Meghan Hayden, Waz Ashayer Look To Redefine Workouts in NYC

The popular trainers have launched ‘Raise x Take Off,’ a series of in-person fitness events across New York City

Meghan Hayden, a former Division 1 soccer player turned fitness coach, has teamed up with trainer Waz Ashayer to bring engaging and inclusive monthly events to the New York City fitness scene.

Hayden and Ashayer collaborated to form ‘Raise x Take Off,’ which was launched in June and has already put together events at Radio City, the Rink at the Rockefeller Center and Hudson Yards.

Ashayer and Hayden’s next events will be Hyrox activations, including a pop-up training event on March 27^th with Hyrox at Energi, an NYC fitness studio. After that, the duo have Hyrox events planned for the Hudson River Pier 76 in April and May. In September, Raise x Take Off will launch an event on the Intrepid. 

Ashayer, who has experience staging experiential fitness activations in places like underground parking garages to helipads through his brand RaiseLDN, says Raise x Take Off is about promoting community and inclusivity in fitness.

“‘It’s about building people’s confidence and empowering participants to incorporate fitness into their life. Movement is essential to health and it’s a lifestyle choice,” Ashayer, a group fitness manager at Equinox and trainer at Fiit, tells Athletech News. “There should be no prerequisite to take part!”

Hayden, a fitness coach with over 100,000 Instagram followers and founder of Take Off With Meg, is armed with numerous fitness certifications, driving value for her clients with a focus on building strength and endurance while also advocating for rehabilitating and healing. 

During the March 27^th event, Ashayer and Hayden will lead a Hyrox workout featuring brand new Centr x Hyrox equipment. Hyrox has taken the fitness world by storm, creating a functional strength and running race described as the “marathon of fitness.” Hyrox events are quickly popping up across the globe, and participants can compete in singles, doubles, or relay teams of four.

Hyrox founder and CEO Christian Toetzke has told ATN the brand plans to lean into collaborations with gyms and fitness studios across the globe to grow awareness. Toetzke sees Hyrox as a safer, more widely engaging fitness competition compared to more advanced events like CrossFit.

Hyrox recently partnered with GiGi’s Playhouse, an international network of Down Syndrome Achievement Centers, as its U.S. Charity Partner.

Those interested in participating in the March 27^th Raise x Take Off event can sign up here.