Viral Tampa Workout Friday Stairs Expands to New Cities Across US

Let’s take the stairs, national edition: the workout that fills 250 spots in minutes is bringing its DJ and coach-led workout to four new cities

Tampa’s hardest-to-land, no-cost ticket is going on the road.

Friday Stairs, the free, coach-led stair workout that fills its 250 weekly spots in Florida within minutes, announced it will launch in Miami Beach, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Nashville, with Austin and Boston to follow.

The rollout starts Oct. 30 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Atlanta follows Nov. 13 at Historic Fourth Ward Park, then the Culver Steps in Culver City on Dec. 11. Nashville will climb at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park on a date still to be announced, while sites in Austin and Boston are being finalized.

When co-founder Lev Ekster spoke about the group workout last month, Atlanta was already set as the next stop, with a second major city to be named. 

The Tampa numbers help explain the urgency. According to Friday Stairs, the weekly waitlist now sits near 400, up from just over 300 in September. Its newsletter, The Monday Drop, which doubles as the sign-up gate, has more than 4,000 subscribers, and Friday Stairs says it pulls more than 3 million organic social views a month. 

The young startup describes its core crowd as young professionals, about 70% women and roughly 60% between 25 and 34, all eager to have a third space. 

“People aren’t just coming for a workout. They’re coming for each other,” co-founder Jovany Ruiz said.

Friday Stairs is expanding as the endurance events and running boom accelerates both fitness and the businesses around it, though its founders draw a firm line between themselves and a run club. 

In an interview with Athletech News, Ekster said the difference is structure: a coach-led workout in a defined space where no one is “off on their own.” There are also modifications available and it’s common to see participants in their 60s at Friday Stairs events.

Regardless, the hunger for anything challenging and communal shows no sign of slowing. Strava’s 2025 data showed Gen Z race participation climbing at every distance, up 28% in the 5K and 39% in the 10K, with run clubs fueling much of the growth. Friday Stairs’ crowd skews toward what the startup describes as hybrid athletes, the same strength-and-cardio mix that has made Hyrox a phenomenon, and Ekster floated ticketed Hyrox-style competitions, possibly dubbed “Friday Games,” as a future revenue stream. 

And the money follows the crowds. New York Road Runners says the 2024 New York City Marathon generated $700 million in spending across the city, and Mastercard Economic Institute data shows restaurants and bars along the route saw a 22% race-day lift in 2025.

Each new city will require its own volunteer coaches, and Friday Stairs is recruiting trainers and community leaders in all four launch markets. It’s also courting brands for category-exclusive partnerships across multiple cities.

“Tampa proved the model,” Ekster said. “Now we’re taking it to the cities where people are asking for it.”