“iFit: A Trek to Everest Base Camp” is the first workout film series to secure an Emmy nomination — the TV industry’s top award.
By now, Elizabeth Chai and Jimmy Chin appear to crank out Oscars as byproducts of everyday life processes.
But iFit might have the documentary savants beat as far as unlikely award-winning content. I mean, when was the last time you heard of an Emmy-nominated workout video?
If you gave any answer except “never,” you’re mistaken. Today, “iFit: A Trek to Everest Base Camp” became the first connected fitness program to pull down an Emmy nomination.
The nomination category “Outstanding Interactive Experience — Original Programming” awards “original interactive sports content, multimedia storytelling, as well as significant and innovative social integration.”
iFit Lands Experts for Real-World Experience
iFit didn’t just snag the nomination by riding an Everest breeze to the top. The connected fitness brand put in plenty of legwork to get there.
In May 2021, iFIT leveraged a trio of experts with 23 Everest summits among them to stream the world’s first live interactive workout from Mount Everest. While there, they filmed an 18-part progressive series for treadmill trekking. The rest will soon become TV industry history.
Kenton Cool, Lydia Bradley, and Ang Tshering Lama appear in “iFit: A Trek to Everest Base Camp.” The mountaineers’ resumes speak for themselves. Cool is currently pursuing his 16th Everest summit. Bradley is the first woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. And Lama helped in the world’s highest-altitude rescue, where he and his team saved two climbers at 28,215 feet on Everest.
The iFIT platform is available on NordicTrack, ProForm, and Freemotion fitness equipment. When iFIT content streams through the touchscreen console, iFIT technology automatically adjusts the treadmill incline to match the slope of the content on screen.
The content platform currently counts 7 million subscribers worldwide.
Mark Watterson, iFit President and Chief Experience Officer, spoke to the nomination on the company’s behalf.
“The interactivity among our software, content, and fitness equipment provides an unmatched, immersive experience and elevates the thousands of workout series we have shot on location all over the world, including Mt. Everest,” Watterson said.
“Our members appreciate the cultural journeys iFIT workouts offer, and we are equally thrilled to be recognized by our peers in television and video production for excellence.”
