Meet Our Survival of the FHITTEST 2026 Champions

Survival of the FHITTEST 2026 was one for the books! Our new challenge format brought incredible energy and competitive spirit to our studio floor. We loved cheering on our FHIXers as they pushed themselves to new limits. We’re incredibly proud of our competition winners, who gave it their all to come out on top. Just completing the challenge was a win, but our champions showed us what it means to combine determination, grit, and the incredible rush of adrenaline you get from a room full of people cheering you on to win. We sat down with some of our winners to ask about their fitness journeys, their competition experience, and what they love about workouts at Fhitting Room. Read more below to get to know our champions. Next year, this could be you! 

Please tell us a little about your fitness journey.
Katie D: I was a very short, slight kid and was really into gymnastics until I hit age 15 and grew 8 inches. Then I didn’t work out in any serious way until my early twenties, when I basically fell in love with pushing myself in difficult classes and hit every fad, from step aerobics to 12 years as a daily Ashtanga practitioner and teacher to Pilates to HIIT. Now I’m just trying to keep it up because it makes me happy — exercise is a great defense against anxiety, depression, death, all those bad things.

Jennifer L: I was a competitive swimmer growing up. In college I swam NCAA Div III; I held school and conference records and made national qualifying cuts. After college I focused more on graduate school and my career, but I always tried to work out in some way (mostly master’s swimming, a bit of running, and a little bit of weightlifting). In my 30s I dropped all of that and got really into aerial circus; in particular I fell in love with aerial rope. Now I balance my workouts across aerial rope, kettlebell strength, and Signature FHIT at Fhitting Room, and I recently started running again. I guess you can say my fitness journey goes through phases!

Brian B: Trying to stay active and fit is a key part of my life. I feel better when I move, and feel even better after completing a challenging workout.

Sarah M: I ran cross country in high school but I was pretty terrible. In college, I started playing rugby and fell in love with it. After college I didn’t really know what I was doing in terms of fitness so I’d just do intervals on the Stairmaster until a friend suggested I try CrossFit, which was how I first got into lifting weights. My wife and friends are into Fhitting Room and they took me a few times and I loved it.

Brooke R: I grew up playing soccer, so being active has always been a part of my life. When I moved to NYC, I fell into the cardio class and Pilates trend like everyone else at the time. But as I started doing more research (and as kettlebell training became more popular) I shifted my focus to lifting weights, and I haven’t looked back. I love the way strength training makes me feel and the energy it gives me throughout the day.

How did you start working out at Fhitting Room?
KD: I live in Harlem. But I have two parrots, and NYC’s only avian vet is less than a block away on Columbus Ave. One day I was bringing Henry, my now 30-year-old female Amazon parrot, in for a checkup and thought, “Oh, a new HIIT place, I’ll try that.” Isn’t that hilarious? 

JL: I was doing a lot of aerial circus at the time which was mostly core and upper body strength. One day I decided it would be beneficial for me to mix in more lower body strength work. I had also read that doing high intensity interval training once a week is good for your health, so I started looking up classes/studios in my neighborhood, and stumbled upon Fhitting Room. I took one class and was hooked!

BB: I had been to a few classes years ago, but started going regularly within the past 12 months. I like the instructors, and love how I can calibrate the workout to how I feel that day, though I always wind up out of breath by the end.

SM: My friends liked to go and they thought I would like it.

BR: I was living in Chelsea at the time and would walk past the studio constantly. I finally decided to give it a try, and my first class left me sore for a full week. But I was hooked!

What made you decide to compete in the 2026 Survival of the FHITTEST? 
KD: If you don’t count the remote team competition during COVID, this is my third year in a row entering. Both other times I just felt flooded with adrenaline in a way I don’t usually feel in real life. It actually got in my way, and I was interested in the challenge of having a feeling that was new to me in middle age and trying to work around it, so I kept coming back. Plus, it’s fun. Eric in particular is such a great group cheerleader and it’s fun to watch him perform for a crowd.

JL: I thought it would be fun! I was originally planning to compete in SOTF with a friend in mixed doubles, but he had to cancel the night before due to illness. I decided to psyche myself up to compete solo, and I’m happy I did!

BB:  I like a challenge against the clock, and this was a good one. Very cardio intensive. I also wanted to get a better sense for the community, and that was the best part. It was such an energizing Saturday afternoon.

SM: My friend Naomi wanted a partner and she we thought it would be fun to do together since we both have different strengths.

BR: My husband and I were looking for a way to reignite our competitive side. We both grew up playing sports, and the SOTF felt like the perfect chance to channel that energy again! 

What did you enjoy about competing this year?
KD: I didn’t expect to win, but I did expect doing 50 burpees on top of everything else to suck, so I knew all I could hope to do was put in a good rowing time and then get through the rest, which I did. There was only so far I could push myself in what was for me such a long competition period, and I had to be entirely in charge of that. Anyone cheering me on would just have to wait for me to catch my breath. It was liberating to know that as I was doing it, and it helped me get through it as much as the cheering did. And I do love the moral of winning just because I did something difficult that nobody else wanted to do, because that truly is sometimes how you win at stuff in real life.

JL: First, I love that SOTF is a community event that brings so many of us together to compete and cheer. Competing in SOTF is super fun because you really put yourself out there. The adrenaline helps me push myself to a limit that I just can’t hit everyday. The FHITpros are incredibly encouraging, people are cheering you on, the music is good, and the energy in the room is electric!

BB: I liked the exercises and sequence. Having a coach alongside you counting your reps made it feel very official.

SM: The atmosphere was great and I love cheering people on and seeing people push themselves past what they thought their limits were.

BR: Pushing myself further than I thought I could go, leaning on the incredible community around the event, and being completely inspired by the other competitors. It was such a special experience.

What do you love about working out at Fhitting Room? 
KD: The people and the positivity. The instructors are the best I’ve ever had and they set the inclusive mood, but it’s the people who keep coming back who really make the community. When you get to know someone very slowly and only by proximity, by sweating next to them and exchanging quips or quick conversations over a period of years, it’s kind of special, in the way that having good neighbors you actually like talking to can be special.

JL: There’s so many things to love: the programming, the music, the community, and I think most importantly: the FHITpros. The FHITpros are super talented at giving instruction, at demoing, at dialing in technique, but they are also so genuine and encouraging to everyone in the class. They push us to work harder and pick up heavier weights in a purely positive way and we feed off of that positive energy and ultimately benefit. I’m just really impressed with the environment that’s been created.

BB: The feeling of having given it my all on a long circuit only to hear there’s an 8-minute EMOM on deck.

SM: I love that I can just show up and know I’m going to get a great workout without having to think about it. The instructors all have such great energy.

BR: The community, hands down. Everyone is so welcoming, no one takes themselves too seriously, but the workouts are seriously good and effective. 

Do you have any fitness goals you’re working towards currently? 
KD: Just trying to get old with strength, as grace has never been one of my virtues. I love that every day I can see people older than me doing this workout and making it their own. I respect and admire that, and at this point I can only hope it’s where I’m headed.

JL: I’ve recently started running again and I plan to run a half marathon in September and a HYROX Doubles Race and Relay in October.

SM: I still play professional rugby, so most of my fitness goals are around being the best player I can be.

BR: Building strength has been my big focus this year, and it’s been so rewarding to see the progress.

Feeling inspired? Book your next class here!