Assault popularized human-powered cardio — the Kleenex of airbikes. Then marketed it like a commodity.

The problem. Assault’s look hadn’t meaningfully changed in years. Consistent, but with no attitude — no point of view, no voice, nothing to separate it from any other piece of equipment on a gym floor. Meanwhile the category had split in two: competitors like Rogue looked equally generic, and the rest of fitness had gone soft — selling wellness, accessibility and scenic rides through the Swiss Alps.

The insight. The person who buys an AssaultBike isn’t in either camp. Thirty to fifty, trained for years, hates cardio and does it anyway. Suspicious of apps, biohacking, and anyone chasing aesthetics over capacity. They don’t want the workout made easier — they want proof they can take it. Comfortable is the one thing this product will never be.

The work. A positioning platform built on a single idea: we don’t believe in smart fitness, we believe in hard fitness. Human powered hits Hard AF — the brand’s own initials, and the promise. That resolved into the line the brand runs on: Awfully good cardio. Plus a manifesto, a named enemy list, and a tone of voice that plays offense.

The result. The platform now governs everything. My Vacation Is No Vacation and Earn Your Luck both came directly out of it.

The company’s first 360 brand campaign, built on the end of the boring vacation season.

The problem. Assault had just refreshed its positioning around the suffering results require. The end of summer was the first real test of it — a moment when the whole category talks about rest, recovery and getting back on track. Saying the opposite is how a brand gets noticed.

The insight. For most people vacation is restorative. For the person who trains seriously, it’s disruption — a season of inconsistency, missed sessions and compromised intensity. They come back from a week off feeling worse, not better. So we said what they were already thinking: the vacation isn’t the escape. The workout is.

The work. A campaign written entirely in the voice of someone who’d rather be training. “Sitting poolside. Dying inside.” “SPF can’t save face now.” “I like my workouts how I like my piña coladas: so strong I might puke.” Plus a postcard series written from athletes to their AssaultBike, and an activation at DEKA Fit Austin — a 30-second max-calorie challenge with cash on the line, a live leaderboard, and a Vega smoothie bar serving the Pain-a Colada.

The result. Over 1M impressions with 10% brand recall, 120+ people through the DEKA Fit activation, and coverage in Athletech News placing Assault alongside CrossFit in a resurgence of hardcore fitness.

A St. Patrick’s Day campaign built on the idea that luck is nonsense.

The problem. Assault’s refreshed positioning playfully embraces the suffering results require. Cultural moments were the fastest way to put that in front of people outside our existing circle — but high-intensity training had to feel worth the effort, not just hard.

The insight. St. Patrick’s Day is built on luck, celebration and indulgence. We don’t believe in luck. The rewards you want aren’t given, they’re earned — and the celebration is better when you’ve paid for it. So we challenged the 54% of Americans who celebrate to earn theirs first.

The work. Three rounds of 17 calories a minute, no rest — a nod to 3/17. Enter by signing up for email and posting the attempt, and you’re in for a custom St. Patrick’s Day AssaultBike Pro X. Then we took it somewhere nobody associates with fitness: a pub. Two themed bikes at Helmsman Ale House in Newport Beach, screens cast to the TV, and the one reward that mattered on the day — free beer.

The result. Over 500 entries, more than 70 from the bar. For most of them it was their first time on an AssaultBike. Crowds formed. People in heels, parents in their seventies and actual athletes all took it on, and everyone who did went home with a story about the hardest machine they’d ever tried.

A giveaway built for the slowest month in fitness.

The problem. Summer is downtime for the industry. People train less, buy less, and paid acquisition gets expensive for the same result. Spending into that is how most brands waste a quarter.

The insight. If nobody’s buying, stop trying to sell and start building the list you’ll sell to in September. And if budget is the constraint, use the one currency a fitness brand has more of than cash: product.

The work. I assembled eleven brands into a single prize worth over $20,000. Assault Fitness hosting, with Ragnar, XPT, Electric and RPM Training from the FitLab portfolio, alongside MitoRed Light, Ice Barrel, Sweat Tent, Vega, While On Earth and KNKG. Entry was an email, with extra chances for referring a friend and following the brands involved. Every partner promoted it to their own audience, so eleven lists cross-pollinated at once.

The result. Over 6,000 new leads, at a cost per lead close to zero — the prize was contributed product and the distribution was owned. Every brand involved ended the summer with a bigger audience than it started with, going into the season when people actually buy.