Crunch Fitness Frames the Gym as a Social and Stress Relief Space for the New Year
Krissy Vann | Host, All Things Fitness and Wellness
Crunch Fitness is leaning into culture with its newest brand campaign, “Crunch: Feel More,” a music-driven creative directed by Hype Williams and set to the familiar track “This Is How We Do It.” The campaign represents the next phase of Crunch’s “Feel Good, Not Bad” platform, first introduced in 2023, and reflects a broader shift in how gyms are positioning themselves as places for connection, stress relief, and everyday reset.
Williams, whose visual style shaped decades of music videos for artists including Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes, brings a cinematic, music-video lens to the work. The result is a series of spots that move away from traditional fitness advertising and instead frame the gym as a cultural space centered on movement, music, and shared energy.
The timing is intentional. As stress levels remain elevated, Crunch is speaking directly to what many younger members say they want from fitness right now: relief, a sense of belonging, and an experience that feels enjoyable rather than punishing. “Feel More” presents the gym not just as a place to train, but as a space where members leave feeling lighter, more connected, and more energized than when they arrived.
The creative also leans into nostalgia. Crunch leadership points to a renewed interest in 1990s and early-2000s culture, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials. Chad Waetzig, Chief Marketing Officer at Crunch Fitness, said the brand saw an opportunity to revisit its roots as a gym known for being playful and accessible while still delivering results. The song choice, he noted, reflects the atmosphere Crunch aims to create the moment members walk through the doors: upbeat, welcoming, and social.
The campaign also serves as a visual introduction to Crunch 3.0, the company’s newer gym design concept. The spots move through group fitness studios, Olympic lifting areas, and recovery-focused spaces, showing how training, music, and social energy coexist within the club. Rather than focusing on equipment or programming details, the creative emphasizes how the space feels in use.
Crunch President Chequan Lewis described gyms today as modern gathering places, comparing them to the role house parties once played as hubs for music, movement, and community. From that perspective, “Feel More” positions the gym experience as something people choose not only for physical outcomes, but also for enjoyment and connection.
The campaign is rolling out across television, social platforms, radio, out-of-home placements, merchandise, and in-gym creative. Development was led by Familiar Creatures, which has worked with Crunch on brand creative for several years. According to co-founder Justin Bajan, the idea was to capture the moment when a workout shifts from routine to experience, and the gym starts to feel more like a scene than a task.
