Sweat Equity, Jason Kelly
Sweat Equity, Jason Kelly
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Sweat Equity
Inside the New Economy of Mind and Body

Author: Jason Kelly

Narrator: Eric Martin

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 09/26/2023


Synopsis

Sweat Equity goes inside the multi-billion-dollar trend toward endurance sports and fitness to discover who's driving it, who's paying for it, and who's profiting. Bloomberg's Jason Kelly profiles the participants, entrepreneurs, and investors at the center of this movement, exploring this phenomenon in which a surge of people—led by the most affluent—are becoming increasingly obsessed with looking and feeling better. Through in-depth looks inside companies and events from New York Road Runners to Tough Mudder and Ironman, Kelly profiles the companies and people aiming to meet the demands of these consumers, and the traits and strategies that made them so successful.

In a modern world filled with anxiety, pressure, and competition, people are spending more time and money than ever before to soothe their minds and tone their bodies, sometimes pushing themselves to the most extreme limits. Even as obesity rates hit an all-time high, the most financially successful among us are collectively spending billions each year on apparel, gear, and entry fees. Sweat Equity charts the rise of the movement, through the eyes of competitors and the companies that serve them. Through conversations with businesspeople, many driven by their own fitness obsessions, and first-hand accounts of the sports themselves, Kelly delves into how the movement is taking shape.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kumar on February 21, 2017

Comprehensive review of the modern fitness industry and its recent explosive growth fueled by private equity investments. Fantastic example of identification and capitalization of a mega trend towards mind and body fitness among millennials by the private equity industry. The author was effective in......more

Goodreads review by Jackie on January 15, 2022

Maybe it's unfair of me to judge this book in 2022, six years after it was published. Even back then it probably would have been on the boring side to read through. I was hoping for more analysis of the wider implications, what it means that money is getting into all of these fitness trends and how......more

Goodreads review by Steph on June 03, 2019

I work in private equity and am massively intrigued by the business of fitness, making the focus of this book highly pertinent to my interests. Given that, I really wanted to like this book. It is a truly exhaustive catalogue of the business of wellness with some interesting anecdotes and characteri......more

Goodreads review by Liz on August 21, 2016

This read like a very long Bloomberg article, which I don't think makes for a good book experience. Also seemed structured to deliver a series of "Huh, that's interesting" moments rather than a cohesive picture of the inertia or implications around health and fitness in the economy.......more

Goodreads review by Dan on October 14, 2017

I was excited to pick up this book given the relevancy of the subject matter and the recent changes in the industry. However I'm sorry to say I found it a rather tiresome read. Kelly rambles around different areas by way of profiles of key individuals. Unfortunately the loose thematic division betwe......more