From powering Barry’s to sculpting Arnold’s The Pump, STRV is shaping the future of fitness
As digital architects, STRV is behind much of what you see today. By building artistic and functional digital spaces, consolidating data and implementing forward-facing technologies, the brand is a leading force across our ever-expanding virtual frontier.
Naturally, it has played a role in the health and wellness industry’s digital evolution over the past decade. As more fitness brands focus on hybrid offerings and personalized features, STRV has helped guide their efforts. The company is the main tech provider for Barry’s and has supported others in the space, including Major League Soccer and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Pump.
In this process, Lubo Smid, CEO of STRV, has positioned himself at a key point between the fitness and tech spaces. Along with other factors such as communication and proper tech application, the Forbes 30 under 30 honoree understands merging critical information streams is vital to success for gyms and studios of the future.
Data is King
STRV hails data as the foundational element required to build an engaging and personalized product. Acquiring and consolidating it are equally important in this regard, Smid argues.
“Too often, we see missing connections that prevent data from flowing properly,” said Smid. “As a result, there’s a lack of deep personalization and timely communication that reaches users with the right message, at the right time and place.”
STRV provides a helping hand here by setting up data strategy and pipelines for brands in tune with their preexisting operations. This ensures all systems and insights are properly connected, laying the groundwork for modern technology to deliver an added boost.
“Once the data is properly structured with a modern tech stack, there is a huge opportunity with all the AI tools available today,” said Smid. “It opens up a whole new world of how fitness brands can communicate with their customers.”
STRV helps brands choose the right AI technologies, surveying factors like churn rates, personalized messaging, task automation and means of implementation into a brand’s ecosystem.
This approach was especially useful during STRV’s recent collaboration with MLS. In 2023, the brands partnered, calling upon STRV to complete an entire digital revamp for the sport association centered around its app and boosting fan engagement.
“We learned just how critical real-time data, proper data structure and clear communication are in the sports world, where fans expect instant access to all the information directly at their fingertips,” said Smid. “The MLS apps serve as an extension even for those in the stadium, acting as a second screen that delivers rich, contextual data to enhance the live experience. Today’s fans, like all modern consumers, expect to multitask, for better or worse.”
Even with all that talk of analytics and AI, STRV hasn’t forgotten the value of communication and the importance of building person-to-person connections. Both were key in one of the brand’s most celebrated projects with Barry’s.
“A key focus has been strengthening client relationships through the thoughtful implementation of internal communication systems. The highlight of our work together with Barry’s has been translating the iconic Red Room experience into the digital world, allowing users to feel that in-studio energy from home or on the go.”
Community and camaraderie were also pivotal factors during the brand’s work with The Pump — even in a digital sense.
“Working on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Pump app showed us how important and valuable the community is in today’s fitness and wellness space,” said Smid. “It’s not just about physical spaces. Great things can happen purely in the digital world as well. For gym operators and boutique studios, this opens up a whole new opportunity to create a personalized experience that goes far beyond in-person classes. It’s a chance to bring people together, spark conversations, share motivation and build connections through thoughtful technology that can be used anytime, anywhere.”
Gaps in Fitness
But despite making notable strides with the aforementioned partnerships, STRV argues the fitness industry is still a bit behind when it comes to perfecting a digital approach. It’s more about failing to acknowledge the impact a strong one can make rather than any misfires.
“I get the sense that many companies still aren’t measuring the ROI of the digital user experiences they provide to end consumers,” said Smid. “There’s often a gap in understanding just how much these improvements can impact overall business success.”
But that’s what’s great about missing on the little things — they’re little. They’re easy to fix and that’ll make it easy for the industry to catch up, Smid believes.
“Modern aesthetics are one thing — pure conversion of the digital product is another — and both need to be taken into account so that the digital strategy of a company truly shines,” he said. “Delighting users is easy to say but hard to achieve, yet with the right team in place … it’s absolutely possible.”
STRV is on hand to help here as well, sticking to a tried and true formula, but also being adaptable to new trends and the ever-changing fitness and digital landscapes.
“First and foremost, digital products need to be built on a solid foundation,” said Smid. “We try not to experiment with a whole lot of new stuff, but at the same time, avoid relying on legacy technology. Our sweet spot lies in using a modern, reliable tech stack across the board.”
In helping brands identify advantageous tech platforms, STRV guides clients through each step to ensure the technologies it selects are the right fit for their present and future needs. The brand also applies continuous iteration, including proper evaluation and A/B testing to track progress, observe user behavior and approach consumers effectively.
“For fitness brands, there’s a wide range of potential solutions, so choosing the right ones is key to long-term success,” Smid added.
Future Outlook
STRV understands staying ahead of emerging devices and form factors coming to market is vital to their clients’ success as well as their own.
“People now expect to work out in different ways, across different environments,” said Smid. “Some will be driven by AI. Others will seek physical, in-person connection. The ability to remain flexible and cater to a broad audience is becoming a defining trend in the fitness industry. And our goal is to provide the best foundation possible for that level of flexibility, personalization and insight.”
As we plunge further into this digital age, STRV only expects the need for robust experiences to increase.
“Everything is being streamlined into more compact, fully developed experiences where the user benefits hugely,” said Smid. “Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of investing in digital real estate, from strong visibility on the App Store and Google Play to the growing impact and potential of community engagement.”
As the industry, tech and time progress, STRV intends to do the same.
“At STRV, we plan on doubling down in terms of strengthening our partnerships with key players in the industry to make sure that the solutions we deliver are going to be built to scale and will deliver the uniformity needed in today’s world to connect all the pieces together,” Smid added.
This article originally appeared in ATN’s Technology & Innovation Outlook 2025 report, which maps the emerging tools driving business impact across the industry, drawing on operator interviews, executive-level insights and new market data. Download the free report.
