Sweat Equity

Go inside the trend that spawned a multi-billion dollar industryfor the top five percent Sweat Equity goes inside the multibillion dollar trendtoward endurance sports and fitness to discover who's driving it,who's paying for it, and who's profiting. Bloomberg's Jason Kelly,author of The New Tycoons, profiles the participants,entrepreneurs, and investors at the center of this movement,exploring this phenomenon in which a surge of people--led bythe most affluent--are becoming increasingly obsessed withlooking and feeling better. Through in-depth looks inside companiesand events from New York Road Runners to Tough Mudder and Ironman,Kelly profiles the companies and people aiming to meet the demandsof these consumers, and the traits and strategies that made them sosuccessful. In a modern world filled with anxiety, pressure, andcompetition, people are spending more time and money than everbefore to soothe their minds and tone their bodies, sometimespushing themselves to the most extreme limits. Even as obesityrates hit an all-time high, the most financially successful amongus are collectively spending billions each year on apparel, gear,and entry fees. Sweat Equity charts the rise of themovement, through the eyes of competitors and the companies thatserve them. Through conversations with businesspeople, many drivenby their own fitness obsessions, and first-hand accounts of thesports themselves, Kelly delves into how the movement is takingshape. * Understand the social science, physics, and economics of ourdesire to pursue activities like endurance sports and yoga * Get to know the endurance business's target demographics * Learn how distance running--once a fringehobby--became a multibillion dollar enterprise fueled byprivate equity * Understand how different generations pursue fitness and howfast-growing companies sell to them The opportunity to run, swim, and crawl in the mud is resonatingwith more and more of us, as sports once considered extreme becomemainstream. As Baby Boomers seek to stay fit and Millennials searchfor meaning in a hyperconnected world, the demand for the race bibis outstripping supply, even as the cost to participate escalates.Sweat Equity, through the stories of men and women insidethe most influential races and companies, goes to the heart of themovement where mind, body, and big money collide.