This AI home gym wants to replace your Peloton

Dylan Zanker, GRIT BXNG Co-Founder joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss GRIT EPIQ.

Video transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: In today's Startup Spotlight, it was a tough go for a lot of gyms in the pandemic. But one, backed by the likes of Tony Robbins and Pitbull, and Tim Draper, GRIT BXNG, after they shut down their New York location during the pandemic, they learned quite a bit about the way Americans were working at home and leaning in with a big bet on working out at home, as GRIT BXNG looks to launch its new at home a workout product, the GRIT EPIC, to come after a lot of the companies that enjoyed some big boosts, like Peloton, in the workout at home trend.

And for more on that, want to bring on the co-founder of GRIT BXNG Dylan Zanker joins us now. And Dylan, I should note, you guys are back open in New York, humming along there post pandemic. But also, this big bet around GRIT EPIC and you guys are fundraising right now on Republic as well. Talk to me about what you see there, as demand continues, even as gyms like yours open up.

DYLAN ZANKER: So I'd love to tell you a little bit about the GRIT EPIC, which we just launched. It's a total gym in your home. It's a beautiful piece of furniture. It opens up like a Tesla. You can see it there on the video. It opens up like a Tesla and there's a two-way interactive mirror. There's haptic knuckles, which we've really created a gamified boxing experience. We have AI in there. It's really top of the line artificial intelligence that gives you feedback on your form and it counts your reps. And we also have smart digital weights there, so you'll never have to go and buy another weight set ever again.

We're calling it the most intelligent home gym, because there really is nothing like this out there. And that's why I'm really excited to announce it today.

AKIKO FUJITA: Dylan, why launch a home gym now? I mean, it feels like everybody is wanting to go back into the gym, away from the home experience. What are you seeing right now that tells you there's a lot of upside, even with things opening up?

DYLAN ZANKER: Look, so we've created a totally differentiated product. So the GRIT EPIC is not just a piece of workout equipment or total full gym. It's also a full-on social experience. And this is what really gets me excited. Have either of you actually been on a Peloton bike before?

ZACK GUZMAN: I actually haven't.

DYLAN ZANKER: You have not.

AKIKO FUJITA: I have. I have.

DYLAN ZANKER: You have. OK, the problem with the Peloton bike is it lacks social interaction. So sure, you can give someone a high five, a stranger a high five on the Peloton. Bike but it's really not that social. So you know, you can give a high five but you can't look people up, you can't DM them or anything. And I get it, the Peloton was built seven years ago. We've built the GRIT EPIC during the pandemic and we've built it for the post COVID world. So it's all about a full-on social experience.

So we've launched something and we've created something, it's called the GRIT EPIC Social Plus. It's all about a full-on social experience. So unlike some other connected fitness products, and unlike the Peloton, you'll be able to go on the GRIT EPIC and really get to know people. You'll be able to look them up. We'll have bios of people. We're going to have virtual meet-ups. We're going to have networking, dating. We're even going to have a GRIT virtual bar, where you're going to be able to hang out and meet people before and after class.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, I'm a shy guy. Jim is making me nervous as is. I kind of like the idea of working out at home for being a recluse and not having to worry about anything like that. But it is interesting, because you are putting your money where your mouth is when it comes to taking on Peloton. Because there are some people out there who might challenge you when it comes to the social aspects, who love their Peloton. But you're offering the ability for people who maybe don't to trade theirs in, their Peloton bike in, for the GRIT EPIC. Talk to me about maybe how many people you expect to do so and how many you're prepared to honor.

DYLAN ZANKER: So I've got a special announcement today, and it's today on your show. It's exclusively on your show because I really love Yahoo Finance, love what you guys are doing. It's called the Peloton trade-in program. OK? We're announcing it today on your show.

If you have a Peloton, anyone out there who has a Peloton , bike when we launch the GRIT, EPIC we'll come to your home, we'll take your old Peloton bike, and no matter what condition it's in, if you've used it a lot or maybe just a little or it's brand new, we'll take your old Peloton bike and give you a brand new GRIT EPIC absolutely free. So it's a pretty big deal. We'll take your old Peloton bike, give you a brand new GRIT EPIC absolutely free.

And I'm doing this because I'm hearing from a lot of people that they're tired of the lack of social connectivity on their Peloton bike and some of these other connected fitness products. So I really want other people to have the opportunity to experience the GRIT EPIC. And I know, once they try the GRIT EPIC and all these amazing social features, I don't think they're going to be going back on a Peloton bike.

ZACK GUZMAN: I got to say, I love it, I love the enthusiasm. I love, you know, coming after your competitor there straight in the face, punching them in the face, a GRIT BXNG maneuver perhaps.

But Dylan Zanker, appreciate you hopping on to walk us through all the progress there with the GRIT EPIC. Appreciate it, man. Be well and thanks again for coming back on.

DYLAN ZANKER: Can I just make-- Zack, can I just talk about, we just launched on Republic. It's a crowdfunding campaign, where anyone is allowed to invest in us. Thank you for having us on our show. It's called Republic.co/GRIT. We want all the individual investors to have an opportunity to invest on our site as we [AUDIO OUT]

ZACK GUZMAN: Thanks, because I forgot to mention the Republic shout-out as well, to join, perhaps, Pitbull and Tony Robbins and their enthusiasm around the product as well, on Republic, one of those other platforms we spotlighted before. But Dylan Zanker, appreciate--