Logan — iFIT, a global leader in connected fitness software, content, and equipment, today announced that it has acquired 29029, the company that created the category of endurance hiking events. 29029 delivers the experience of climbing Mount Everest to its members and provides an ultra-endurance experience to athletes at all levels.
Founded in 2017, 29029 delivers a unique outdoor experience in the rapidly expanding wellness tourism business. The company produces events that challenge participants to hike uphill on ski mountains, returning to the base by gondola after each ascent, until they have reached a cumulative elevation gain of 29,029 feet—the equivalent of Mt. Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, in 36 hours.
The acquisition delivers a new dedicated endurance athlete segment to iFIT’s growing community of over 6 million members and marks the company’s entrance into the fast-growing experiential events and well tourism business.
Founding partners Marc Hodulich, Jesse Itzler, and Colin O’Brady will remain actively engaged in the business with plans to leverage their strategic operating capabilities, successful entrepreneurial experiences and distinctive position in the ultra-endurance and ultra-endurance communities to fully leverage iFIT’s best in class equipment and content platform to personalize and enhance every live event offering.
“29029 is more than an event in the same way that iFIT is more than a workout,” says Scott Watterson, founder and CEO of iFIT. “From the day you sign up for 29029, you become part of a community committed to helping you realize your best self, a philosophy completely in line with the experiences and community we have created within iFIT.”
“We are thrilled to welcome the 29029 team to the iFIT family,” Watterson says. “The acquisition of 29029 will give us the opportunity to quickly scale outdoor fitness adventures to our iFIT community, and extend the iFIT brand into a new category. For the 29029 participants, iFIT will provide a specialized training experience with our interactive fitness equipment and elite trainers in preparation for the challenge.”
Since its debut, 29029 has sold out all of its signature events, which are held in Vermont, Utah, and Idaho. In 2022, the 29029 events will return to all three states and expand to Colorado, British Columbia, and other international destinations.
“This is a breakthrough acquisition in the fitness space. It opens the door for millions of fitness enthusiasts to take their daily exercise routine and marry it with ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences,” says co-founder Jesse Itzler.
Hodulich will continue to operate as CEO of 29029 while exploring new ways to engage iFIT members within the wellness tourism business.
“Much like iFIT’s interactive connected fitness workouts and the community that rallies around them, 29029 gives people the opportunity to meet and exceed their physical, mental, and spiritual boundaries, while joining a community of like-minded individuals,” says Marc Hodulich, 29029 CEO and co-founder. “I am incredibly inspired to continue building the 29029 brand while curating new experiences for the iFIT community.”
iFIT is a global health and fitness technology company that provides unmatched fitness experiences and solutions to its growing community of millions of engaged members across 120 countries. iFIT’s industry-leading brands – NordicTrack®, ProForm®, and Freemotion® – are powered by the iFIT integrated health and fitness platform, which seamlessly connects the company’s proprietary software, experiential content, and interactive hardware. Based in Logan, Utah, with offices in Paris, Shanghai, Sydney, and Manchester, the company offers immersive, adaptive, personalized subscription workout experiences for every fitness level and interest. iFIT delivers these patented interactive experiences through an extensive offering of live and on-demand content across a full range of fitness modalities.
Founded in 2017, 29029 was created with the goal of putting the ultra-endurance finish line in reach of the non-endurance athlete. Founders Marc Hodulich, Jesse Itzler, and Colin O’Brady created the category of endurance hiking by asking the question “Do you have what it takes to Everest?”. Event participants have 36 hours to hike up a private ski resort, take the gondola down, and repeat until they hike the vertical gain of Mt. Everest’s 29029 feet. The all-inclusive experience includes training programs, world-class coaching, luxury glamping accommodations, all food and beverage along with limited-edition swag. Entry into the 29029 community is highly coveted as each event has fully sold out since inception.