Sweat Equity: Inside the New Economy of Mind and Body

Praise for Sweat Equity

"Sweat Equity is a masterful blend of cold hard facts and warm engaging stories. It′s about the difference between a passing fad and an enduring legacy. It′s about how a few passionate, quirky entrepreneurs can create an industry and, in the process, change the world."
Ashley Merryman, co–author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing

"In Sweat Equity, Jason Kelly traces a profound and ongoing social revolution that began quaintly, it now seems with aerobics and triathlons and now includes yoga pants, wearable fitness technology, and boutique spin sessions that verge on therapeutic performance art, all of it documented in explicit, meticulous detail through the ultimate medium of human transformation, money."
Mark Schatzker, author of Steak and The Dorito Effect

"Sweat Equity is a most relevant and succinct account of the social and financial integration of our health and fitness lifestyles. It is almost a sociological account of what was always the accepted playground of physical passion challenge and activity and their evolution into the business of life and all that comes with that. In a way, Sweat Equity signals the extinction of the good old cotton t–shirt and solitary jog around the neighborhood, a notion tinged, perhaps, with sadness for some, but a sign of exciting things to come, as the worlds of fitness and finance are increasingly merged."
Paula Newby–Fraser, Eight–time Ironman World Champion

"Sports and fitness have for a long time united the passions of fans as well as professional and recreational athletes, and these passions have developed into a booming industry. Jason Kelly has pulled together the stories of some of the most astute entrepreneurs and investors of how they have developed their sports technology products and brands. The Hawks and our sponsors are constantly tapping this convergence of sports and personal fitness as we connect with our fans and customers."
Steve Koonin, CEO, Atlanta Hawks

"I′ve seen first–hand the communities created by runners, cyclists, and fitness enthusiasts. As the proud home of one of the world′s biggest and fastest marathons, Chicago is a hub of the new fitness economy that Jason Kelly describes so well."
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor, City of Chicago

"Jason Kelly pulls back the curtain on the new economy of the self. Through compelling storytelling and thorough research, he shows readers for the first time the inner workings of a multibillion dollar industry that is all around us and growing rapidly. If you are a participant or an investor in any aspect of ′mind and body′ fitness, Sweat Equity is a must–read."
Loren Steffy, business columnist and author of Drowning in Oil: BP and the Reckless Pursuit of Profit and The Man Who Thought Like a Ship

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: Take Your Gym to Work xiii

Chapter 1 Money Moves 1

Chapter 2 On Location 13

Chapter 3 Barry and the Art of Boutique Fitness 29

Chapter 4 Mob Rules 43

Chapter 5 Dress the Part 61

Chapter 6 Looking for Meaning 77

Chapter 7 Charity Case 93

Chapter 8 Work and Working Out 109

Chapter 9 Mary s Merry Marathons 127

Chapter 10 Money on the Run 143

Chapter 11 The Man Makes the Shoe 157

Chapter 12 The Money in Color 169

Chapter 13 The Guts 183

Conclusion 197

About the Author 201

Index 203

Jason Kelly is the New York Bureau Chief for Bloomberg and the author of The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything, the product of five years leading Bloomberg′s global private equity coverage. During a tenure at Bloomberg spanning more than a dozen years, he′s written about everything from the global semiconductor industry to economic development during the war in Afghanistan, as well as managed the company′s global conference business. He′s a contributor to Bloomberg TV and Markets magazine, as well as a frequent speaker and host of conferences around the world. An accomplished distance runner, Jason has completed more than a dozen marathons, including races in New York, Boston, and Chicago. A graduate of Georgetown University, he lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, with his wife Jennifer and sons.