Athletech News interviews Darren MacDonald, new CEO of Tonal, as the smart home gym company prepares for New York City’s first pop-up Tonal Training Lab
The year 2024 is coming to an end and Tonal is not in any way affected. The smart home gym leader reiterates its impact on the fitness and longevity industries, reminding the world of its transformative power.
The new advertising campaign highlights its role in moving away from cardio training methods, with the world’s first Tonal Training Lab set to launch in January 2025 and offering enthusiasts a pop-up experience of training with Tonal coaches in person. Under a new CEO, Tonar has laid the foundation for the new year.
Earlier this fall, the smart home fitness company announced that CEO Krystal Zell, a Harvard Business School graduate and one of the few female CEOs in the fitness industry, would be stepping down. Her tenure, which begins in April 2023 and coincides with an influx of $130 million in new funding, will correct Tonal’s direction after the challenges many fitness companies face post-pandemic and put the brand on the map for its artificial intelligence-driven Rise up. , a hyper-personalized strength training experience.
Zell wanted to be able to recharge her batteries and spend more time with her family, so she handed management over to Darren MacDonald. MacDonald is an avid Tonal member and experienced business executive with over 20 years of experience in global digital strategy and business development.
Now taking on the role of CEO, McDonald opened up to Athletic News to share his vision for Tonal’s future and what’s to come.
Home gym renaissance
While competition in the home strength training space has heated up, MacDonald believes Tonal is truly redefining the strength training experience in a number of ways, including delivering proven results through thousands of coach-led on-demand and live workouts. In the comfort of your home.
While on-site fitness studios and gyms may see a surge in activity post-pandemic, Tonal has become a mainstay for many home fitness enthusiasts due to its interactivity and intuitiveness, which gave rise to the home gym.
“Our system is smart, effective and efficient, combining advanced digital weight with AI-driven personalized guidance that intuitively adapts to each individual’s fitness level,” he said. “This means you can build strength faster and hit plateaus without the mental burden.”
He added that one of Tonal’s defining factors is its relentless focus on improving strength training capabilities, with its performance team constantly researching, testing and refining what Tonal can offer.
“Tonal doesn’t just track your progress; it tracks your progress. It performs real-time analysis, collecting 50 data points every second to predict optimal weight and provide precise coaching cues,” explains MacDonald.
The data, science, and personalization behind Tonal’s approach are more than just marketing slogans. The results from its smart home gym are profound, with members regularly sharing before and after photos in the Tonal Facebook group. It’s not uncommon for members to declare that they are in the best shape of their lives, even well into their twenties.
MacDonald said this explains why Tonal has more than 90% of its members still active after a year.
Data-driven innovation
Because data remains at the core of Tonal’s mission, no data is wasted. The smart home gym company takes a sophisticated approach with its “State of Strength” report, which draws insights from more than 175,000 members to analyze their daily activities, goals and fitness trends.
“This data informs future features, helping us customize workouts and guide our performance teams in creating impactful programs,” McDonald said.
He points to recent reports showing that Tonal members often skip leg days, despite their well-known benefits. These insights will help Tonal design workouts that better integrate lower body training, ensuring members gain balanced, full-body strength.
“We believe this data set is the largest strength database in history, and it powers the innovation we bring to market in a way that others cannot,” he added.
In this sense, MacDonald reaffirms Tonal’s commitment to developing its technology to support the pursuit of long-term health.
“We feel we have developed the best strength product on the market and believe there is a lot we can do to unlock the software and hardware to help our members achieve the strength goals they seek,” he said.
Hints of what’s to come
Going forward, Tonal intends to expand its distribution reach through partnerships, launch software that further enhances membership value and enter new markets.
McDonald was tight-lipped about the upcoming partnership, but revealed that it is about to partner with a well-respected organization dedicated to improving heart health.
“Strength training contributes to cardiovascular health, so this partnership makes sense for our team and is consistent with our data on the health benefits of strength,” he said.
Last month, Tonal partnered with Truemed, a platform co-founded by Calley Means that makes it easy to use Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds for health-related purchases. The partnership gives U.S. customers the opportunity to purchase tone Also save up to 30%.
