The Tech Behind #2: How Viva is disrupting the SA gym space

The South African health and wellness space is experiencing a massive shake-up. Independent gyms, training groups and Crossfit boxes are cropping up all over the place. Despite those changes, there are still just a couple of players who account for the vast majority of the country’s gym memberships.

These big health clubs generally offer their members everything, but also make them pay for everything. Enter Viva Gyms. A UK import currently making its way into South Africa, this franchise is looking to disrupt the traditional gym space and is using tech to do so.

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Memeburn recently sat down with Viva founder and MD Chase Emson to talk about some of the tech Viva uses — including biometric entry and virtual spinning classes — as well as the brand’s rejection of traditional gym contracts and how innovation is shaping the health and wellness space as a whole.