24 Hour Fitness and Headspace Health have partnered to offer complimentary Headspace subscriptions to new and existing 24 Hour members.
24 Hour Fitness, a national gym chain with approximately 300 locations across the U.S., and Headspace Health, a digital mental health platform that offers more than 1,000 hours of premium mindfulness content, have formed a partnership.
New and existing 24 Hour Fitness club members can gain complimentary three-month Headspace subscriptions, while supplies last. The promotion begins today on World Mental Health Day, October 10, 2022.
According to Katie DiPerna, the senior vice president of partnerships at Headspace Health, the partnership speaks to the close relationship between physical and mental health.
“We have the same mission to improve the health and happiness of the world, and we’re really natural extensions of each other in that there’s so much importance on mental health and physical health,” said DiPerna. “Both organizations recognized we had a real opportunity by coming together to create that connective tissue for more and more people, and to really provide an exciting benefit for 24 Hour Fitness members. But also, to use our collective brands to talk about the importance and the intersection of mental health and physical health.”
According to Karl Sanft, the president and CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, the brand’s members have indicated a desire for more resources that speak to the close connection between mental and physical health. In a survey, 64% of the 24 Hour Fitness audience rate emotional well-being as more important now, compared to 51% pre-pandemic.
“The trends are clear,” said Sanft. “The world had a seismic shift with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we all spent a lot of time rightfully focused on our health and to find ways to stay both physically and mentally fit. Consumers are indicating, ‘I’m feeling anxiety,’ and then asking, ‘How do I actually go about learning ways to better handle that anxiety and live a more fulfilled life?’ I think everybody can take advantage of the Headspace app.”
According to Patricia Taylor, the director of therapy services at Headspace Health, consumers across the board are more in-tune to the connection between mental and physical wellness post-pandemic.
“During COVID-19, we saw first handedly how a crisis can disrupt the healthy routines and social connections that billions of people have used to protect their mental health,” said Taylor. “This became a significant risk factor for mental health problems worldwide. Research from the World Health Organization found that in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%. The impact created a dialogue and focus on mental health and we’re seeing an increase in consumers’ willingness to adopt and use mindfulness resources like Headspace, not only as a reactionary tool but as a preventative tool — so when things get difficult in the future, they have the skills they need.”
Beyond guided meditations, the Headspace app boasts a wide breadth of content including mindful walks and runs, breathing and wind-down exercises, focus music, sleep meditations and more.
“It’s nice that you can kind of crawl, walk, then run with Headspace as well,” added Sanft. “It’s not like you have to all of a sudden start carving out an hour of your day to meditate. You can really wade your way into it and find what interests you. It’s diverse enough that there’s something within there that’s going to catch your attention and resonate. And then much like the degrees of intentionality you have with a physical workout — whether you’re counting calories, or you’re counting minutes or you’re counting reps — this is counting breaths and being equally as intentional about your mental health as you are your physical health.”
In addition to the promotion for members, 24 Hour Fitness is also providing access to the Headspace app to employees, addressing a need for workers to have access to mindfulness content as well.
“We did a study last fall called our Workplace Attitudes Towards Mental Health, and we found 83% of CEOs and 73% of employees reported missing at least one day of work due to burnout and stress and mental health challenges,” said DiPerna. “It’s an incredible economic challenge that we’re facing. I think it’s super cool that 24 Hour Fitness is not just providing this benefit to their members, but also to their employees.”
According to Sanft, this is just the start of the partnership between 24 Hour Fitness and Headspace Health.
“We’re kicking off on World Mental Health Day, but this is not a one and done partnership,” said Sanft. “I think we have a lot to learn about what both brands can actually do together — ways that we can make it frictionless for both cohorts of memberships to actually engage with one another. There’s a lot for us to be humble about and to learn about and to be curious about as we move forward.”
