Solidcore is testing the edges of its blue-light universe, carefully, and not without a dose of controversy.
The L Catteron-backed boutique fitness brand, known for its obsessive fan base and waitlists, is launching an Innovation Lab this spring.
The lab will serve as a two-week testing program at its Navy Yard studio in Washington, D.C., a dual-room location that gives Solidcore a dedicated space to experiment with new concepts alongside its member community.
The first concept is a heated, mat-based conditioning format meant to complement Solidcore’s signature workout. The format is currently unnamed and will be tested in a separate room within the Navy Yard studio, one of Solidcore’s nearly 170 U.S. studios.
Chief commercial officer Anne Smith tells Athletech News the new format was inspired by conversations with members, those who want Solidcore seven days a week but are looking for different ways to either activate intensity or support recovery between sessions on the machine.
The off-machine concept will combine dynamic bodyweight exercises, isometric holds and the use of dumbbells and additional equipment.
“Any decision we make about readiness for a wider rollout of this modality will be based on the Solidcore standards of excellence,” Smith said. “That’s why this phase of product development is so fundamental — we intend to listen and learn before we launch.”
While the near-term focus is on executing a successful test, the concept could eventually take shape as net-new standalone locations or future multi-room studio formats, Smith added.
The announcement of the Innovation Lab didn’t land without some turbulence. Fitness and wellness entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Anne Mahlum, who founded Solidcore in 2013 and sold her stake in 2023, took to Instagram to share an email she sent to Solidcore leadership.
“Some unsolicited advice,” she phrased it, acknowledging in her letter that her opinion carries no formal weight or vote but comes from concern as the brand’s founder. She pointed to cautionary examples of boutique brands that chased new formats, generated early enthusiasm and ultimately failed to hold their core customers.
“Solidcore is not just a noun, it is a verb,” she wrote, adding that a heated mat concept was “a slap in the face” to the brand’s most loyal member.
Mahlum also questioned Solidcore’s pace of growth, noting the brand is currently opening roughly 25 studios a year — the same pace as 2018 — while now commanding significantly more capital and resources.
Solidcore CEO Bryan Myers, who joined the boutique fitness brand in 2018, also took to social media, seemingly in response to Mahlum and the brand’s devotees.
On growth, he noted that Solidcore is tracking toward 40+ new studios over the next 12 months, with that pace accelerating each year. He also pushed back on format comparisons, adding that Solidcore’s innovation agenda and growth agenda are not in competition.
Perhaps most importantly — to Solidcore members, that is — he pointed out what the lab is not.
“What we’re testing isn’t mat Pilates,” Myers wrote. “It’s a heated conditioning format that draws from the same hybrid philosophy that defines Solidcore itself: intensity, precision, and a method built around effectiveness.”
As for the reformer itself, he was unequivocal: “Your favorite reformer is safe,” he said.
Myers also addressed the reaction directly in a statement to Athletech News.
“The passion and energy around our core product doesn’t change any of our thinking — it actually reinforces it,” he said. “There are many brands that have experimented with their core offering over time, and while we’ve explored that ourselves, we’ve consistently come back to the belief that our core product is too special and unique, and that our members value that tremendously.”
