The Pursuit of Better 

From our clear brand workshop, our brand strategy work, and my research of Hydra's social media, I came to a simple conclusion: The Hydra brand is all about being better. Not just in fitness, but in life. And it’s that simple idea of taking the journey towards better that inspired the direction of the brand. 

I noticed that Joel was sometimes using ‘Chase Better’ as a slogan on Instagram. I loved the idea of it, but I kept feeling weird about the word chase. I felt that the brand had the potential to be more about aspiring to better, than being left behind and having to chase it. I feel like the pursuit of something is more intentional, focused, and deliberate. So we decided to invite people to a simple task: Pursue Better.

The Pursuit of Better

From our clear brand workshop, our brand strategy work, and my research of Hydra's social media, I came to a simple conclusion: The Hydra brand is all about being better. Not just in fitness, but in life. And it’s that simple idea of taking the journey towards better that inspired the direction of the brand. 

I noticed that Joel was sometimes using ‘Chase Better’ as a slogan on Instagram. I loved the idea of it, but I kept feeling weird about the word chase. I felt that the brand had the potential to be more about aspiring to better, than being left behind and having to chase it. I feel like the pursuit of something is more intentional, focused, and deliberate. So we decided to invite people to a simple task: Pursue Better. 

A logo that sets the tone

The Hydra logo is crisp, clean, and has an upscale feel without being alienating. The icon is abstract and will become ownable by the brand's repetitive use over time. 

The logo does what a logo is supposed to do: Identify. It doesn't explain that it's a gym. It's intentionally ambiguous, because Joel wanted Hydra to be more than a gym. He wanted it to be an idea. A lifestyle.

The logo live as icon only, icon and wordmark combined, or the whole deal, icon, logo, and tagline all at once.

The Pursuit of Better

The Hydra logo is crisp, clean, and has an upscale feel without being alienating. The icon is abstract and will become ownable by the brand's repetitive use over time. 

The logo does what a logo is supposed to do: Identify. It doesn't explain that it's a gym. It's intentionally ambiguous, because Joel wanted Hydra to be more than a gym. He wanted it to be an idea. A lifestyle.

The logo live as icon only, icon and wordmark combined, or the whole deal, icon, logo, and tagline all at once.

Authencity in visual form: The Culture Kit

The Culture Kit is where the brand’s DNA gets a chance to shine. These badges were designed to communicate the Hydra personality and create fans out of those who vibe with them.

All the wording was inspired by Hydra's values and beliefs to celebrate their unique culture.

There are only so many ways you can use a logo, which is why we create a Culture Kit to build a connection to our audience.

Authencity in visual form: The Culture Kit

The Culture Kit is where the brand’s DNA gets a chance to shine. These badges were designed to communicate the Hydra personality and create fans out of those who vibe with them.

All the wording was inspired by Hydra's values and beliefs to celebrate their unique culture.

There are only so many ways you can use a logo, which is why we create a Culture Kit to build a connection to our audience.

Visual Storytelling

A story of pursuing better, told one member at a time. Hydra’s photography is some of the very best I’ve seen in a gym. Shoutout to Jeff Wood, who did a phenomenal job and gave me such amazing images to work with.

I was inspired to tell the story of the pursuit of better visually by using images of the members in various stages of their workouts.

The movements, the effort put in, the aftermath, and the results. The images capture the emotion of this journey, and by focusing on an individual member we communicate the high level of individual care that each Hydralete receives.

This style of visual storytelling is used throughout the brand to tell Hydra's story in a powerful way that inspires people to say “I can do that!”

Visual Storytelling

A story of pursuing better, told one member at a time. Hydra’s photography is some of the very best I’ve seen in a gym. Shoutout to Jeff Wood, who did a phenomenal job and gave me such amazing images to work with.

I was inspired to tell the story of the pursuit of better visually by using images of the members in various stages of their workouts.

The movements, the effort put in, the aftermath, and the results. The images capture the emotion of this journey, and by focusing on an individual member we communicate the high level of individual care that each Hydralete receives.

This style of visual storytelling is used throughout the brand to tell Hydra's story in a powerful way that inspires people to say “I can do that!”

The client's journey through the brand

Whether the ideal client comes across Hydra's social media, website, or is referred by a friend, they'll surely check Instagram to get a sense of the atmosphere and the credibility of the coaches.

Hydra's social media account is designed to be sophisticated, clean, and imbued with the pursuit of better, shared in visual and word form.

From the Feed, to the Stories, and to Reels, the brand is the connecting thread that makes everything consistent. 

The client's journey through the brand

Whether the ideal client comes across Hydra's social media, website, or is referred by a friend, they'll surely check Instagram to get a sense of the atmosphere and the credibility of the coaches.

Hydra's social media account is designed to be sophisticated, clean, and imbued with the pursuit of better, shared in visual and word form.

From the Feed, to the Stories, and to Reels, the brand is the connecting thread that makes everything consistent. 

Welcome to the #Hydrafam

Once someone signs up to Hydra, the real work begins. It's time to absolutely blow their minds with a customer experience that's above and beyond. 

Remember snail mail? Now it's all junk and some bills. What a perfect place to add some surprise and delight. As soon as they sign up, Joel and his team put a Welcome Letter and a copy of their contract in the mail. 

It doesn't stop there though. They also receive a Welcome Book, explaining the basics of building muscle, how to lose fat, and the ground rules of training at Hydra. The brand helps to set the culture the owner wants in the gym from day one.

It might not seem like much, but it's this level of attention to detail that says a lot about how Hydra is run, and reaffirms to the new member that they made the right decision. 

How you do anything, is after all, how you do everything.

Welcome to the #Hydrafam

Once someone signs up to Hydra, the real work begins. It's time to absolutely blow their minds with a customer experience that's above and beyond. 

Remember snail mail? Now it's all junk and some bills. What a perfect place to add some surprise and delight. As soon as they sign up, Joel and his team put a Welcome Letter and a copy of their contract in the mail. 

It doesn't stop there though. They also receive a Welcome Book, explaining the basics of building muscle, how to lose fat, and the ground rules of training at Hydra. The brand helps to set the culture the owner wants in the gym from day one.

It might not seem like much, but it's this level of attention to detail that says a lot about how Hydra is run, and reaffirms to the new member that they made the right decision. 

How you do anything, is after all, how you do everything.

Turning Instagram posts into a daily email

Hydra's Instagram posts are on point. Informative, instructive, and succinct, they should be part of every Hydralete's journey. But not every member reads every post (thanks algorithm) so the idea came to create a daily newsletter people could opt into. 

The audience for this daily email are current members, to encourage people who came to a trial but didn't sign up to give Hydra a second chance, and people who want to know what Hydra's all about but aren't totally sure it's for them. 

They get a daily tip to help them Pursue Better. They receive a habit to be mindful of for the day. And for members and prospects alike, some great music to listen to.

Because music is a great communicator of culture, mixing in some song recommendations taken from that day’s workout playlist lets people figure out if Hydra is right for them.

Turning Instagram posts into a daily email

Hydra's Instagram posts are on point. Informative, instructive, and succinct, they should be part of every Hydralete's journey. But not every member reads every post (thanks algorithm) so the idea came to create a daily newsletter people could opt into. 

The audience for this daily email are current members, to encourage people who came to a trial but didn't sign up to give Hydra a second chance, and people who want to know what Hydra's all about but aren't totally sure it's for them. 

They get a daily tip to help them Pursue Better. They receive a habit to be mindful of for the day. And for members and prospects alike, some great music to listen to.

Because music is a great communicator of culture, mixing in some song recommendations taken from that day’s workout playlist lets people figure out if Hydra is right for them.

Taking Hydra's workouts online

2020 was wild. Every gym suddenly had to pivot to online training, and Hydra pivoted to online workouts and found success and fanfare with them. Joel and his team realised they enjoyed making digital training content, and their members loved it. Now that the gym's open, what's the move?

We've all been in this situation: You arrive at the hotel and go to hit up the hotel gym. A rack of chrome dumbbells and 4 treadmills stare expectantly at you, and you think: What now?

As the world opens up again and people start travelling, for work and leisure, they're going to want to take their Hydra fitness on the road. As part of the new website that we're currently building, a library of workouts lets people get that Hydra feels while they're away.

Categorised into levels of equipment, from hotel gym to Airbnb bedroom, members can enjoy their vacation without leaving their goals behind.

This is currently being built as part of our exciting redesign of the Hydra website.

Taking Hydra's workouts online

2020 was wild. Every gym suddenly had to pivot to online training, and Hydra pivoted to online workouts and found success and fanfare with them. Joel and his team realised they enjoyed making digital training content, and their members loved it. Now that the gym's open, what's the move?

We've all been in this situation: You arrive at the hotel and go to hit up the hotel gym. A rack of chrome dumbbells and 4 treadmills stare expectantly at you, and you think: What now?

As the world opens up again and people start travelling, for work and leisure, they're going to want to take their Hydra fitness on the road. As part of the new website that we're currently building, a library of workouts lets people get that Hydra feels while they're away.

Categorised into levels of equipment, from hotel gym to Airbnb bedroom, members can enjoy their vacation without leaving their goals behind.

This is currently being built as part of our exciting redesign of the Hydra website.

Everybody loves merch

But not everybody wants to buy the logo t-shirt in different colors month after month. Using Hydra's Culture Kit gives Joel infinite options for merch, making sure members train in comfort and style while creating another revenue stream for the brand.

Everybody loves merch

But not everybody wants to buy the logo t-shirt in different colors month after month. Using Hydra's Culture Kit gives Joel infinite options for merch, making sure members train in comfort and style while creating another revenue stream for the brand.