Since its inception in 2017, Hyrox has grown rapidly in popularity. Now, the travel industry is taking notice.
By 2023, the fitness competition had around 175,000 athletes worldwide. Today, that has more than tripled to 550,000.
Hyrox, which was founded in Hamburg, Germany, is sponsored by local brands at each event, such as insurance company AIA in Singapore. Global sponsors include supplement brand Myprotein and fitness tracker brand Amazfit.
The event bills itself as The World Series of Fitness Racing and at least 100 races across four continents are expected during the ongoing 2025-2026 season, with spots usually selling out within hours.
In Singapore, the next edition of Hyrox will take place at the National Stadium from April 3 to 5, with solo athlete rates starting at $207.76. Spectator tickets cost $24.38 a day.
The race alternates eight 1km runs with eight functional workout challenges, such as a sled push and weighted lunges. It is segregated into two tiers – open and pro – and split by gender. The winner is the athlete who completes all 16 sections in the shortest time.
Partnerships with brands such as sportswear company Puma and energy-drink maker Red Bull have boosted the visibility of the race.
Celebrities, too, have lent star power. These include American actor Patrick Wilson, who has competed in at least three races, and Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, whose fitness brand Centr is an official equipment partner and training app provider of Hyrox.
In 2025, South Korean artiste Minho, from the K-pop boy band Shinee; and fitness star Amotti – who won the second season of Netflix’s reality competition series Physical: 100 and was on the winning South Korean team of spin-off Physical: Asia (2025) – both competed in the AIA Hyrox Singapore challenge on Nov 29 and 30.
Clocking this rapid growth, global hotel brands have tapped the business opportunity. These include US-based hospitality group Hyatt, which announced in October 2025 that it had become Hyrox’s official regional hotel partner across the Asia-Pacific region.
During events in cities such as Auckland, Bangkok and Osaka, participating Hyatt properties offer a Hyrox Stay Experience. The package includes 10 per cent off member rates in selected room categories, as well as discounted food, beverages and spa treatments, free laundry and complimentary amenities – from energy drinks to snacks tailored for race recovery.
The partnership launched at the Hyrox Melbourne race in December 2025, and is available to racers and spectators.
One participating hotel is Grand Hyatt Singapore, which reopened in Orchard Road in 2024 after a two-year refurbishment.
Grand Hyatt Singapore in Orchard Road has a Hyrox training club based on its premises.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Alongside two distinct wings and Michelin-feted chef Sergio Herman’s regional debut, Hyatt’s high-tech wellness hub Damai – with hydrothermal facilities and signature treatments – will introduce what it calls South-east Asia’s first hotel-based Hyrox training club.
The club includes eight workout stations and a 25m-long movement lawn outside the fitness centre, allowing guests to simulate a real race in what hotel manager Timothy Parr calls a Hyrox-accredited training zone.
“Well-being has always been a part of our DNA,” he says. “Bringing Hyrox to Damai felt like a natural extension.”
Mr Parr says bookings span everyone from business travellers following a training regimen to devoted racers planning their trip around Hyrox events.
“What makes our facility special is its integration into a wellness environment, rather than being just a gym. You can combine conditioning sessions with the sauna, steam room, hydro-pool or contrast therapy shower,” he adds.
Such perks might sway a visiting racer’s decision on where to stay.
Ms Ilona-Jade Errington, a Singapore-based marketing professional and part-time racer, says: “While Hyrox facilities wouldn’t be the sole factor in deciding my accommodation choice – iconic run routes are also vital – it definitely influences my decision.”
The 35-year-old Briton was the Hyrox Pro Women’s champion at Singapore’s National Stadium in June 2024 and will be competing in the doubles race at the same venue in April.
“From a wider business perspective, it’s also smart in offering a competitive advantage,” she adds. “More travellers want to maintain their healthy lifestyle on the road.”
The Belfry, a fitness and wellness resort located near Birmingham, Britain, has taken a similar approach. Its 43,000 sq ft exercise complex, called The Club, opened in September 2025 and introduced Hyrox training sessions two months later.
Mr Chris Eigelaar, the resort’s managing director, says: “I think everybody wants to give it a try because there’s such a hype around Hyrox at the moment.
“Birmingham has hosted a Hyrox event for the last five years and tickets routinely sell out in 24 hours. The beauty of it is that participants don’t need any skills or specific strength, so anybody can take part.”
“Female participation in Hyrox has also increased year on year too, and that’s important to us. It ensures everybody can do the classes we offer.”
He adds that the new facility was spurred by an analysis of trends.
“We know wellness in general is a massive trend in hospitality, but you need to stay current. And Hyrox is extremely current,” he says. “Whereas a lot of corporate-focused hotels only have tiny gyms, we have 214ha of space and run up to 20 fitness classes a day.”
Even more capacious is southern Portugal’s 809ha Quinta do Lago, a gated luxury resort in the sun-soaked Algarve region. The estate incorporates lakes, pine forests and beaches, as well as golf courses, high-end accommodation and restaurants.
It also includes The Campus, a multi-sports hub which hosts top-level coaches and runs football academies led by well-known former English Premier League players, such as Ledley King and Rio Ferdinand.
Since January 2025, the facility has been an accredited Hyrox training club.
Mr Graham Morgan, The Campus’ sports, fitness and operations director, says: “We’ve been running classes for over 18 months now.”
The 63-year-old is the current Guinness World Record holder for the highest number of chin-up repetitions – 7,481 – completed in 24 hours.
“We really ramped things up this year because it was such a big growth area. I kept hearing about Hyrox events booking up faster than Bruce Springsteen concerts,” he says.
Having started with two to three weekly classes, The Campus ran as many as 12 a week between June and August 2025. Not every attendee was a committed racer.
“The official accreditation comes with the chance to provide early-bird entry into events, meaning it really benefits our members,” says Mr Morgan.
“But that isn’t the primary motivator for many people – it’s more just to discover what the Hyrox buzz is about. Some guests have even told me the classes were one of their main reasons for deciding to come to Quinta do Lago.”
Participants competing at the Hyrox fitness race at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Bangkok, on March 21, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
Beyond hotels, Hyrox’s influence on tourism is visible in the way many athletes choose their next race based on the city’s wider appeal.
Ms Sophia Parvizi-Wayne, founder and chief executive of a tech company specialising in paediatric mental health, says: “In the past, that’s exactly what I did, as well as considering budget constraints and how much time I could take off work.”
The 29-year-old Briton, who has been racing since 2024, is a London-based pro-level Hyroxer who briefly held the women’s world-record time in 2025.
She says her Hyrox success has led to more pragmatic race choices. Qualification for each season’s World Championships can be secured only through podium finishes in certain “Major” events, which she now prioritises.
“Hyrox offers such a wonderful opportunity to explore somewhere new. My first event was in Gdansk, a port city in Poland – super random, even though I am one-quarter Polish,” she says.
“I went with my parents and we had the best time. When your weekend includes other plans, it also takes away a lot of the pressure of competing – it emotionally decentres the outcome of an imminent race.”
Ms Parvizi-Wayne has also combined Hyrox races with a trip to Vienna with three girlfriends, where she broke the world record, and to Bordeaux with her boyfriend.
She hopes to compete in a Berlin race, held at the old Tempelhof airport in May.
Ms Errington has made Hyrox-anchored trips to nine cities, including Taiwan and Seoul, and says her most memorable one was going to Chicago for the 2025 World Championships.
“I got to river-cruise, run along the beach, go to a musical and spend way too much time in (supermarket chain) Whole Foods. One evening, we all gathered outside to watch fireworks. On another, we cycled along Lake Michigan. Chicago is not a city I’d have prioritised visiting without Hyrox, yet I loved the whole experience,” she says.
She is hooked now. “Taking part in Hyrox overseas is such a fun way to see the world. Just like marathoners, you end up collecting cities – and I want to collect more.”
The writer is a freelance travel journalist based in London.
