TRNR | Shareholder Update with CEO Q&A
May 15, 2025 | Fellow Shareholders:

As we prepare for next week’s earnings announcement, we wanted to provide you with a deeper look into the momentum we’re building—especially around our pending acquisition of Sportstech Brands Holding GmbH, a profitable, founder-led connected fitness business based in Germany.

To that end, the investor relations team recently sat down with Trent Ward, TRNR’s Founder and CEO, and Ali Ahmad, Sportstech’s Founder and CEO, for a candid, wide-ranging discussion on what’s next for our combined company.

Before diving into that Q&A, here are a few key takeaways:

1. Integration Already Underway:
   Even ahead of the formal close, our teams are collaborating across Europe—improving supply chain sourcing, working jointly with Wattbike, and launching commercial opportunities in the UK and beyond.
2. Sportstech Is Growing Faster Than Expected:
   As shared previously, Sportstech’s Q1 and April results were ahead of plan. YTD revenues are up 8%, and April alone saw 36% YOY growth. Importantly, the company continues to maintain profitability—something rare among peer
3. Tech Differentiation is Real:
   Sportstech’s team in Bangalore is already bringing advanced AI and gamified fitness capabilities into the broader TRNR platform. This includes innovations like AI-personalized workouts, blockchain-enabled reward systems, and gamified interfaces for connected training.
4. Crypto – and AI – are areas we are actively exploring from both financing and tech perspectives.
   We announced in December the Board had approved Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, so crypto was on TRNR’s radar from a DeFi and inflation-resistant store of value perspective. Ali and his team have helped expand our vision for what we can do with crypto, blockchain and AI.
5. US Expansion Plans Are Accelerating:
   Sportstech is well-positioned to enter the US, and we’re already in serious partnership discussions with major brands about entering in a very synergistic and risk-managed way.
6. The Combined Company Is Undervalued:
   Both Trent and Ali expressed frustration—but also resolve—about TRNR’s current share price, which they believe doesn’t reflect the business’s operational strength or future potential.
7. Looking Ahead to Earnings
   Next week’s earnings report will include more on Q1 performance across TRNR, the progress with Sportstech and Wattbike, and our expectations for the rest of 2025. 

We encourage you to read the Q&A below to get an authentic look at how our leadership team is thinking—and why we believe the best is yet to come.

 

Q&A with Trent Ward and Ali Ahmad

 

Lightly edited for clarity and length from a longer internal discussion

• Trent, when you look at everything that’s been happening since announcing the Sportstech deal, how would you sum it up?

Trent: I think things are going better than we expected. The business is performing really well—we highlighted that in our update last week—but even beyond the numbers, the integration has started in a really positive way. We’ve got teams already collaborating. Last week, Ali’s team and two of his top people met with some of the senior team from Wattbike in London, along with an executive from TRNR, to align on things like UK and German sales efforts, and to improve sourcing strategies. So it’s not just theoretical. We’re seeing early signs of synergy actually taking shape. That gives me a lot of confidence—not just in hitting projections, but in how much value we can create by combining these businesses.

• Ali, what does that early integration feel like from your side?

Ali: For me, it’s very exciting. We’re already seeing the fit between our teams and our goals. Just in that meeting in London, we were bringing our knowledge of supply chain, sourcing, and product experience to the table—and already finding ways to help Wattbike improve their margins. We think we can help them improve their bottom line through better execution and sourcing. But it’s not just about margins. It’s also about reach. Sportstech has been strong in Germany and parts of Europe. Now, with this partnership, we have a real path into the US, which is something we’ve wanted. TRNR is exactly the kind of partner we hoped for—strategic, digital, and ready to scale.

• And Sportstech is growing rapidly. What’s driving that?

Ali: April was a fantastic month—revenues up 36% year-over-year. We’re growing, but we’re also staying disciplined. That’s the key. We remember what happened during the COVID boom — companies grew, but so did costs. When things slowed down, they got stuck. We didn’t do that. We’ve spent the last two years making the company more resilient—streamlining teams, optimizing warehouses, renegotiating supplier terms. And we also shifted currency strategy. Most companies buy from China in USD — we switched to RMB, which cuts down on FX exposure. All of these steps are helping us grow with confidence, not just hope.

• What’s your perspective on the April and Q1 results?

Ali: We’re proud of them. We had a very strong Q1 and an even stronger April—revenue was up 36% year-over-year in April. We’re profitable. That’s important. Unlike many others, we haven’t raised outside capital—we’ve built Sportstech ourselves. That gives us discipline. We’ve spent the last 18-months-plus growing while staying lean and being smart about our costs.

• Trent, you’ve mentioned being impressed with the tech team in India. Can you share more about that?

Trent: Yeah, this surprised me. After the deal was signed, Ali spent time in Bangalore with the tech team. I knew they had engineers there, but I didn’t realize how sophisticated that operation was. They’re not just a support team—they’re a product engine. They’re building AI tools for personalized workouts, gamification layers that make training more fun, and even working on blockchain applications. And this isn’t outsourced work. It’s their team. They hired them, trained them, and they’re aligned with the company’s mission. It really elevates what we’re capable of.

• Ali, can you give us examples of what your India team is building?

Ali: Sure. One innovation is gamified fitness with actual controllers—like combining video games with cardio. Another is personalized AI training plans that adapt based on user feedback and performance. And we’re building a blockchain layer for fitness rewards. It’s real motivation, tied to real outcomes.

• How do you want to use the broader TRNR platform?

Ali: We want to bring our best products into the US and expand our ecommerce. TRNR gives us that reach. We’re also integrating more AI and gamification across the portfolio, and as I said, building out that motivation platform. My mission is to help more people train consistently—and love doing it.

• Ali, how would you explain the blockchain and gamification strategy to an everyday investor?

Ali: It’s simple—we want people to enjoy working out and stick with it. Blockchain gives us tools to reward users—what we call ‘move to earn’ or ‘play to earn.’ 

Imagine riding your bike, completing your workouts, and earning tokens that represent progress. Those tokens can be used or redeemed. It’s motivation. And it’s built on trust, because blockchain makes it verifiable. We’re also looking to make this platform open—not just for Sportstech, but for other partners too. It could become an ecosystem.

• Blockchain and fitness isn’t something most companies are doing. Why do it?

Ali: Motivation. People struggle to stick to workouts. But if you reward consistency with something tangible—tokens, progress markers, community status—you create loyalty. And if those tokens are on blockchain, it’s secure and shareable. We’re building that platform now, and not just for Sportstech—it could serve TRNR and partners across the ecosystem.

• Trent, is this crypto strategy something TRNR is embracing?

Trent: Yes, and it’s partially thanks to Ali. We were already comfortable with Bitcoin as a treasury asset, but Ali brought us into the world of applied blockchain in fitness, and the tie-in to AI. We’ve updated our vision because of that. And when Ali joins the TRNR board, he’ll continue to champion that innovation. 

And from a DeFi point of view, I can say – as illustrated by the December announcement we made about broadening our Treasure Reserve Asset strategy to include crypto – we were already there. However, we had not realized how quickly some of these themes – asset allocation, balance sheet expansion, gamification, AI – could come together. 

We’re actively exploring crypto as a reserve and tech strategy right now for that reason. We see these initiatives as very relevant and I know Ali has been excited by the discussions we are having.

• How do you see that integrating with the TRNR platform more broadly?

Trent: I think we’re only scratching the surface. We haven’t rolled it out to all commercial partners yet—it’s still early—but the potential is there. For example, Forme is an expert-level digital training system. Wattbike is a performance tool. If we can layer in intelligent coaching, gamification, or reward systems across those touchpoints, we might be able to expand the population that those products aim to serve. It potentially would become more accessible, and more useful. So we could grow the addressable market without compromising quality.

•  The deal hasn’t officially closed—can you give a quick update on progress there?

Trent: It’s just legal and regulatory stuff at this point. No ambiguity. From a business perspective, it’s already done. We’re already acting like one company, and the lawyers will catch up soon enough. We’d snap our fingers and close it tomorrow if we could—but we’re also not waiting on the lawyers to move forward.

• We have to just cut to the chase –  when does the deal close?

Trent: We don’t control the timeline. I can say we’re nearly there. Speaking for me and for Ali,  the deal’s done in spirit.

• And after it’s official—what happens?

Trent: I get out of Ali’s way. He knows how to run his business. My job is to support, amplify, and make sure we’re aligned at the group level. His products, his vision—they deserve a global stage.

• Final thoughts—for investors looking at the current TRNR share price and wondering if it reflects the fundamentals?

Trent: It doesn’t reflect the fundamentals, or our progress towards a larger and more successful group in my opinion. I’ve had to give Ali long explanations about the technicals in the stock market and how markets can be irrational in the short term, and I would prefer that I didn’t have to share those explanations. But it’s the reality and it’s frustrating. The business is growing, the teams are executing, and the strategy is working. I have high expectations where we will be by the time we report Q4 because I believe our results will be very attractive.

But markets aren’t always efficient in the short term. What we can do is deliver value, quarter after quarter. That’s the plan. Fundamentals matter in the long run, and we’re focused on building value that will show up in the numbers over time.

• Ali, any last thoughts on where this is headed?

Ali: I have no doubts that the combined company is much more valuable than the stock suggests. I also believe that that gap will close. I believe our competitors already see the strength of what we’re building. I believe investors will see it too—it just takes consistency and time. But quarter by quarter, I expect that they’ll see it.

 

Thank you for your continued support!

TRNR

 

Forward Looking Statements:
This transcript includes certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and reflect management’s assumptions, views, plans, objectives and projections about the future. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe”, “project”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “intend”, “strategy”, “future”, “opportunity”, “plan”, “may”, “should”, “will”, “would”, “will be”, “will continue”, “will likely result” or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the possibility of completing the Sportstech or Wattbike transactions in a timely manner or at all, the synergies from these transactions as well as the financial performance of Sportstech through April 2025 as the financial metrics have not been audited or independently verified by the Company, as well as improving Wattbike’s bottom line through better execution and sourcing not materializing, Sportstech’s envisioned product features and usage of technology may not become commercial or contribute to the business, crypto and other technological applications of blockchain technology may not be implemented or be relevant to the business, implementing technology such as intelligent coaching, gamification, or reward systems may not occur and it may not grow the addressable market as expected, results in Q4 may not be received as very attractive by investors, the stock market valuation may not match the fundamental value and investors might not change their perspective and the company may not deliver positive quarterly performance

 

The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of the Company. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: demand for our products; competition, including technological advances made by and new products released by our competitors; our ability to accurately forecast consumer demand for our products and adequately maintain our inventory; and our reliance on a limited number of suppliers and distributors for our products. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. To the extent permitted under applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.