This year, our 10-class challenge prize is an exclusive water bottle that can’t be purchased and won’t be offered again. If you see someone with it, you know they completed the challenge. That shared experience is something we love to foster.
Barry’s has worked with different brands like Lalo Tequila and celebrities like Dua Lipa. How did those come about?
One of the most exciting parts of interviewing at Barry’s was hearing directly from CEO Joey Gonzalez about the brand’s approach to marketing. He shared that Barry’s is an aspirational brand, and many companies want to align with our momentum. Interestingly, we don’t actively broker most of our partnerships. They come to us organically.
While we’re a fitness company, we don’t operate in a restrictive or extreme wellness space. We’re not about strict diets or saying alcohol is off-limits. That was something I initially wondered about when joining: Would the holiday party at a fitness brand be dry? But that’s not our culture at all. In fact, partnering with an alcohol brand is something we can do in a way that not every fitness brand can.
Celebrity collaborations are another unique aspect of our marketing strategy. We’re proud to say we’ve never paid a celebrity to represent us, post about us, or promote Barry’s—it all happens organically. For example, when I saw Dua Lipa posting about Barry’s three times in January, I assumed it was a paid partnership. It wasn’t—she’s a client who loves the brand. We reached out to her team to support her new single, “Training Season,” by creating a custom shake and themed classes, all without any money exchanged.
This organic approach gives us a huge advantage over the competition. When people see what we’re doing externally, they assume we’re spending a massive budget on advertising. But in reality, we’re spending about one-tenth of what they’d expect. A lot of what we do comes down to strong relationships, and that’s what sets Barry’s apart.
Do you feel the need to lean into one social platform over another amidst the TikTok ban news?
Looking at our demographics, the average client age in 2024 was 31, gradually decreasing from around 34 five years ago. While our audience is getting younger, it’s not primarily in the teen or early 20s demographic.
That said, we have incredibly talented social media marketers who stay on top of the latest trends, and I rely on them to keep me in the loop.
Are there any predictions in the health and wellness space that you think we’ll be seeing more of in 2025?
