The multi-year agreement integrates the global fitness race into Virgin Active’s national club network, with all 128 clubs becoming official Hyrox-affiliated training clubs.

Growing fitness and wellness industry

South Africa has emerged as one of Hyrox’s fastest-growing markets. Since the first local event in September 2024, participation and spectator numbers have more than doubled, with events expanding from one-day formats to two-day weekends. The next development will see South Africa host its first-ever three-day Hyrox event in April.

“Hyrox aligns with how we think about exercise and training today,” says Dean Kowarski, group chief executive officer of Virgin Active.

“Members set a goal, become part of a community, train with intent, participate in an event, recover properly, and then repeat that cycle. It’s not only for elites – it offers multiple categories and attracts athletes from across the spectrum. Training for the event aligns with what we offer in our clubs. This makes it easy for our clubs and personal trainers to build Hyrox-focused programmes. Hyrox is a social goal event, not just a once-off race, and Virgin Active is uniquely positioned to support every stage of that journey, at scale.”

“We are excited to welcome Virgin Active to the Hyrox South Africa family,” says Mlondi Mashinini, managing director of Hyrox South Africa.

“Hyrox has grown globally because of a strong, committed community that loves to train and compete together. Virgin Active shares that DNA. As our official training and exercise partner, they’ll help more people train better, race stronger, and feel connected to the sport as it continues to grow across South Africa.”

Aligned with the Hyrox journey

This journey will be supported through Virgin Active’s existing and evolving club environments, including structured strength and conditioning programming aligned to Hyrox movement standards, access to functional training spaces and equipment, and recovery-focused facilities such as stretching zones, mobility work and recovery-led programming.

Coaching education will be rolled out nationally to ensure safe progression and consistent standards across clubs.

Virgin Active Club members will benefit from exclusive access and advantages at the event, including Hyrox-aligned training pathways, Hyrox-accredited coaches, priority access to race entries, and express lanes, simulation events, physical fitness testing, and dedicated community support at race venues.

Training environments and programmes inspired by Hyrox will be progressively introduced across Virgin Active clubs.

Virgin Active-Hyrox integrated programme

For Virgin Active, the collaboration also represents a strategic growth lever. The South African business is part of a global network of more than 230 Virgin Active clubs across nine countries and four continents. The partnership gives Hyrox access to one of South Africa’s largest fitness communities, while Virgin Active gains a powerful performance-led platform to drive engagement, retention and personal training demand.

“We want to meet members where they are and give them something meaningful to train towards,” adds Kowarski. “Whether someone is new to structured training or returning for their fifth race, the objective comes down to consistency, progression, enjoyment and proper recovery.”

Over the next two years, Virgin Active and Hyrox will roll out an integrated programme, training experiences and content, with the goal of affiliating Virgin Active clubs across the globe and establishing a scalable blueprint for future performance-led partnerships.

With the partnership announcement comes the countdown to the country’s first three-day race in Cape Town in April. Virgin Active will play an integrated role across at the event, supporting athlete preparation, on-site and in-club recovery, and community engagement.

Find out more.