Move Over Mirror and Peloton: Meet Obé – Forbes

The world of fitness is rapidly evolving, and a new crop of digitally-based fitness experiences are gaining traction. Enter Obé, which streams over 100 live fitness classes every week, and has a library of over 2,500 workouts on demand for $27 per month. Obé connects to users through their proprietary website and mobile app, and all classes are taught by some of the most popular boutique fitness instructors in New York City, many who have become fitness entrepreneurs themselves. The company was founded by two former talent management executives Ashley Mills and Mark Mullett who worked at top agencies including WMA/WME and CAA.

“Our goal from the start was to bring the excitement and levity of a great 80’s workout, as well as the sense of community fostered in brick and mortar settings, and pair that with incredible talent and class types to create result driven wellness solutions perfect for almost anyone,” Mark Mullett said.

“Over the past decade, we have both been very involved in the boutique fitness industry in New York City and Los Angeles, with a voracious appetite to try new classes and experience the latest and greatest in all things wellness,” Ashley Mills said. “We noticed two trends which were occurring simultaneously, the first being technology was rapidly changing the media landscape—we were consuming more content than ever before, just from different places than linear television, and the second being that the boutique fitness industry was taking off like never before. We saw a massive opportunity to disrupt the at-home fitness category with a new philosophy, centering around the concept of ‘Entertrainment’ with an impenetrable focus on community.”

Obé films and produces all their own original content in a minimalist, pastel-colored studio in Brooklyn. In addition to classes, they also feature talks with wellness experts, and are doing everything to create a strong community with their users with an active social media community.

“While workouts made us feel healthy and strong, the communities at the studios that we frequented were what made the experience special,” Mullett said. “We were interested in exploring the social aspect of fitness, and making it available to everyone, everywhere. We saw an opportunity to create the world’s largest boutique fitness studio, powered by technology, best in class trainers, social connection, and pure joy—a virtual studio where people from all over the world could meet, take class together, and form long lasting bonds.”

  “We also wanted to take a fresh approach to programming,” Mills said. “We valued the ever-changing routines, themed classes, and theatrical experience that we could only find in physical studios. With our backgrounds in the entertainment industry—working with talent and developing unique programming—we knew that we would be able to build a streaming exercise platform that felt as good, if not better, than the in-studio experience. No commute, no waitlists, no pricey classes or hardware.”

To fund their launch, the duo raised capital from a group of angel investors who shared their long-term vision.

 We knew that, in order to be the best, we had to invest in amazing technology, as well as a studio with full, agile production capabilities,” Mills said. “We wanted to deliver the best experience to our members from day one, and so we surrounded ourselves with investors who understood Obé’s larger, worldwide vision and the long term value we wanted to provide for anyone who came to sweat it out with us.”

 The duo shared that since they launched last year, they have grown over 144%, with the top 20% of Obé members taking class every day. They shared their average member takes class 3-4 times every week, and the key differentiator with Obé is that they keep the content coming.

“As business owners and wellness enthusiasts, since day one, we said it’s not okay to give people anything less than fresh, new classes every day,” Mullett said. “If you’re in the content business, whether it’s news, entertainment, lifestyle or otherwise, you have to give people something new every day, or you’re not doing your job.”

Mullett and Mills hope to continue to grow Obé to reach as many people, families, companies, as possible.

“If there’s a screen, we want Obé to be on it,” Mills said.