EGYM Sees AI, Industry-Wide Collaboration as Drivers for the Future

EGYM knows it’s a pivotal time right now in the fitness industry — and the right steps to take as we all move forward

Guessing the future isn’t a gamble, it’s a growth strategy, and arguably no one understands that better than EGYM. 

Known for its smart equipment ecosystem, AI-infused products, personalized offerings and other cutting-edge fitness amenities, the brand has solidified itself at the intersection of health and technology. While both are evolving with haste, the brand is well positioned to keep up — and bring others forward too. 

“EGYM is benign and benevolent,” said Christopher Clawson, general manager, EGYM Technology. “We’re not trying to do what our partners do. We want to do the things that we do really well on behalf of the operator and the member, so that they can do what they do really well — and we bring it all together in this ecosystem.”

Going Further, Together

When speaking on shifts currently taking place in the fitness industry that are likely to shape the future, Clawson pointed to collaboration between brands that perhaps once didn’t as a notable topic to consider.

“I think one of the biggest changes is the willingness of people who are in some cases pure competitors, but in our case, pure aggregators, to work together on behalf of the industry,” he said. “That is quite unique.”

Today, there’s a collective understanding among brands of how they can unlock certain insights and opportunities for each other. It’s a behavior that also aligns with EGYM’s intention to broaden its ecosystem and interconnect various fitness offerings.

EGYM Wellpass serves as a standout tool for the brand in this regard. The corporate wellness platform gives employees access to off-site gyms, digital health tools, nutrition resources and more to provide gyms with a new pipeline for member traffic. It benefits partnering brands and end users alike. 

“We’re creating opportunities for operators because those check-ins come in at a predetermined price. It’s not discounted,” said Clawson. “But more importantly, it’s activating the general population.

“Even in countries that are extremely active in fitness, 80% or more of their populations do not regularly exercise,” he added. What we’re seeing with some of EGYM Wellpass clients is upwards of 40% of those enrolled in the program are finding their way to clubs, studios and boutiques. That’s double, triple, or in some cases quadruple, other markets because of the Wellpass app. It’s activating them. They’re being encouraged by their employer. They’re being encouraged by us.”’

It’s all part of the brand’s vision to inspire more than fitness — to help people lead better lives.

“We think long term, that will translate into lower healthcare costs, particularly for employers [and] the employee; and longer term, we see that as an opportunity to make it extend to society overall,” said Clawson. “That’s our ultimate goal, to move from being this provider of fitness solutions to being more about well-being and find our way into preventative health care.” 

Advancing Through AI

Along with the wave of cross-competitor cooperation reshaping the fitness industry, Clawson forecasted AI and machine learning as factors set to influence the fitness industry during the coming years. While that’s something the fitness industry shares with several others, it’s already driving visible outcomes.  

One way that’s happening is with EGYM Genius, which launched in late 2024. The program creates hyper-personalized workout plans through AI by learning from each member’s progress, tendencies and objectives over time. 

“We are able to create an exercise protocol based on your goals, based on your capabilities, whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, advanced or elite athlete,” said Clawson. “We can create exercises based specifically on what’s available in that facility, all the way down to barbells and dumbbells. We know what your seat settings are. We know what the actual weight is. It’s a game changer.”

EGYM has over 200 partners with products integrated via Genius. In one year, it went from 7 billion exercises in its AI engine to 8 billion. With it being a machine learning innovation, it only gets smarter and more effective as users continue to feed it information. 

“We went up by a billion because we keep bringing more partners on,” said Clawson. “Those exercises just continue to build in our AI engine.”

EGYM also taps AI with features like Adaptive, which senses when a user is nearing a point of muscle failure and changes resistance levels mid-stroke to ensure safety. The brand also works with partners to catalog weight levels and program reps accurately rather than relying on any misleading figures potentially affected by mechanical advantage.

Scaling Functionality 

Clawson also listed cloud-based servers as a key innovation set to support fitness ventures of the future — especially when paired with Genius and in the hands of personal trainers. 

“With this ability to churn out exercises and be prescriptive across everything available in a club, the first reaction from people in personal training is, ‘Oh, my god. You’re going to take my job,’” said Clawson. “No, actually, we’re going to increase your capabilities.”

With Genius and the EGYM Cloud, EGYM presents trainers with the opportunity to extend their services in layers, taking on more clients by meeting them halfway. EGYM’s innovations don’t threaten their job security — they bolster it. 

“Imagine if you had clients who came in less frequently. They meet with you once a week, a month or a quarter. You normally can’t do that as a personal trainer because you don’t know what they’re doing every day,” said Clawson. “But now, you can actually track people. You can put them into an AI-generated exercise program, review their success, augment it and change it as you wanted to.”

It’s a way of keeping trainers in the loop even if they’re physically out of it. Doing so opens alternate revenue streams as well. 

“You review their activity so that when you meet with your client that one time each week, you’re already informed about what they’ve been doing, both in and out of the facility,” Clawson explained. “It may only be a fraction of what I’d typically charge for regular sessions, but it still provides a steady source of income.”

The Future of AI

Rather than plugging AI as a one-size-fits-all solution, the brand is committed to thinking differently as it aims to leverage the tech in the years still to come. 

“In our industry, AI is often viewed as a silver bullet, the one solution to every problem. But I don’t see it that way,” Clawson said. “It’s not a single silver bullet, it’s more like having a full arsenal. We’re trying to bring as much ammunition as possible to this fight, a fight to help people get healthy, which ultimately benefits all of society.”

Almost like a funnel, EGYM intends to use AI as a collective tool that channels all things fitness or activity-related into a consolidated nature. 

“We’re bringing more ammunition to the conversation so we can hit more targets — and none of these targets are the same,” said Clawson. “We have to look at all the different spaces and places that you exercise. We have to look at all the different activities that you do and why you do them. Then, we have to look at where you are in the cycle, if you’re a beginner, a super athlete, injured or coming back from injury. Whatever it is, all of those play into an AI conversation. That’s the key with AI — to be able to comprehend the vastness of all the things that somebody might be dabbling in, look at it happening in real time and make sense of it all.” 

This article originally appeared in ATN’s Technology & Innovation Outlook 2025 report, which maps the emerging tools driving business impact across the industry, drawing on operator interviews, executive-level insights and new market data. Download the free report.