SweatUSA made its national debut in South Beach October 11 to 13, attracting 3,000 health and fitness aficionados to the Miami Beach Convention Center for high-energy cardio, strength, and core-based classes, demonstrations, and expo offerings.
Vital Sports Entertainment had produced a smaller version of the event twice in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before deciding to move south.
“Miami was the perfect choice because of how endemic the market is to fitness,” said Vital Sports Entertainment C.E.O. Joseph Anthony. “We wanted to execute our first national event in a warm-weather market.”
SweatUSA kicked off with a private event in Morgans Hotel Group’s Shore Club penthouse, where festival co-host Jillian Michaels posed for photos and greeted industry guests. Russian Standard Vodka provided complimentary cocktails, Tagkast took photos with live social media sharing capabilities, and Monster iSport debuted its Freedom Wireless Bluetooth headphones, which were given to select guests.
At the convention center, more than 80 vendors exhibited in the expo hall, which also featured two built-out stages where instructors led classes, including one for Piloxing, a combination of Pilates and boxing that aims to be the next fitness craze.
Main sponsor Reebok hosted a pop-up store where it offered fitness apparel and sneakers for purchase. Both the Monster iSport and Vixen Workout booths offered Instagram photo sharing opportunities. One of the most popular activations was Stretch Zone, which offered a stress-release and relaxation area with massage tables and specialists who performed 15-minute sessions for those recovering from the hard-impact classes.
In the convention center ballrooms, fitness buffs could participate in classes including Michaels’s new Bodyshred program, along with live instructions of cult fitness DVDs, Insanity from founder Shaun T, and P90X from creator Tony Horton. Popular indoor cycling company Flywheel created a studio, providing shoe rentals, towels, and water, along with access to the company’s Torqboard system to track progress.
Events took place outside of the convention center, as well: SweatUSA offered poolside yoga and Pilates at Morgans Hotel Group's bayside property, Mondrian South Beach, at sunrise.
“We tried to include elements into our program that allowed our registrants to have a full South Beach experience,” Anthony said. “Having events at both the Mondrian and Shore Club allowed us to bring a sexy aesthetic that our out-of-town guests truly coveted as a part of their SweatUSA, Miami Beach experience.”
After a successful debut, Anthony said SweatUSA plans to return to Miami with a bigger festival.
“Our goal is to turn SweatUSA into a citywide takeover of Miami,” Anthony said. “We want to activate the beach and use the natural geography of the city as an additional venue. We are looking into adding a running event, a beach volleyball competition, and other outdoor activities. We are in talks with Sun Life Stadium and AmericanAirlines Arena as additional venues for activations.”
