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Man starts free running club as a side hustle, reveals how he generated ₹6 crore in annual revenue
A US-based man turned a free running club into a $640,000-a-year side hustle by monetising parties, hiking trips, and ski events while keeping the runs free.
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Owen Akhibi, founder of New York City-based social fitness community Peak and Pace, has turned a free running club into a lucrative side hustle, generating $640,000 (around ₹6 crore) in revenue in 2025.
According to a report by CNBC Make It, Akhibi launched Peak and Pace in July 2024 while working in algorithmic trading sales at JPMorgan. Having moved from London to New York, he wanted to find a way to meet people and build friendships beyond the city’s nightlife scene. What started as an attempt to build meaningful social connections has now grown into a community that attracted around 30,000 attendees across its events last year.
Akhibi shared that the idea was to create a community where people could connect through running and shared experiences. While the runs remained free, Akhibi saw an opportunity to generate revenue by organising paid social events for members.
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How does Peak and Pace make money?
Running with Peak and Pace is free, but the community organises large-scale social events, including parties, for which attendees pay between $15 and $25 for tickets, as per the outlet.
This business model has proved successful. According to CNBC Make It, the venture generated $640,000 in revenue in 2025, with almost all of its earnings coming from ticketed parties.
Akhibi shared that he drew on his previous entrepreneurial experience, having run a real estate side hustle, to develop the business model. Rather than charging people to participate in the core activity, he decided to monetise experiences that cost money to organise, such as parties, comedy nights and ski trips.
The model began taking shape as the running club gained popularity. By its fifth session, Peak and Pace reportedly attracted around 150 participants, with social media helping spread the word about its activities.
Akhibi subsequently experimented with paid events, including a party at a Manhattan bar where tickets cost $20 each. As the community expanded, the group introduced more activities, including hiking adventures and ski trips outside New York City.
However, the venture has not been profitable at every event. Akhibi acknowledged that some parties lose money, but the business maintains an overall profit margin of approximately 15%. He then reinvests the profits into expanding the venture rather than treating the earnings as personal income.
Founder worked 18-hour days while managing full-time job
Building Peak and Pace alongside a demanding career was not easy for Akhibi. While growing the community, he continued working in finance and had to balance the responsibilities of his full-time job with organising events.
He told CNBC Make It that running the club gradually began to feel like a second full-time job. For about a year, he worked 18-hour days while trying to maintain high performance at work and manage the growing venture.
“I had to keep performing at a very high level in my [day] job. I was put in a place of high responsibility, and so keeping myself in a good mental mindset was probably the hardest thing,” he said.
Akhibi has since moved into the technology sector and currently works as head of partnerships at San Francisco-based AI robotics lab Grounded Superintelligence.
Running club attracts 30,000 attendees in a year
Peak and Pace’s growth, on the other hand, has extended beyond its regular running sessions. The community attracted approximately 30,000 attendees across its events in 2025, turning the initiative into a sizeable social fitness venture.
The club now has a team of nine contractors who manage its events almost independently of Akhibi. He checks in during monthly visits to New York and is looking to hire a head of operations to take over more of the day-to-day responsibilities.
For Akhibi, the experience has also offered lessons in building relationships and understanding people. He said that organising events and interacting with different people have taught him patience, a skill he has found useful in building connections in San Francisco as well.
“Sometimes it can get frustrating when you don’t understand somebody’s point of view. If you can just learn to be patient and try to put yourself in their shoes, then you become understanding in almost any given situation. It allows you to adapt more easily,” he said.
