Interview conducted July 2026.
Everyone in the fitness industry has an opinion on what’s trending. Fewer people are in a position to say where the money is going.
Shaun Krenz is one of them. As co-founder of AusFitness Expo and AusFitness Industry, he spends most of the year building relationships with the suppliers, brands and operators who fill the floor at Australia’s largest fitness trade events. That gives him a rare, live read on where real investment is landing, as distinct from what’s simply getting attention online.
“We engage with over 4,500 brands per year to put these events together,” Krenz says. That’s across all three AusFitness events combined, AusFitness Expo Melbourne, AusFitness Expo Sydney and AusFitness Industry Sydney, which together funnel down to around 420 exhibitors. The Sydney trade show alone hosts more than 100 of those exhibitors. Getting there, he says, takes most of the year. “We spend 80 percent of the year trying to scale those exhibitor numbers so that we can put forward a good show.”
That scale is what makes his read on the industry worth listening to. We asked him to set the trend talk aside and tell us where suppliers and franchise groups are placing their bets right now, and what’s quietly losing steam.
Strength equipment is where Australian fitness suppliers are investing
Ask most people what’s hot in Australian fitness and Pilates or recovery are usually the first answers. According to Krenz, the category attracting the most serious, sustained supplier investment is a less glamorous one: strength.
“Strength’s kind of really thriving again, and that’ll be reflected on the AusFitness Industry floor,” he says. Its appeal to suppliers comes down to durability rather than novelty. “Strength training’s kind of moved away from bodybuilding. It’s now connecting to longevity and healthy ageing and women’s health, and performance for the general population.” Because it isn’t tied to a passing trend cycle, he says suppliers are backing it harder than cardio. “It’s never going to go anywhere. It’s always going to be the number one thing that is good for you.”
That investment is showing up on gym floors too, with operators giving strength training more physical space as member demand grows alongside it.
Pilates demand remains strong but studios need differentiation
Pilates remains an area of supplier and studio investment, not just a trend piece topic. Krenz says reformer suppliers will have a strong presence at AusFitness Industry this year, and studio uptake continues to grow, though he flags the format is starting to look the same everywhere. “It’s all very much kind of carbon copy at the moment,” he says. “We’ll see how that plays out” as operators look for ways to differentiate their offering rather than simply add more of the same.
Alongside Pilates, Krenz points to wellness and recovery becoming a genuine part of how fitness businesses operate, rather than a premium add-on. “I do think that wellness and recovery is moving into kind of like the core business model, rather than being created as a premium extra.”
Hyrox and event-led training are driving fitness industry growth
Beyond strength and Pilates, Krenz names Hyrox and run clubs as the category he sees quietly building real commercial weight behind the online noise. “Hyrox is a juggernaut right now,” he says, along with the broader shift toward competitive, event-led fitness formats.
Hyrox is a supporting partner at this year’s AusFitness Industry, delivering content on how clubs can commercially integrate hybrid fitness and event-led training into their facilities. Krenz says the appeal for operators goes beyond a single format. “Those formats create training communities as well, which is a winning model right now, turning exercise into participation.”
Why longevity is overhyped in the Australian fitness industry
If there’s a category getting more attention online than actual local investment, Krenz points to longevity. Australia, he says, tends to run a couple of years behind trends already established in the US and Europe, something he sees firsthand at international expos like FIBO and HFA before those trends arrive here.
The bigger issue isn’t interest, it’s cost. “The problem with the longevity stuff at the moment is it needs to be accessible, and it’s just probably not right now for the reality of what a gym owner operator in Australia is,” he says, pointing to hyperbaric chambers and float tanks as examples. “You’re really talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment. I just don’t know how that plays out in actuality in Australia.”
Gym industry consolidation continues as independents hold ground
Krenz’s view from the supplier side also extends to who’s buying who. Roll-ups and acquisitions have been part of the Australian fitness landscape for some time, and he says that trend isn’t slowing. “Viva Leisure is still very active in that space, they advertise that they’re looking to acquire gyms,” he says, pointing also to Revo Fitness’s acquisition of Crunch in Australia this year as continued evidence of larger groups expanding.
“The market here in Australia for 15 years now has seen a level of consolidation,” he says, and expects the squeeze on independents to continue as the bigger chains get bigger.
That said, independents remain a meaningful part of the picture. AusFitness Industry’s own data set includes 1,400 independently owned fitness facilities, a group Krenz is quick to point out matters to the business. “They’re very important to us, we really value their attendance.”
How independent gym owners can compete with fitness chains
For independent gym and studio owners wondering how to respond to a market that’s consolidating around them, Krenz’s advice is to resist the urge to compete on the chains’ terms.
“They shouldn’t try to beat the chains by becoming a smaller version of them,” he says. “Their advantage is speed and personality.” The mistake he sees operators make most often is trying to appeal to everyone. “The stronger independents are building around a distinct identity, whether it’s strength, performance, women’s health, et cetera. They can create a more personal member experience and build genuine community around the owner, the coaches and the culture.”
Why AusFitness Industry is worth attending for gym owners
Krenz frames AusFitness Industry as a direct answer to the questions he thinks every operator should be asking. “Any gym owner operator should be asking what could improve member retention, what could create a new revenue stream, how can I run a better operation,” he says. The event’s education program, built over the past 12 months, is designed to give operators exactly that, alongside free access to the supplier floor. “You get access to over 100 suppliers with products specific to gyms, all for free. Literally all you’ve got to do is register.”
For an industry where the loudest categories online aren’t always where the money is landing, that kind of side-by-side comparison, in Krenz’s view, is where the value lies.
AusFitness Industry Trade Show & Summit runs Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026 at ICC Sydney, alongside the consumer-facing AusFitness Expo. Trade passes are free with registration before 10 September. Full details at ausfitnessexpo.com.au/industry.
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