MAM
Hyrox hits full throttle as Bengaluru gears up for record-breaking race
MUMBAI: When fitness meets frenzy, the stopwatch barely stands a chance. Hyrox is flexing its muscles in India once again, and Bengaluru is already feeling the burn. The global fitness racing phenomenon has clocked over 5,000 registrations within days of opening entries for Hyrox Bengaluru 2026, making it one of the fastest-selling races in the country’s Hyrox journey so far.
Scheduled for April 11 and 12, 2026, at Hall 04 of the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, the two-day format marks a first for Hyrox in India. It also signals just how quickly the sport has sprinted from niche curiosity to mainstream fitness obsession.
The numbers tell their own story. Hyrox debuted in India with 1,500 athletes in Mumbai, scaled up to 2,500 participants in Delhi, and then smashed expectations with more than 3,300 competitors at its second Mumbai edition in September. Bengaluru now looks set to raise the bar yet again, with organisers expecting over 8,000 athletes to hit the course.
Demand has not just been local. Within the first week, athletes from 22 countries signed up, reinforcing India’s growing pull on the global hybrid fitness circuit. The current split stands at 68 per cent men and 32 per cent women, pointing to a steadily diversifying and inclusive community.
For Deepak Raj, Country Head, Hyrox India, the momentum feels personal as well as professional. Bengaluru, he noted, mirrors India’s evolving fitness culture and provides the perfect backdrop for what could become the country’s biggest fitness race weekend to date.
Adding to the stakes, Hyrox Bengaluru 2026 will double up as a qualifier for the Hyrox World Championships in Stockholm in June 2026, putting Indian athletes on a direct pathway to the global stage.
The format remains as brutal as it is addictive: eight one-kilometre runs, each paired with a functional workout station, designed to test endurance, strength and mental grit in equal measure. With Individual, Doubles and Relay Team categories open to participants aged 16 to 78 plus, the event promises a rare blend of elite competition and mass participation.
If early registrations are any indication, Hyrox Bengaluru will not just be a race against the clock, it will be a full-blown statement on how fast India’s fitness culture is learning to run.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
