How Vasa Fitness Overhauled Its Digital Strategy

Executives from the HVLP gym operator and Coherent Solutions shared their thoughts on what operators should prioritize — and what to avoid — when investing digitally 

Vasa Fitness, the rapidly growing gym chain with over locations, didn’t want to join the crowd of high-value, low-price (HVLP) gyms playing catch-up in the digital fitness game. Over the past few years, the brand completed an entire digital overhaul, deploying new content and features to bolster retention and engagement.

At the ATN Innovation Summit 2026, Vasa chief operating officer Chris Griebe and chief technology officer Ryan Hawk joined Shawn Torkelson and Vadim Bartlov of Coherent Solutions, a software product development and consulting company, to discuss what they aimed for and what they executed during their digital transformation. The group also touched on what its collaboration with Coherent Solutions says about where the sector is headed. 

Speed, Connection & Community

Griebe and Hawk began the conversation by explaining the importance of streamlined, omnichannel digital experiences that connect and speed-up user journeys. Vasa’s efforts to deliver that amid its digital overhaul included the addition of AI-powered solutions to accelerate sales and empower growth, as well as a user-friendly app. 

Hawk argued AI, apps and digital offerings in general are becoming standard expectations for all fitness consumers. They’re also impactful retention boosters. 

“Our members aren’t getting less tech-savvy, and neither are their expectations,” Hawk said. “So, we want to create frictionless experiences, but we also want to create stickiness with our digital platforms. We want members to feel like when they leave the gym, they’ve got our app in their pocket so they can follow their friends and sign up for classes with them.” 

Community and how tech supports it remained a theme throughout the conversation. Griebe and Hawk cited data explaining that gyms and studios with group fitness offerings experience the highest levels of retention. They also referenced figures from McKinsey and Les Mills, which claimed that “meeting people” is a top reason as to why Gen-Zers and Millennials go to workout. 

Additional App Commentary

As Hawk and Griebe continued to focus on Vasa’s app, they later highlighted its role in helping their brand appeal to younger gym goers. Features that allow members to manage their accounts, adjust memberships and book classes directly from their devices create a sense of autonomy, which can drive deeper engagement and long-term loyalty.

“One thing a Gen-Zer doesn’t want to do is call somebody,” Hawk said. “They’d rather self-serve, so that’s definitely something we have to ensure we enable.” 

When asked about Vasa’s approach to expanding the app, Griebe emphasized the importance of maintaining an open API above all else. Doing so allows new technologies to integrate without disrupting the member experience. Griebe also expressed caution against leaning too far into tech development when there are other specialists out there for gyms to leverage.  

“We’re never going to be a Whoop,” he said. “We’re never going to be Apple Watch… There are billion-dollar companies that do this better than anyone else, so we’re not going to fight that battle with our members who are on some other system that we may not have. We just want to be able to pull that in, to give our members the total picture of wellness and health.”

A True Partnership

To complete a digital overhaul, Hawk also explained the necessity of “disciplined prioritization,” where each team is open, honest and trusts everyone in their respective roles to push projects forward. 

“Ryan’s team is very engaged, articulating what’s important and what the business values,” Bartlov said. “Our team would be very transparent and push back when needed to. That’s what true partnership is about. People are very honest, very transparent and that way, we can deliver the best value.”

“The different pods meet at least three times a week in the morning, and some teams meet every morning,” Hawk added. “They collaborate, discuss, get a break and go. Asynchronous communications are also always there.”

Doubling Down on Digital

Hawk and Griebe closed the conversation by reinforcing the importance of maintaining a digital-first mindset and continually evaluating opportunities to better support members through technology.

“We’ve got to improve on the agility and our ability to engage with our ever-changing generational market,” Griebe said. “We have to understand that individual customer and what they expect from the digital, club and operational experience. That has to be nailed and refined constantly in an ever-changing world of technology.”

“We’ll always have a connection to our primary thing, the physical world, lifting weights, getting on a machine or going to class,” Hawk added. “But I think moving forward, we can no longer accept being low-tech. There has to be a slice of our DNA now that is a technology slice.”