Hyrox may have become synonymous with the rise of the hybrid athlete – even if the event itself isn’t technically hybrid training – but despite what the internet might tell you, its name has absolutely nothing to do with ‘hybrid rockstars’.
Speaking on the Jake Dearden Podcast, Hyrox co-founder Mo Fürste finally explained where the name actually came from – and the truth is far less calculated (and, thankfully, far less cheesy).
‘It definitely has nothing to do with hybrid rockstars,’ Fürste said. ‘Maybe we can solve this once and for all.’
The competition was originally set to be called ‘QUROX’, inspired by a Latin term Fürste believed related to healing and running. He’s likely referring to the Latin words cūrāre and currere, which do indeed mean ‘to heal’ and ‘to run’.
But the only running they did was straight into a major problem.
‘We got sued five days before the first event,’ he explained.
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With the inaugural competition fast approaching, the team had to find a replacement that wouldn’t land them in another legal battle. Rather than searching for a name loaded with hidden meaning, they tested a selection of available letter combinations.
‘We took basically 12 of the letters and did a legal test of what works,’ Fürste said. ‘Hyrox was the one that came out with the highest percentage of not being able to be sued again.’
So there you have it. Hyrox isn’t an acronym, a reference to hybrid training or a secret nod to its athletes.
It was simply the safest available name.
That was until the internet got hold of it.
‘You definitely learn from your mistakes,’ Dearden replied.
‘Oh, 100%,’ said Fürste.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
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