In a recent Business Insider article, military affairs reporter Kelsey Baker shared her experience with an unconventional approach to modern dating.
She attended a Hyrox fitness race in New York City, not just as a competitor, but as a participant in a blind date organized by wellness dating app Surf.
The concept combines the challenge of an intense workout with the vulnerability of meeting someone new.
And for Baker, a 35-year-old Marine veteran, it turned out to be surprisingly effective.
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Meeting Your Match in the Roxzone
Hyrox has exploded in popularity, attracting an estimated 1.5 million competitors between 2025 and 2026—more than double the previous season.
The fitness event alternates one-kilometer runs with eight strength stations: sled pushes, lunges, wall balls, rowing, burpees, and more. It’s grueling enough to challenge serious athletes but accessible enough for fitness enthusiasts looking to test their limits.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Baker stood nervously with four other women in matching athletic gear, waiting to meet her race partner—and blind date—inside a bright blue inflatable Red Bull tunnel along the Hudson River.
A hand tapped my shoulder, and I awkwardly turned around to meet Eric, a tall, dark-haired man with a cute smile and lean frame—and clearly a strong runner.
Eric, a 35-year-old video editor from DC, had signed up after finding community through his track club and gym. His remote work pushed him to seek connection through fitness, eventually leading him to coaching.
For Baker, the appeal was clear: she swings between swearing off dating apps and anxiously redownloading them later, part of a growing number of singles craving in-person connections.
Why Fitness Dating Makes Sense
Dr. Jess Carbino, a sociologist who formerly worked at Bumble and Tinder, explained that people have always sought partners within communities reflecting their identities and values.
As “lifestyle compatibility” becomes increasingly important, gyms and run clubs have emerged as essential third spaces where people connect over shared interests.
People are hopeful. They want to fantasize that things will work out for them.
Rob Long, cofounder and CEO of Surf, said the blind-date concept arose from recognizing dating-app fatigue. More singles want partners who already share meaningful parts of their lives.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Hyrox offered a concentrated pool of people united by fitness—a major lifestyle component for many participants.
Long’s team sifted through more than 5,000 applications for the New York event, using social media profiles to gauge personality and fitness experience.
The Race Begins: Strategy and Sunscreen
Before the race started, Eric helped Baker refine her ski-erg technique—the machine that mimics cross-country skiing isn’t exactly intuitive.
They strategized while applying sunscreen under the warm-up tent. Baker, acknowledging she was the slower runner, would set their pace. Eric, having completed three previous Hyrox races, offered gentle guidance.
Most mixed doubles teams divide work according to each partner’s strengths to manage muscle fatigue. A male partner might push the 335-pound sled longer, giving his teammate’s legs a break before she takes over more rowing later.
Baker had spent two days hydrating and consuming electrolytes to prepare. On race day, temperatures soared to a sweltering 89 degrees along the river.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
From Small Talk to Lock-In Mode
For the first four laps, Baker and Eric chatted about work, families, and the story she was writing. Their pace hovered around nine minutes per mile.
We could go faster, he said gently, and maybe even finish within a respectable one hour and 20 minutes, but I’d have to lay off the yapping and lock-in.
Baker laughed but felt something shift. The competitive challenge reminded her of old military hikes and survival school, where discomfort becomes normal, even fun.
Eric’s experience meant Baker didn’t have to navigate the chaotic “Roxzone” maze alone—the area where athletes shuffle between laps and progressive strength stations. At the sled-pull station, she tripped and fell twice. Each time, Eric helped her up, both laughing.
Michael Easter, author of “The Comfort Crisis,” told Baker that shared challenges create meaningful bonds.
We’ve lost a lot of the sort of ‘good friction’ that makes us value how we spend our time and gives us meaning in life.
Sedentary lifestyles and technology dependence have eroded opportunities to develop grit and endurance. Challenges like Hyrox teach people they’re more capable than they think.
Easter explained that “shared suffering” deepens connections—something Baker experienced firsthand. Seeing how someone treats you when they’re exhausted but still facing 100 wall balls reveals character in ways a coffee date never could.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The Hyrox Culture: Rave Meets Race
Baker was surprised by the variety of fitness levels. Insiders told her Hyrox’s appeal lies in being challenging without being reserved only for elite athletes.
It requires less speed and strength than marathons or competitive CrossFit. The hardest part might just be getting to a race—tickets cost around $200 and sell out within minutes.
The atmosphere felt less like competition and more like a workout party.
- Free hair-braiding stations
- Rave-style face sparkles
- Nonalcoholic beer push-up challenges
- Cold plunge stations
- Tables brimming with protein bars, creatine, and sleep supplements
Baker noted elaborate glittered braids, sweat-soaked headbands, and neon matching outfits everywhere. A DJ blared high-BPM club music while athletes ground through their 77-minute sweat-soaked challenges.
Less Awkward Than Expected
Throughout the race, Eric consistently put Baker first. At each water stop, he never drank until ensuring she had a cup. He cheered her on at every station.
Baker admitted she was too wiped to reciprocate much encouragement.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
I’m clapping for you in my head.
They finished just under one hour and 17 minutes. As they approached the finish line, Eric asked if Baker wanted to cross it on his back. She gladly accepted.
Afterward, they collapsed into zero-gravity chairs reserved for tired racers, easing pressure off exhausted joints. Sweaty, crusted with cheap sunscreen, and wearing a lopsided ballcap, Baker realized something unexpected.
This was the least awkward first date I’d ever been on, even as my cheeks burned from the heat. There wasn’t much room for pretense while surviving burpees through the heat.
Finding Community Through Challenge
Baker met a fellow veteran at the event who was cheering on his fiancée. For the first time since leaving active duty, he’d found a new tribe through Hyrox.
Baker herself had joined the military at 23 to challenge herself. She hasn’t found a similarly rewarding experience since her early days as a lieutenant.
The Marine Corps is famously cultish, and Hyrox might not be far off. Both create tight-knit communities bonded through shared hardship and achievement.
By the time their heart rates returned to normal, Baker realized she’d learned more about Eric than she ever would have over drinks. There wasn’t much room for pretense or performative first-date behavior.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
And even when their race was over, they still had more talking to do.
