Raj, the country head of Hyrox India. “I saw a gap in events for those whose workouts are strength-based. I’m not saying that the number of fit people will go up significantly because of Hyrox. But even if we make someone go out and move in preparation for Hyrox, I’ve done my job.”

Fitness is a scattered concept in India. The domestic weight management industry is a whopping $25.2 billion market, but the demand for pills and supplements overshadows the fitness segment. The latter is also unregulated, compounded by what health-tech company FITTR’s founder Jitendra Chouksey calls “the spa-fication” of the healthcare system, where aesthetic services are mistaken for actual fitness.  Additionally, while the pandemic propelled many towards gyms, shortsightedness is a challenge, says Pooja Ahuja, founder of Ahmedabad-based UFIT studios.

“For years, women focused on weight loss while men bulked up. Now, the fitness industry is evolving, and trainers have a big role in changing mindsets,” says Ahuja. “But convincing our community to choose fitness as a lifestyle over a short-term goal is still a struggle.” Ahuja is training for Hyrox Delhi, scheduled for 19 July, along with her clients. 

While Ahuja acknowledges Hyrox as a “game-changer”—one that reflects emerging workout trends for 2025, where functional strength, inclusivity, and community-driven formats are taking precedence over aesthetics alone, she notes the way Hyrox is designed: “It brings fit people of all categories – from strength training to runners – within one community. This is huge because our industry is scattered and competitive.” 

From gym to spectacle: India’s new wave of fitness events

Early this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang alarm bells over rising obesity to promote initiatives like Fit India Movement. The national health budget, too, saw a 9.78 percent rise from 2024-25 to 2025-26. But as government programmes face political fallouts, infrastructural challenges and issues of transparency, private players like Cult.fit and Nike are cashing in with the support of rising investments and corporate sponsorships.

At the same time, there’s a boom in the event management and activation industry, an estimated $5.23 billion in market size in 2024, with a projected growth of up to $7.8 billion by 2029. In this space—with premium tickets, curated access, investment boom, and large-scale infrastructure—Hyrox fits right into the trend of creating electrifying experiences, aligning with fitness events in India.

“[The best thing about eventification] is that it makes fitness fun again,” Zoe Modgill, founder of Studio 60 in New Delhi, tells The Established. “It adds a layer of adventure, inviting people to step outside the gym, into something bigger than themselves. It’s not about being the fittest—it’s about belonging.” Modgill participated at Mumbai's Hyrox event too.

“For years, women focused on weight loss while men bulked up. Now, the fitness industry is evolving, and trainers have a big role in changing mindset” - Pooja Ahuja 

Belonging, or a sense of community, is a key business strategy for fitness movements. Another example of community-based fitness is the recent rise of run clubs across cities, where runners trade sweat for new friends, and even love. Nike elevated the concept with the After Dark global tours, inviting women to run at night—an empowering concept in countries like India, largely considered unsafe.

“Fitness isn’t just about sets and reps anymore. It’s about experiences, community, and identity,” adds Modgill. “When we bring people together in movement—whether at Hyrox or my ‘Stronger with Zoe’ retreats and plans—we create space for healing, connection, and joy.”

From hashtags to hype: How Hyrox India went viral

What really powers Hyrox is its community, both online and offline. Hyrox’s official page has half a million followers, while the India one, which started last year, has 22,800 followers. Their biggest sell: The Hyrox community itself, photographed mid-workout, sweaty and ecstatic. “It’s a fitness party of sorts,” says Raj. “We’re leveraging how 25-to-40- year-old people consume content on social media, and building a business on its back.”

Basant Kaur, a taekwondo pro from New Delhi, says that Hyrox’s social media empowers her. “Their marketing is very aesthetic,” says the 26-year-old who is preparing for Hyrox Delhi. “More than that, I’m a sportsperson, and I love to experiment with new formats of fitness. I’ve done marathons and crossfit games. When I read about Hyrox, I wanted to try it too.”

While visibility is one aspect, another is putting a spotlight on inclusivity. In an age of unhealthy fitspiration trends such as “skinnytok” and “gym tok”, fitness communities have the power to shatter myths. 

Virendra Sud, a 78-year-old entrepreneur from Pune, was arguably the oldest participant at the Mumbai edition of Hyrox. With a background in badminton and strength training, Sud says that he’s a rare one to not use his age as a handicap to enter fitness contests. “You can bring something like Hyrox to India and the younger lot might get excited,” he says. “But people my age group? Not at all. Social media might be a marketing gimmick but I hope people—even fitness companies—learn from this, raise awareness and motivate.” He’s now preparing for Hyrox Delhi with his 26-year-old granddaughter. “Perhaps this will motivate many grandfathers to step out and shape up,” he says. 

Modgill says she’s had two C-sections in the last three years, and participating at Hyrox felt like a celebration of her fitness journey. “You see people of every age, shape, and stage pushing past limits,” she says. “For many, fitness is another to-do. But when you add purpose, variety, and a little bit of crazy fun, it becomes something you look forward to.”

While the Mumbai event had over 1,000 participants, the Hyrox organisers are already preparing for the next one in Bengaluru. For now, Raj says the future of Hyrox is in tier-1 cities because of the availability of space and geographic connectedness. 

As for the industry, Sud says this marks a new innings for “fitness entertainment”, while Ahuja looks forward to a scattered community getting closer. Modgill hopes fitness events make more and more people show up, no matter what. “That’s a narrative India needs more of,” she says. 

The business of fitness has never looked more like a party. And in an oversaturated wellness market, that might be exactly what India needs.