Events

HYROX SA Teams up with Thrive by WHX: Take Your Energy Beyond the Finish Line this September

Thrive by WHX unpacks how technology, sport and science are changing the way we work, live and thrive.

Published

4 months ago

August 21, 2025

Health, fitness and performance meet in Cape Town this September as HYROX comes to Thrive by WHX. Running alongside the World Health Expo (WHX), Thrive is set to be the ultimate celebration of health, longevity, and performance in Africa. While WHX will offer a platform aimed at healthcare professionals, policymakers, and industry leaders, Thrive by WHX will provide a space for a broad audience interested in proactive, personalised health and performance.

An expo health and wellness enthusiasts won’t want to miss, Thrive by WHX is for anyone looking to get inspired, get moving or get connected. The first-of-its-kind event makes its debut in Cape Town this September with the aim of spotlighting how science, sport and strategy are converging to redefine human performance, wellbeing, and longevity across Africa and beyond.

HYROX Cape Town. Image: Bernard de Clerk

Taking place over three impactful days (from 2 – 4 September), Thrive aims to bring together elite athletes, pioneering doctors, visionary entrepreneurs, and global experts in medicine, wellness, and leadership. Attendees can expect immersive conversations, tech-powered experiences, and transformative insights into performance, preventative care, and personal optimisation.

What is Thrive by WHX?

What if elite-level performance tools weren’t just for athletes? What if the same strategies used to train Formula 1 drivers and national sports teams could also boost focus, recovery, and wellbeing in everyday life? That’s the question behind Thrive by WHX, taking at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this September.

The event brings together global and local experts across medicine, sport, nutrition, longevity and leadership to explore one powerful theme: the future of health is personalised, proactive and performance driven.

Featured speakers include sports and exercise medicine physician, Dr Phathokuhle Zondi; founder of Levitas One and a dedicated specialist in longevity and human optimisation, Dr Ash Kapoor; sports and exercise medicine physician, Dr Janesh Ganda; South African sportsman, Mika Abrahams; and entrepreneur, academic and dietician, Niall Naidoo – each speaker will address themes ranging from preventative healthcare and longevity to elite sport, accessibility and youth resilience.

Once the domain of elite athletes, performance tech like AI coaching, glucose monitors and biometric wearables is now part of mainstream healthcare and wellness. And in South Africa, adoption is growing fast, from schools and clinics to gyms, corporates and communities.

“These tools used to be seen as luxury add-ons,” says Niall Naidoo. “Now they’re being embedded into daily life. People are using real-time data to track sleep, movement and mood because it works.”

South Africa’s wellness tech sector is booming, with new investment flowing into personalised health tools and preventative care. Consumers are spending more on wellbeing than ever before. The shift is driven by demand for health creation not just healthcare.

“We aren’t just tracking more data,” says Dr Ash Kapoor. “We’re redesigning care around individual variability. The value comes when we help people interpret that data and take meaningful action.”

From tracking blood sugar to decoding your genome, personalised medicine is moving into the mainstream. “Longevity isn’t about ageing slower,” says Dr Janesh Ganda. “It’s about functioning better, for longer.”

What to expect:

300+ Exhibitors including 32Gi, Technogym, DNAlysis, Fitess Force, Iglu Therapy, BUC, and more.
4 Conferences
10,000+ Attendees

Thrive speakers will unpack how tech and science must be matched with education, context and design. “If people don’t know what their data means,” says Kapoor, “it becomes noise. We need systems that guide and support.”

Thrive will also shine a spotlight on mental performance and how it’s being redefined by sport and science. Zondi says recovery and reflection now matter more than toughness. “Those who pause and reset outperform those who just push through.”

As tools become cheaper and more ubiquitous, the next question is: who gets support? Thrive will explore how employers, educators and healthcare professionals can create environments that embed healthy choices into the routines people already live.

What’s in store at Thrive:

HYROX activations, challenges, and partners to help you get into the HYROX spirit beyond the finish line.
World Longevity Summit: Discover the latest in healthspan science, ageing well, and performance longevity.
Youth Wellness and High-Performance Pathways conference: Shaping the next generation of athletes and leaders.
Live Performance by Lira: Don’t miss Lira as she takes the stage in an unforgettable performance, because wellbeing isn’t just about movement, it’s also about soul as well.
Wellness, innovation & optimsation conference: Where medicine, technology & lifestyle converge.
Thrive by WHX Ambassadors: Be inspired by Bryan Habana, Rene Naylor, Juandré Kruger, Dr. Phathokuhle Zondi, and more, bringing energy, insights, and inspiration to the stage and the crowd.