The explosion of Hyrox, in one chart
Hyrox is having a moment.
The idea of fitness as a sport is not new. Ironman and strongman competitions have been around since the late 1970s. The CrossFit Games have been held annually since 2007. But Hyrox, created in 2019, has quickly become a global phenomenon.
How fast is Hyrox growing? The Hyrbid Letter looked at 34 cities that hosted a Hyrox both during the 2023-24 Season and the 2024-25 Season. (In cases where a city has hosted more than one Hyrox race in 2024-25, we looked at the most recent event.)
Overall, participation in these events grew by 118%. 22 of the 34 cities increased their participation by at least 100%. Stockholm and Washington, DC, each grew by over 330%. Only four locations had less than 60% growth, half of which were in the UK, where venue capacity is a limiting factor.
This understates Hyrox’s growth because more than a dozen new cities have also hosted races this season.
Why has Hyrox captured the public’s imagination globally? There are a few key factors:
Accessibility. None of the components of Hyrox are technical. People with a wide range of abilities can perform the movements and complete the race. The elite athletes compete on the same course. Most competitors choose to compete in the Open division, which has somewhat lighter weights. But even the “Pro” division, with heavier weights, is open to everyone.
Standardization. Small variations in each venue notwithstanding, the race is essentially the same every time. Hyrox also provides competitors with a vast trove of data — catnip to athletes in a data-obsessed world — with details about their performance at each stage of the race. This enables people to easily track their progress, strategize for improvement, and set personal goals.
Community. At the core of Hyrox are dozens of in-person events that it holds around the world. In a world where people are increasingly isolated or glued to a screen, Hyrox provides a high-energy, tactile environment that makes competitors feel like they are part of something meaningful. In contrast, only a few hundred people are invited to compete in the in-person The CrossFit Games, which is the only event CrossFit hosts annually.
Virality. Hyrox is also perfectly suited for viral growth. The compact indoor venues allow for lots of photographs, which participants eagerly share on Instagram and other social media sites. In a recent podcast, Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste revealed that 70% of participants purchase a photo package after the race.
Hyrox probably has the most in common with triathlon, an endurance event that has been popular for decades. But, triathlons feature an event that is athletically intimidating (an open-water swim) and another that requires expensive equipment (cycling). Hyrox has neither of those limitations.
How big can Hyrox get? Only time will tell.
Athlete of the Week: Hugo Hugemarq
Name: Hugo Hugemarq
Age: 28
Hometown: Playitas Resort, Fuerteventura
Favorite race?: Winning HYROX Copenhagen Mixed Doubles with Sally Morgan. I believe that when you compete for something greater than yourself, you unlock a deeper level of success.
Race goal? My next goal is to always surpass my personal best, currently HYROX PRO 58:44. My focus remains entirely on what I can control; my own performance and continuous athletic development. Progress is built through personal growth, not comparison.
Favorite station? Ski-erg. I love opening the race by attacking my strongest station, setting the tone for a high-output performance.
Least favorite station? Walking Lunges. The inefficiency of vertical displacement over forward propulsion at low velocity makes it a frustratingly high-energy demand compared to movements like running. But challenges like these are what drive adaptation.
Something you wish you knew when you started racing? I wish I had a greater understanding of how core temperature impacts performance. Even a 0.5°C rise increases heart rate and oxygen demand, while a 1°C rise can reduce endurance and power output by 2-5%. As blood is diverted from muscles to aid cooling, fatigue accelerates, and neuromuscular efficiency declines. Beyond fitness, heat regulation is a key determinant of sustained performance in both hybrid and endurance sports.
Curing dehydration
Lauren Picasso is a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and the founder of Cure, an electrolyte drink mix. The Hybrid Letter chatted with Lauren about her entrepreneurial journey and the formula for optimal hydration.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Hybrid Letter: How did you become interested in entrepreneurship?
Lauren Picasso: I grew up in D.C., and I've been an endurance athlete my whole life. I started doing cross country and track in middle school. I was also a competitive swimmer, and my dad was really into cycling. Even when I was eight years old, we’d go on 30-mile bike rides as a family.
Before starting Cure, I had no background in food and beverage, but I thought of it as a passion project. I’ve always had the startup bug from my dad, who was an entrepreneur. He’s from Peru and started his own company, which he recently sold after running it for about 15 years. I was really inspired by him to start something of my own one day.
I’d worked at a number of different consumer startups and had a lot of experience in the entrepreneurial world, but mostly on the e-commerce and marketing side. With Cure, I was honestly pretty naive. I thought it could be a simple side hustle—something straightforward. Little did I know how complicated it is to start a food business.
THL: What got you interested in hydration?
LP: I had quit my job and was doing some consulting on the side when I signed up for my first triathlon in 2017. I’ve always struggled with hydration—I’m a heavy sweater—so it was hard for me to get enough salt and electrolytes.
When I started looking for a hydration product, nothing felt like a good fit. Gatorade was everywhere, but it has a ton of added sugar. I noticed Pedialyte was taking off—not just for hangovers, but within the fitness community too. I experimented with it, and it was the only thing that actually worked for me.
THL: How did you create Cure?
LP: The name Cure came from it being my cure for everything. Anytime I wasn’t feeling well, I realized I was probably just dehydrated. I was drinking too much water and not getting the minerals I needed.
The idea was to create a cleaner version of something like Pedialyte. That product has artificial colors, sweeteners, and a ton of sugar—I never felt good about drinking it every day. Cure was inspired by the scientific formula behind Pedialyte, which is based on oral rehydration solutions developed by the World Health Organization over 50 years ago.
Our formula follows that same electrolyte balance but with cleaner ingredients. Instead of using sugar or dextrose, we use coconut water powder, which naturally contains glucose, potassium, and other minerals. For sodium, we use pink Himalayan salt. Coconut water on its own doesn’t have enough sodium, so our goal was to replicate what you actually lose in sweat—mainly sodium and potassium.
THL: What mistakes do you see people make with hydration?
LP: Water is obviously great—it should be your number one drink of choice throughout the day. But if you’re active and need a second option, it should be an electrolyte drink.
Water alone doesn’t replace the electrolytes you lose when you sweat. It might have trace minerals, but not enough. And if you drink too much water, you can actually flush out the minerals in your body and further dehydrate yourself. It’s really about balance—replacing exactly what you’re losing.
Everyone is different, but my rule of thumb is to weigh yourself before and after a workout. For every pound of sweat lost, you need to replace about 500 milligrams of sodium. You can get some electrolytes from food, but the fastest way to replenish is with a drink. Fluids absorb much faster than solids, so electrolyte drinks are usually the quickest and most efficient option.
You can follow Cure on Instagram.