How FitXR is using virtual reality to take the work out of your workout

Growing up in Auckland, New Zealand, Sam Cole dreamt of playing rugby for his country. I thought it must be possible to bring that same feeling to exercise – so that you forget that you’re exercising and you’re just having fun.” The result is that Cole switched from All Blacks glory to becoming CEO and co-founder of FitXR, which offers virtual reality dance and boxing classes that take the work out of workout. “They’ve done an amazing job,” says Cole, “importing the studio group experience into people’s living rooms.” FitXR incorporates many Peloton-like social features: metrics, a leader board, other players at different performance levels and a selection of instructors providing motivation. One of them said: “This is the best thing to happen to exercise since exercise.” open image in gallery Cole: ‘Even with those early headsets, you would find yourself getting lost in the experience’ “What we believed is it had to be broader than just boxing,” says Cole. “It’s mixed reality – it adds a content layer on top of your real world experience that guides and enhances.” So, for example, you would be able to go for a jog and find that Usain Bolt is jogging right alongside you.