Les Mills Expands Reach With Gympass And Metaverse Deals

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Global group fitness giant Les Mills has joined forces with corporate wellbeing platform Gympass and VR specialists Odders Labs in two separate deals to broaden its workplace wellness and virtual offerings.

The deal with New York headquartered Gympass will provide over 4,000 global companies and their employees with access to over 1,500 live and on-demand workouts via its online platform Les Mills+.

The partnership will bring the in-person Les Mills club experience into the homes and workplaces of thousands of Gympass members, including employees of McDonalds, Red Bull, Rolls Royce and Citizens Bank.

Commenting on the deal, Clive Ormerod, CEO at Les Mills, suggested the timing was now perfect, with organisations and their workforces having learned to embrace flexible working initiatives instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new hybrid workforce requires a new, dynamic fitness offering,” he said. “The Les Mills digital offering is perfectly equipped to deal with this demand by allowing the workforce to access a plethora of on-demand, digital workouts, enabling employees to create a fitness regime that suits them.”

Massi Sardi, VP of Partnerships at Gympass, added: “Gympass and Les Mills have a shared desire to create a fitter workforce, and Les Mills’ dynamic offering of over 1,500 digital workouts, from high intensity interval training to meditative yoga, ensures that everyone will be able to find a form of fitness to fall in love with.”

Les Mills Enters The Metaverse
Last month, the group fitness specialists also announced its debut in the Metaverse with the launch of the BODYCOMBAT VR app, “fusing globally-renowned trainers with virtual reality (VR) for an out-of-this-world fitness gaming experience”.

The metaverse is the name given to games and experiences accessed by people wearing VR headsets. The technology, previously confined to gaming, has been touted as the future of the internet by some, with the Global Wellness Summit recently predicting it would give rise to a “wellness metaverse” that would create vast opportunities for every sector of the global wellness economy.

Following the lead of Adidas, Team GB and boutique fitness chain Trib3, Les Mills has entered the Metaverse by teaming up with VR specialists Odders Labs to transform its much-loved martial arts workout, BODYCOMBAT, into a high-octane VR gaming app on the Quest Platform.

Led by BODYCOMBAT’s program directors, Rachael Newsham and Dan Cohen, the game pits players against martial arts challenges across a variety of levels, spanning intergalactic deserts and neo-city skylines. Players earn points for their effort and technique, with the duo providing coaching cues and motivation throughout the workouts.

“Our mission is to create a fitter planet and we hope the launch of the BODYCOMBAT VR app enables us to reach new audiences and break down barriers to exercise, helping more people to start their fitness journey and reap the rewards of an active lifestyle,” said Newsham.

“This is a new step towards the future of fitness, and a revolution for VR workouts by bringing one of the biggest IPs in the fitness world with the same focus as Odders: innovation as the key differentiation of our products,” added Jaime Pichardo Garcia, Odders Labs Business Director.

The BODYCOMBAT VR app is available to purchase on the Quest Store for $29.99 [£22.99].