HYROX Co-Founders Christian Toetzke and Moritz Fürste Take Back Majority Stake in Recent Sale
On Tuesday, HYROX co-founders Christian Toetzke and Moritz Fürste announced that they had regained ownership of the brand.
- Founded in 2017 by the pair, the fitness event has boomed in recent years, expanding into new countries and hosting 1.3 million participants across 140 events in the past 12 months alone.
Since its inception, HYROX has built a competitive community around training and HYROX-specific equipment, apparel, and footwear. Today, the brand has 13,000 affiliated HYROX gyms worldwide and partnerships with PUMA, Centr, and Red Bull.
Infront Sports and Media invested in the brand in 2017 and has held a majority stake since 2022, helping the sport expand. But over the past few months, rumors have been swirling about the brand’s sale, valuation, and future.
Over the summer, private equity firm L. Catterton (whose portfolio includes EGYM, Solidcore, Peloton, Tonal, and Equinox) said it was seeking to acquire Infront’s stake and invest.
Known as “the largest global consumer-focused investment firm,” L. Catterton, along with WndrCo, Toetske, and Fürste, has bought back the majority stake as of Tuesday.
- “Over the past seven years, HYROX developed into a highly successful and fast-growing global business, delivering strong returns for Infront. Following a thorough strategic review, we have decided to divest our stake, as we believe this transaction represents the right next step as HYROX enters its next phase of development,” said Philippe Blatter, Infront President & CEO.
Miray Topay, a partner at L. Catterton, weighed in: “HYROX has done something rare in sport: built a genuine global community around a brand-new format. Christian and Moritz haven’t just created a race; they’ve created a category. We’re proud to back them as they take Hybrid Racing to a worldwide audience.”
Christian Toetske shared his and Fürste’s vision for the future, with L. Catterton and WndrCo now alongside them.
- “HYROX has built the largest mass participation fitness event series globally. In the years ahead,” he continued, “our priorities will focus on our Olympic aspirations, continuing to welcome millions of people to the HYROX starting line, and the opportunities we see to build and invest in new products that enhance the HYROX offering.”
Bloomberg has reported that this new deal values HYROX at nearly $700 million.
