Executives from the HVLP health club operator and Coherent Options shared their ideas on what operators ought to prioritize — and what to keep away from — when investing digitally
Vasa Health, the rapidly growing health club chain with over areas, didn’t wish to be part of the group of high-value, low-price (HVLP) gyms taking part in catch-up within the digital health recreation. Over the previous few years, the model accomplished a complete digital overhaul, deploying new content material and options to bolster retention and engagement.
On the ATN Innovation Summit 2026, Vasa chief working officer Chris Griebe and chief expertise officer Ryan Hawk joined Shawn Torkelson and Vadim Bartlov of Coherent Solutions, a software program product improvement and consulting firm, to debate what they aimed for and what they executed throughout their digital transformation. The group additionally touched on what its collaboration with Coherent Options says about the place the sector is headed.
Pace, Connection & Group
Griebe and Hawk started the dialog by explaining the significance of streamlined, omnichannel digital experiences that join and speed-up person journeys. Vasa’s efforts to ship that amid its digital overhaul included the addition of AI-powered options to speed up gross sales and empower development, in addition to a user-friendly app.
Hawk argued AI, apps and digital choices generally have gotten normal expectations for all health customers. They’re additionally impactful retention boosters.
“Our members aren’t getting much less tech-savvy, and neither are their expectations,” Hawk mentioned. “So, we wish to create frictionless experiences, however we additionally wish to create stickiness with our digital platforms. We would like members to really feel like after they go away the health club, they’ve acquired our app of their pocket to allow them to comply with their mates and join lessons with them.”
Group and the way tech helps it remained a theme all through the dialog. Griebe and Hawk cited information explaining that gyms and studios with group health choices expertise the very best ranges of retention. Additionally they referenced figures from McKinsey and Les Mills, which claimed that “meeting people” is a top reason as to why Gen-Zers and Millennials go to workout.
As Hawk and Griebe continued to deal with Vasa’s app, they later highlighted its function in serving to their model attraction to youthful health club goers. Options that permit members to handle their accounts, alter memberships and e book lessons instantly from their gadgets create a way of autonomy, which may drive deeper engagement and long-term loyalty.
“One factor a Gen-Zer doesn’t wish to do is name anyone,” Hawk mentioned. “They’d quite self-serve, in order that’s undoubtedly one thing now we have to make sure we allow.”
When requested about Vasa’s method to increasing the app, Griebe emphasised the significance of sustaining an open API above all else. Doing so permits new applied sciences to combine with out disrupting the member expertise. Griebe additionally expressed warning towards leaning too far into tech improvement when there are different specialists on the market for gyms to leverage.
“We’re by no means going to be a Whoop,” he mentioned. “We’re by no means going to be Apple Watch… There are billion-dollar corporations that do that higher than anybody else, so we’re not going to combat that battle with our members who’re on another system that we could not have. We simply need to have the ability to pull that in, to offer our members the overall image of wellness and well being.”
A True Partnership
To finish a digital overhaul, Hawk additionally defined the need of “disciplined prioritization,” the place every staff is open, sincere and trusts everybody of their respective roles to push tasks ahead.
“Ryan’s staff may be very engaged, articulating what’s necessary and what the enterprise values,” Bartlov mentioned. “Our staff could be very clear and push again when wanted to. That’s what true partnership is about. Individuals are very sincere, very clear and that means, we will ship the most effective worth.”
“The totally different pods meet at the least thrice every week within the morning, and a few groups meet each morning,” Hawk added. “They collaborate, focus on, get a break and go. Asynchronous communications are additionally all the time there.”
Doubling Down on Digital
Hawk and Griebe closed the dialog by reinforcing the significance of sustaining a digital-first mindset and regularly evaluating alternatives to higher assist members by means of expertise.
“We’ve acquired to enhance on the agility and our means to interact with our ever-changing generational market,” Griebe mentioned. “We’ve got to grasp that particular person buyer and what they anticipate from the digital, membership and operational expertise. That needs to be nailed and refined always in an ever-changing world of expertise.”
“We’ll all the time have a connection to our major factor, the bodily world, lifting weights, getting on a machine or going to class,” Hawk added. “However I believe transferring ahead, we will now not settle for being low-tech. There needs to be a slice of our DNA now that could be a expertise slice.”
