Shokz elevates HYROX North America deal

Shokz said on May 21 that it had expanded its partnership with HYROX North America for the 2025/2026 season, tying its OpenFit Pro earbuds more closely to one of the fastest-growing fitness-race brands in the region. The company said the upgraded deal includes a larger presence around NYU Langone Health HYROX New York and a six-stop gym training tour across North America. HYROX lists its New York event for May 28 to June 7 and says it expects 50,000 athletes, making it the largest HYROX event in North American history. ### What exactly changed in the Shokz-HYROX relationship? Shokz said the change is an elevation of an existing partnership, not a first-time sponsorship. In a company release, Shokz said it is the Official Headphone Partner of HYROX North America for the 2025/2026 season and will deepen the collaboration through race activations and the training tour. (prnewswire.com) An earlier Shokz announcement from about eight months ago had already set the companies on a season-long tie-up covering 14 races across the United States and Canada. That announcement said the partnership would run through June 2026 and initially centered on the OpenFit 2+ co-branded edition. ### Why is OpenFit Pro at the center of this push? OpenFit Pro is the product Shokz is now putting in front of HYROX athletes. (prnewswire.com) On its product page, Shokz describes OpenFit Pro as an open-ear earbud with “Open-Ear Noise Reduction,” secure ear hooks, up to 50 hours of power with the charging case, and IP55 water and dust resistance. Shokz said the training tour and the New York event presence will be used to introduce OpenFit Pro to North American athletes. (shokz.com) The release framed that product push around performance, awareness and comfort during training. (shokz.com) ### What is HYROX New York, and how big is it? HYROX says NYU Langone Health HYROX New York will be held across two weekends, from May 28 to June 1 and June 3 to June 7. The event page says the race will bring together elite athletes, everyday competitors and first-timers in New York City. HYROX says the New York edition will host 50,000 athletes. That figure matters because it gives Shokz a large in-person stage for product sampling, branding and community workouts tied to the broader sponsorship. (prnewswire.com) ### How does this fit into the broader HYROX buildout in North America? HYROX and Shokz have been linking product marketing to race participation for months. Shokz’s earlier partnership post said the North American season would span cities including Miami, New York City, Las Vegas and Vancouver, with more than 150,000 expected participants across the calendar. (hyrox.com) The new announcement adds a six-stop gym tour to that race footprint. Shokz said the tour is meant to extend the partnership beyond race weekends and into training environments where athletes prepare for HYROX competition. (shokz.com) ### What happens next? May 28 is the next dated checkpoint in the rollout. HYROX’s event page shows NYU Langone Health HYROX New York beginning that day, with racing continuing through June 7. The 2025/2026 North American season is the broader window for the partnership. Shokz said the six-stop training tour and OpenFit Pro activations will run as part of that season, with HYROX races continuing across the United States and Canada. (prnewswire.com) (hyrox.com)