Where Are They Now? Catching Up With ATN’s  2025 Power Players

Top executives reflect on how winning Athletech’s Power Players award has impacted their businesses and share what they’re building next

When Athletech News unveiled its 2025 Power Players, it honored the business leaders who shaped the fitness and wellness industry during the 12 months prior. The awards celebrated impactful individuals across a variety of categories, including wellness, tech, franchising and more. 

Now, as we approach the end of another year, ATN is preparing to honor another group of standout individuals, with submissions currently open for its 2026 Power Players. Adding to the excitement, this year’s celebration will feature expanded award categories and a new voting system. 

However, before turning the page, ATN wanted to check in with a handful of last year’s winners who are continuing to positively impact the sector. Collectively, they discussed how Power Players has accelerated the momentum of their businesses, what they’ve accomplished since winning and what they’re planning to focus on in the years yet to come. 

Powering Further Growth

Growth followed for many of the 2025 Power Players after taking home their awards. That came both from a developmental and physical standpoint, as some brands launched new products or partnerships while others expanded into new regions.

Tony Scrimale of CR Fitness, the reigning Franchisee of the Year recipient, has grown CR’s arsenal of Crunch Fitness locations from 75 to 98 in the time since June 2025. CR Fitness remains one of the largest franchise groups powering the high-value, low-price (HVLP) gym giant. 

“We are on track to open 110 locations by the end of 2026, including growth into our new territory, Arizona,” Scrimale said.

Erwin Korst, the senior vice president of global enterprise sales at Sport Alliance and the Tech Executive of the Year recipient, reported continued growth in the United States. Rachel Lea Fishman, co-founder and CEO of Arketa, and last year’s Executive to Watch winner, also just launched her brand’s own fitness studio in Lower Manhattan. It’s a first for the all-in-one, AI-powered business platform.

“It’s the first time in years I’ve been the customer instead of building for the customer, and it’s been an amazing experience,” Fishman said. “We get to build things for the studio and roll them out the same week.”

On the product side, Oura CEO Tom Hale helped his brand launch the Oura Ring 5 in 2026 as the wearable giant preps an IPO. He won last year’s CEO of the Year award. Carolina Moraes, chief marketing officer at Zumba and last year’s Marketer of the Year winner, assisted in ushering back the Zumba Cruise after a seven-year hiatus. Zumba also launched Zumba + Lift, the brand’s first music-driven strength program.

Function Health, led by co-founder and CEO Jonathan Swerdlin, earned a $2.5 billion valuation last fall and recently partnered with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine to begin research around earlier cancer, cognitive decline and cardiometabolic disease detection. That came shortly after Function launched its Medical Intelligence Lab and health connector — the latter allowing people to securely bring their health data into tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. Swerdlin won last year’s Longevity & Functional Health Innovator of the Year award. 

What Being a Power Player Led to

Several of the 2025 Power Players argued they won more than just an award last summer. Korst and Scrimale both acknowledged network growth after being recognized, with Korst even mentioning that he amassed over 11,000 LinkedIn followers and Scrimale referencing improved access to other industry leaders.   

“We all live in a small industry and the ‘best of the best’ all communicate,” he said. “It’s opened communication lines with most all competitors and partners just by putting more of a face behind the brand.”

Moraes pointed to the intangible benefits that come with validation from an outside source.

“I think ATN continues to be looked at as the top industry media source, so to have myself and the work we do at Zumba recognized, it helps reaffirm we are making the right decisions as a brand,” she said. 

Hale shared similar sentiments, citing how Power Players has allowed Oura to continue forging meaningful connections across the sector and reinforced the idea that the brand is collectively moving in the right direction.  

“I’m grateful for the recognition, but I see it primarily as recognition of the team and of the broader shift happening in health and wellness,” he said. “The most meaningful impact has been the opportunity to continue conversations with people across the industry about where wearables can go next, not just as fitness trackers, but as tools that help people understand their health and act earlier.”

Playing in the Future

The 2025 Power Players want to continue improving staff support, artificial intelligence application and additional expansion. Fishman is particularly interested in AI. She’s focused on how Arketa can leverage it to truly empower brands rather than something they bolt on to merely “say they have it.”

“Boutique fitness sells belonging, and belonging is a human product,” she said. “So, the question I keep turning over isn’t what AI can do here; it’s what should stay human, and how we automate everything around it so owners can actually be present for the most magical parts, like an after-class handwritten note or a studio’s signature scent.”

Beyond new campaign activations and partnerships, Moraes listed her instructors as her main priority with Zumba going forward. 

“I want to give them the best education, tools and growth opportunities in the industry, because they’re the ones actually delivering the brand promise every single day,” she said. “If I can look back a year from now and say we grew the community and made instructors’ lives easier while staying culturally relevant, that’s success.”

Scrimale shared he’s exploring business opportunities in the boutique side of the industry, having recently purchased territory rights to Yoga Joint in Florida and Dallas. Hale and Oura want to make personalized health intelligence more applicable, accessible and connected to the broader healthcare system. 

“That means continuing to improve the core Oura experience, expanding the ways members can understand their health across different life stages, and building AI that is grounded in high-quality science and designed responsibly,” Hale said. 

Click here to read more about ATN’s 2025 Power Players and apply for this year’s awards via this survey.