Healthier: Building Health & Fitness Businesses

Will Read

How great health and fitness companies get built. Podcast, weekly email, video and community for founders, operators and investors in health and fitness. New episode every Thursday. Will Read talks to the people building in health and fitness about the tactics, strategies and moves that build generational companies.

  1. Oct 29

    Fitness industry legend: How to sell to gyms in 2026 | David Stalker, ukactive | Healthier Ep 14

    Free founder playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com David Stalker is chair of ukactive, the trade body for the UK's gym and leisure sector. He started as a personal trainer in the late 80s, became managing director of a company that grew to run 100 local authority sites, ran the Fitness Industry Association as it became ukactive, and was the first chief executive of CIMSPA. He now mentors founders and advises companies across the industry. We talk about how founders can sell into gyms: why operators buy measurable moves in retention, staff retention and usage, why your ambition should be to become a line in their board pack, and why so many founders confuse a good product with a good business idea. Then the practical part: how to run a pilot across six sites in six regions, putting boots on the ground, finding champions inside the operator, and why people still beat automation during a pilot. We finish on how founders get in their own way as they scale, and David's four filters for any opportunity in 2026. CHAPTERS 00:00 Coming up 01:15 Welcome to Healthier 01:48 From personal trainer to chair of ukactive 04:00 The queue to meet David 04:36 What makes fitness businesses succeed 06:57 Where would you spend £5m to £10m? 07:12 Good product, bad business 07:56 Simple tech that helps retention 09:26 Strength and the older market 10:38 Move retention by a tiny amount 11:27 Become a line in the board pack 13:53 An industry where everyone talks 14:40 Likeability 15:20 What founders from outside need to know 16:23 No one is going to steal your idea 17:47 Healthier Notes 18:12 UK vs US founders: be bolder 19:51 Be ready to deliver 20:06 How to run a pilot 21:18 Boots on the ground 22:20 Smother the pilot 24:23 How founders get in their own way 26:38 Where to build in 2026 27:05 David's four filters 29:08 Where to find David David Stalker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-stalker-fcimspa-2a9039b/ ukactive: https://www.ukactive.com Healthier Notes, a founder's playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com Healthier is the show for founders in health, fitness and wellness. Subscribe for more.

    Fitness industry legend: How to sell to gyms in 2026 | David Stalker, ukactive | Healthier Ep 14

  2. Oct 22

    How AI will change healthcare: where founders should build | Ari Tulla, Elo Health | Healthier Ep 13

    Free founder playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com Ari Tulla is a serial health founder and angel investor. He runs Elo Health, a profitable personalised supplement company, and has spent 15 years writing small cheques into founders he believes in. Ari thinks healthcare is the most impactful place for AI over the next five years. We talk about why the AI labs are turning to healthcare, what large language models can do with messy health data, why companies are losing money to collect that data, and where he thinks founders should build: turning data into meaning, then into a coaching layer that helps people get better. Then Elo's story: starting a couple of years too early, why food as medicine was so hard to sell, the move to supplements and fertility, and selling through doctors who recommend the product. We also cover why a CEO's job is almost completely selling, the AI outbound playbook behind recent YC growth, the question Ari asks before committing ten years to anything, choosing a co-founder, angel investing with $5k cheques, and the personal operating system (a colour-coded calendar and meeting-free Wednesdays) behind a big life. Disclosure: Will is an investor in Elo Health. CHAPTERS 00:00 AI's bad sales pitch 00:20 Intro 01:49 Welcome to Healthier 02:27 Ari's path into health 06:01 Go all in on the new AI tools 07:13 Why healthcare is AI's most impactful arena 08:34 What LLMs can do with messy health data 10:31 Why companies lose money to collect your data 11:07 Will's AI health experiment 12:59 A medical team of one 14:12 Who wins: big tech, model companies or startups? 16:35 How fast the world is changing 18:55 How Elo pivoted 21:50 Food as medicine 23:13 Why customers wouldn't do the finger prick 24:02 Getting CAC and LTV right 24:33 Starting a couple of years too early 25:24 Healthier Notes 25:53 Why Elo moved to supplements 27:30 Fertility, and doctors who recommend 29:39 Make it their idea 30:31 A CEO's job is almost completely selling 31:21 Increase your surface area of luck 32:57 The AI outbound playbook behind YC growth 35:21 The ten-year question 36:41 The decisions that shape a life 38:36 Choosing a co-founder 40:25 The 100-question co-founder test 42:22 Lessons from angel investing 44:56 $30k set aside, $5k cheques 46:12 Why second-time founders win 47:19 Often the first money in 48:00 Ari's personal operating system 49:59 The colour-coded calendar 51:21 Meeting-free Wednesdays 54:47 Who can we trust in health? Elo Health: https://elo.health Luminary Vitamins: https://www.luminaryvitamins.com Ari Tulla: https://www.aritulla.com Healthier Notes, a founder's playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com Healthier is the show for founders in health, fitness and wellness. Subscribe for more.

  3. Oct 15

    How Stride built an £800-a-year membership with 85% renewals | Andrew Steele | Healthier Ep 12

    Andrew Steele won an Olympic medal for Team GB, then built Stride, a preventative health membership with almost 16,000 paying customers in 65 countries. Stride hit a £4m run rate within three months of launch, bootstrapped, mostly selling DNA tests that nobody can buy twice. We talk about how Andrew went back and worked out why people were really buying, the three jobs customers hire Stride for, the GLP-1 programme nobody wanted, why going direct to consumer first made gyms, resorts and employers easier to sell to later, how he has mixed bootstrapping with VC and non-dilutive funding, and how an £800-a-year membership is heading for 85% renewals. Disclosure: Will is an investor in Stride and a StrideOne member. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 01:16 Welcome to Healthier 01:37 What Stride is 02:44 16,000 customers in 65 countries 03:31 Selling whatever was ready 05:12 A £4m run rate in three months 05:31 You can't sell a second DNA test 06:26 Demand with no outlet 07:28 Talk to customers, or trust your instinct 09:14 What the consultation data showed 10:06 Healthier Note 10:31 Three jobs customers hire Stride for 12:48 Why "live forever" is a farce 14:00 Health as identity 16:47 Health optimisation has been hijacked 18:29 One better decision at a time 19:28 How Stride chose its product mix 22:18 The GLP-1 programme nobody bought 24:49 Why consumer first 27:12 Practitioners, gyms, resorts, then employers 29:10 How D2C data helps B2B partners 30:17 Bootstrap first, then raise 31:37 Commodity blood tests plus AI 32:26 The most ambitious research study in human health 34:40 Explaining the value is the bottleneck 37:02 85% renewals on an £800 membership 38:43 Where to find Stride Stride: https://www.getstride.com/ Andrew's essay, What happened? Stride happened: https://huper.substack.com/p/what-happened-stride-happened Healthier Notes, a founder's playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com Healthier is the show for founders in health, fitness and wellness. Subscribe for more.

  4. Oct 8

    How to raise money from angel investors in 2026 | Nicola Telford, Tabu Ventures | Healthier Ep 11

    Nicola Telford runs Tabu Ventures, an angel community backing health businesses most investors find too awkward to look at: sexual wellness, women's health, addiction and recovery, and death. We talk about why culture accepts these markets before capital does, what the founders who break through have in common, and what she learned about taking money. That includes why there's never free money, how to fit-check an investor before you take their cheque, and the problems Tabu wants founders to work on next. CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 01:11 Welcome to Healthier 01:47 What Tabu Ventures is 02:57 The four taboo categories 05:05 Why these categories suit angel investors 06:18 Culture accepts it before capital does 08:45 Early signs capital is catching up 12:19 Healthier Note 13:08 What breakthrough founders have in common 15:30 Why a personal connection keeps founders going 18:54 Rebuilding your motivation after a company closes 22:35 There is never free money 24:50 Bad money and how to fit-check investors 26:32 How syndicates work with founders 29:10 Who invests with Tabu 30:40 How to be a useful angel investor 32:38 Tabu's request for startups 34:40 Addiction businesses with many front doors 35:56 Screen time, NoFap apps and the hype curve 39:13 Who Tabu wants to hear from Tabu Ventures: https://tabu.ventures/ Taboo + The Hype Cycle: https://tabu.ventures/insights/taboo-and-the-hype-cycle/ Pitch Tabu: https://tabu.ventures/pitch/ Healthier Notes, a founder's playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com Healthier is the show for founders in health, fitness and wellness. Subscribe for more.

  5. Oct 1

    How NADclinic reached 40+ countries as a supplier | Iain de Havilland | Healthier Ep 10

    Iain de Havilland, founder of NADclinic, joins Will Read to discuss building a business that supplies other providers, developing local partnerships and finding opportunities beyond your home market. Explore why Iain chose infrastructure as his route to scale, how practical clinics helped demonstrate products, and what founders can learn from adapting technology used in another industry. Join the Healthier Note for lessons, playbooks and events for founders in health, fitness and well-being: https://healthierco.com Find NADclinic: https://nadclinic.com

  6. Sep 24

    How ONE LDN grew 30% a year with no contracts | Evgenia Koroleva | Healthier Ep 9

    How do you keep gym members coming back when they are free to leave? Evgenia Koroleva, founder of ONE LDN, joins Will Read to explain the choices behind a community-led fitness business — from flexible memberships and focused positioning to brand partnerships and new revenue streams. Evgenia shares how the gym measures community through attendance, retention and referrals; why Nike approached ONE LDN; and how she decides which ideas are worth testing. She also describes three years of approximately 30% year-on-year growth, rebuilding after COVID and planning the next locations. Practical ideas for founders building gyms, membership businesses and other companies in health, fitness and wellbeing. CHAPTERS 00:00 How to build a thriving gym 00:44 Meet Evgenia Koroleva, founder of ONE LDN 04:00 Making community a measurable revenue engine 07:25 Choosing who your gym is for 10:43 Why ONE LDN rejected long-term contracts 12:38 Testing pricing, memberships and new ideas 14:49 Spotting trends without chasing every fad 17:21 Finding new revenue in your existing space 20:48 Weighing the cost of recovery facilities 22:28 Keeping your offer simple 23:09 How partnerships led Nike to ONE LDN 26:40 The customer bigger gym brands overlook 28:40 Bootstrapping, rebuilding and deciding to expand 31:03 Three years of growth and the case for expansion 32:03 Choosing locations using customer demand 32:57 Founder resilience and celebrating wins ONE LDN: https://www.oneldn.com/ More episodes: https://www.healthstacks.ai/episodes Subscribe to Healthier for more conversations with people building in health, fitness and wellbeing. Growth and performance figures are reported by the guest.

  7. Sep 7

    How to sell health hardware through retailers | Stefan van der Fluit, FLOWBIO | Healthier Ep 8

    “Don’t get into hardware if you don’t like being punched in the face 10 times a day.” Stefan van der Fluit has spent six years building FLOWBIO, a wearable that turns sweat into data about sodium and fluid loss for endurance athletes. He joins Will to explain how childhood dehydration and an attempt to earn a professional IRONMAN card led to the product; why the hard parts of hardware can become a defensible moat; how FLOWBIO shifted from a DTC-first plan to a business where 65% of sales come through retail partners; and why its strategy alongside much larger wearable companies is to go an inch wide and a mile deep. They also cover authentic athlete relationships, the Tour de France “Spot the Bulge” idea, creating more surface area for luck, leading with humility, and the difference between creating value and capturing it. Disclosure: Will Read is an investor in FLOWBIO. FLOWBIO: https://flowbio.com/

  8. Aug 11

    Why gyms won't buy your fitness app | Max Cotton, Vor | Healthier Ep 7

    Max Cotton fought MMA professionally, then spent five years building Vor, an AI exercise programming engine that deliberately avoids LLMs. He tells Will about the founder who spent $40,000 in tokens on an LLM that produced the same workout every time, how PureGym founder Peter Roberts came to join the board and fill the round, the two pivots that took Vor from consumer coaching to B2B infrastructure, and why starting a company tested him more than cage fighting and ultramarathons combined.

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How great health and fitness companies get built. Podcast, weekly email, video and community for founders, operators and investors in health and fitness. New episode every Thursday. Will Read talks to the people building in health and fitness about the tactics, strategies and moves that build generational companies.

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