Liteboxer Launches VR Workouts

Liteboxer is launching VR workouts, expanding beyond connected equipment and into the metaverse.

What it is: Available on Oculus Quest 2 in March, Liteboxer’s VR offering features instructor-led classes, curated playlists, and head-to-head workouts with friends.

Priced at $18.99/month (plus the cost of an Oculus), the VR subscription is significantly less expensive than the company’s $1,245–1,445 smart punching bag.

On the Fitt Insider Podcast, Liteboxer CEO Jeff Morin hinted at the company’s ambition beyond equipment:

“We’re trying to hack the brain… where your mind and body get into this flow state. Time flies by, and the pain you normally experience when working out is replaced by joy.”

Put ’em up. More and more, boxing-inspired workouts are gaining popularity:

• June 2021: Connected boxing company FightCamp raised $90M, with backing from Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Georges St-Pierre, and others.
• December 2021: Peloton added boxing workouts to its fitness platform; Conor McGregor’s FAST training brand debuted a connected boxing offering.

To infinity. A parallel development, the fitness metaverse is reimagining exercise with immersive training options.

• Meta (Facebook) acquired VR fitness subscription Supernatural for $400M.
• FitXR’s virtual fitness club brings fun, effective workouts into the home.
• Quell, an interactive boxing game, raised $3M in funding last year.

Looking ahead: Appealing to a much larger audience than the typical fitness-seeker, the next wave of innovation in at-home exercise will focus on fun, gamification, and entertainment over competition.