Following its launch in Fullerton, Gold’s Gym SoCal plans to roll out Octagon Load stations across its clubs, offering members access to a new functional strength zone for an added fee

When Gold’s Gym SoCal in Fullerton, California, faced bottlenecks in its high-demand free-weight area, owners Angel and Willie Banos found a game-changing solution from Escape Fitness, a fitness solutions provider for club operators.

The Fullerton club is now the first in the U.S. to install Octagon Load, a strength and functional training system featuring Gold’s Gym’s signature black and gold color palette.

Designed and built at Escape Technologies’ U.K. facility, Octagon Load blends traditional plate-loaded strength with high-tensile resistance bands to deliver continuous muscle engagement and advanced variable resistance, especially at the end range of motion. The system features five bolt-down stations (Squat, Drive, Lift, Press and Row) that support full-body, standing-position workouts, maximizing kinetic chain activation and training efficiency.

The setup was installed in a repurposed kids’ club room, transforming it into a dedicated functional training space that members can access for an additional fee. While Fullerton is the first to feature Octagon Load, it’s not the last. The new training solution is set to roll out across other Gold’s Gym SoCal locations.

“Working with Escape is always a great experience,” Gold’s Gym vice president of facilities Jason Taylor said. “The equipment is not only engineered to deliver a faultless training experience, it is also extremely robust. We have some of California’s biggest, most experienced powerlifters using our facility, and the Escape equipment is more than up to the job.”

As Escape Fitness USA CEO Matthew Januszek points out, strength training has gone mainstream and is no longer reserved just for elite athletes or bodybuilders.

“It’s a cornerstone of fitness for people of all ages and abilities,” he said. “After three years of research and conversations with leading operators, athletes and coaches, built on a lifetime of experience working in the fitness industry, Escape Fitness has created a circuit-based system for the general population that efficiently stimulates muscle.”

See Also

The team has also worked with fitness educator Tommy Matthews to develop Load education materials, which are available both in-person and digitally.

“We are also developing content for our MARS digital training system, so users will be able to access digital content anytime to help them execute movements safely and effectively,” Januszek added.

Load’s five stations can function as a standalone unit or be connected, with options for integrated equipment storage. Weatherproofing is also available for facilities with outdoor space, and frames can be customized to reflect brand identity.

This is a guest post by Shreyasi Tripathi, a technology policy professional and Atulya Gupta, Head of Public Policy and Advocacy at Kaio.

When the internet first entered our lives, it was a frontier of limitless potential and equally limitless uncertainty. Each new use case, from social media to e-commerce to digital payments, brought with it a wave of opportunity followed closely by challenges: fraud, misinformation, harassment and addiction. Yet over time, these issues were met with innovation, regulation, and growing digital literacy. 

Gaming is the latest frontier in this evolution. As it becomes a dominant form of entertainment, especially in India, it too faces its set of growing pains ranging from financial harm to mental health concerns. Recent events saw a student being allegedly held captive in Kanpur over gaming debts and a Bhubaneswar youth being found dead, with problem gaming being suspected, underscoring the urgent need to spotlight responsible gaming practices. 

While the online gaming industry in India stands out as the fastest-growing segment in new media, mishaps like these are on the rise. Even amidst facing the threat of illegal offshore betting platforms, gaming accounted for 30% of the total new media market revenue and reached $3.8 billion in valuation. In 2024, the gaming consumer base reached a staggering 442 million, with the average time spent on gaming increasing by 30% to 13 hours per week, catapulting India to become the second-largest gaming community in the world. 

These numbers speak volumes about the growing interest in gaming in the Indian market. The benefits of gaming – entertainment, community, improved cognitive function, and spatial reasoning – are now well studied and recorded. However, excessive gaming has its own share of drawbacks. These range from risk of online scams, financial strain, dependence on the virtual world, as well as adverse impact on physical and mental health, including sedentary lifestyle, irregular sleep, anxiety and depression. The urgency with which we should empower users with the right information to protect their health grows by the day. This underscores the need for all stakeholders,industry, Government and players, to ensure online safety and responsible play. 

With the aim of fostering responsible play, gaming companies offer players a system of checks and balances; self-exclusion and limit settings being the most widely accepted measures. These tools are only as effective as their use, placing a significant share of the responsibility on players to engage with them meaningfully. Self-exclusion acts as a reset button that not only slashes time and money spent by players on gaming but also relieves stress and boosts mental wellbeing. It’s a powerful pause that helps break the cycle of harmful habits and reclaim balance. On the other hand, limit-setting tools offer a more flexible approach. These result in healthier gaming patterns, stronger self-control, and a better understanding of one’s spending. According to research, even intense users have shown marked reductions in both participation and expenditure over time.

A recent study, analysing data of 8,300 users, evinces the efficacy of these measures.1 They found that when players voluntarily excluded themselves, or set limits on their game-play, they spent less money, played fewer games, but their winnings per game were higher than before. The findings highlight that the real impact hinges on players choosing to use these tools. 

Compared to external regulations such as complete bans, or time-restrictions imposed by the government, which are difficult to enforce and have easy work-arounds, these tools, due to their reliance on self-resolve, can ensure that a player can reap the positive benefits of online gaming, without risking unhealthy consequences. 

While self-exclusion and limit setting tools have proven to be efficient in tackling problem gaming behaviours, they have their own limitations. Short-term exclusions often fall short, and for some players, the return to gaming triggers a rebound—playing harder after the pause. Emotional fallout like isolation and deprivation can make things worse, especially in the absence of ongoing psychological support. Further, its lack of flexibility makes it harder to follow as a sustainable practice. Though more flexible, limit-setting tools come with their own share of cracks. Users can tweak or bypass them, especially when driven by compulsive habits or the urge to chase rewards. Overly strict systems may even backfire, pushing players toward alternative platforms or anonymous accounts. Further, the success of these tools is also dependent on the intrinsic behaviour of players and external factors such as social media exposure and peer pressure. 

Thus, these tools need to be accompanied by targeted and adaptable measures, taking into consideration psychological and external factors affecting gaming behaviour, and also the creation of support systems for the sustenance of safe gaming habits. However, with the knowledge that these tools are effective in addressing problem gaming behaviours, regulators, gaming companies and civil society must take note and ensure that these options are available to all gamers. More importantly, generating awareness amongst users about the value these tools might add to their gaming experience will have a significant impact. 

To sustain the momentum of India’s booming gaming industry, it is essential to balance growth with user well-being. As the sector evolves, so must the safeguards that accompany it. Responsible gaming tools like self-exclusion and limit-setting are not just optional add-ons, they are evidence-backed solutions that empower players to make informed choices. Ultimately, the onus of responsible play rests significantly with the players themselves, who must take active steps to use these tools wisely. Through collaboration among industry, government and users themselves, and greater awareness and accessibility of such features, India can foster a gaming ecosystem that not only rides high on technological innovation but also builds consumer trust and takes accountability. Only then can the promise of online gaming truly be fulfilled: for players, platforms, and the future of the nation. 

Views expressed in the article are the personal opinion of the authors.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has selected EVS’s Xeebra video review system to power its new centralised VAR (video assistant referee) Center. The facility, located at the RBFA’s headquarters, will be fully equipped by EMG / Gravity Media ahead of the upcoming Pro League season kicking off in July.

The VAR Center will feature six state-of-the-art booths, each outfitted with EVS’s Xeebra system, a FIFA- and FIBA-certified multi-camera review solution trusted across 13 sports worldwide. Xeebra enables officials to review action from multiple angles in synchronisation, with touchscreen controls that allow for precise zooming and slow-motion playback.

Peter Willems, CEO of the RBFA, emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership: “This investment represents a significant leap forward in our commitment to innovation and fairness in football. By centralising our VAR operations with EVS’s Xeebra technology, we are equipping our referees with the most advanced tools available, ensuring more accurate decisions and reinforcing Belgian football’s position as a leader in integrity and technological excellence.”

Nicolas Bourdon, chief commercial officer at EVS, added: “We’re proud to see Xeebra at the heart of Belgian football. This collaboration with the RBFA and EMG is a testament to our shared vision of delivering the highest standards in officiating through cutting-edge technology. And with access to the VAR Center for training and demonstrations, we’re excited to make Tubize a hub for VAR excellence in Europe.”

Dirk Theunis, managing director – Belgium at EMG / Gravity Media, commented: “We’re thrilled to bring our technical expertise to this project. Equipping the VAR Center with EVS’s Xeebra systems ensures that referees have the best tools available to make accurate and timely decisions. It’s a win for the game, the officials, and the fans.”

Sports data and technology heavyweight Genius Sports has extended and expanded its partnership with American football’s elite National Football League (NFL).

The multi-year renewal, which now runs through the 2029 NFL campaign, will see Genius Sports continue as the league’s exclusive distributor of real-time, play-by-play data and statistics for both viewing audiences and betting firms.

In expanding the deal, Genius will now also exclusively manage the NFL’s in-game advertising inventory, utilizing its FANHub sports activation platform to target commercial advertising to viewers during games.

Speaking on the renewal, NFL vice president of business development and strategic investments Brent Lawton commented: “Across data, video, advertising, and integrity services, Genius has proven to be an important strategic partner through the first four seasons of our partnership.”

Genius Sports chief executive Mark Locke added: “The NFL delivers a tremendous platform to accelerate our business, and we are thrilled to extend and grow our strategic partnership.

“Our expanded NFL partnership further strengthens our leading position at the heart of the sports technology ecosystem, and represents a key milestone in our FANHub rollout, setting a new standard for data-driven immersive experiences for NFL fans, broadcasters, teams, sportsbooks, brands, and sponsors.”

Genius Sports took over from rival Sportradar as the NFL’s official data distributor in 2021, and led to the 2023 launch of the BetVision solution, now one of Genius Sports’ flagship offerings.

Since the partnership’s inception, the NFL has often been a first mover in terms of adopting Genius Sports innovations, such as the Genius Marketing Suite for which it was the first partner.

The BetVision advanced stats overlay allows customers to “place wagers from within the live video player in the sportsbook’s app,” with low-latency streams featuring integrated betting odds and bet slips and set to be enhanced by in-game alerts and on-screen offers.

Founded in 2000, Genius Sports has experience working with more than 500 sports organizations and leagues, including soccer’s FIFA and English Premier League, basketball’s NBA, EuroLeague, and FIBA, baseball’s MLB, motor racing’s Nascar, and US golf’s PGA Tour.

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Bengaluru, India – 11th June 2025: Machaxi, a sports-tech company focused on grassroots coaching and digital sports infrastructure, has raised $1.5 million in a round led by Rainmatter, the investment initiative of Zerodha. The round also saw participation from Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone and existing investors.

The funding will help Machaxi scale its operations beyond Bengaluru into three new cities-Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai—while also building a nationwide framework for AI-powered badminton coaching.

“We’ve always believed in the power of grassroots sports to transform communities. Machaxi’s tech-driven approach to coaching, combined with a solid on-ground strategy, aligns perfectly with our mission at Rainmatter to back sustainable and impactful ventures. We’re excited to support them on this journey, “said Nithin Kamath, Founder of Zerodha and Rainmatter.

As part of the expansion, Machaxi is collaborating with the Padukone School of Badminton to launch the “Machaxi x Padukone School of Badminton” program. The initiative aims to establish over 1,000 coaching centres across India within the next four years. A key feature of this partnership is the rollout of an AI-based coaching system that will help maintain consistency in training, regardless of geography or availability of expert coaches.

Prakash Padukone, Ace Indian Badminton player, added, “I’ve always believed that the future of Indian badminton lies in structured grassroots development. Machaxi’s vision to scale coaching while maintaining quality through AI is forward-thinking and impactful. I’m thrilled to partner with them in shaping the next generation of champions.”

The company’s AI coaching system is designed not to replace human coaches, but to standardize training quality, assist in performance tracking, and ensure that the coaching model remains scalable.

Pratish Raj, Co-founder, Machaxi, commented, “This partnership is a big step forward in our mission to make quality sports coaching accessible to everyone in India. With the support of Rainmatter and the visionary backing of Mr. Padukone, we’re working toward a future where every aspiring athlete no matter where they come from can train with consistency, purpose, and access to world-class infrastructure. Our AI powered model is built to ensure that potential is discovered and nurtured, not overlooked. We’re proud to be at the forefront of this shift in grassroots sports.”

Since its founding, Machaxi has built a reputation as a pioneer in integrating technology with grassroots sports coaching. By combining AI-powered tools with on-ground coaching, Machaxi aims to address key challenges in India’s sports ecosystem — such as inconsistent coaching quality and limited access to professional training. With this funding and strategic partnership, Machaxi is poised to revolutionize grassroots badminton and inspire a new generation of athletes, setting new benchmarks for scalability, accessibility, and training excellence in Indian sports.

According to a recent survey report by MarketsandMarkets, the global AI in Sports market was valued at $1.03 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $2.61 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 16.7%. With the integration of generative AI and predictive analytics, the sector is transforming how sports are played, managed, and experienced, unlocking significant innovation and growth opportunities across the value chain for Machaxi.

Post Views: 62