The big opportunity for sports and fitness videos
Netflix has released a hit new show in the fitness competition sector called Physical: Asia. The series, recorded in South Korea, brings together elite athletes, including MMA champion Robert Whittaker and the Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, as they battle through a series of team challenges. National pride and a 1,000,000,000 Won prize fund are at stake. From Gladiators to Total Wipeout, this format of intense endurance has been a mainstay on screens for decades. Viewers love the thrill of extreme physical struggles. For content creators and filmers, the show also offers insight into what makes a sports and fitness video so popular. When you push people this hard, spectacular successes - and failures - are guaranteed. These highly charged moments are exactly what video licensing companies, like ViralPress, look for. They are perfect for packaging into collections and compilations such as gym fail, overcoming the odds, or extreme efforts. This type of content makes money because it feels authentic.
Fails, rivalries, triumphs and admirable efforts
In the world of TV, the winner is not always the most memorable. It is the small moments that stand out in the memory. For example, the fiercely competitive Australia ‘stealing’ Japan’s crates so they win the heat (a tactic that would never have crossed the mind of the famously fair Japanese). Or the flamboyant athlete Rusameekae Fagerlund, or James, from Thailand, making a Herculean effort to carry crates by himself, but still ultimately losing to the far better organised Koreans. And who even remembers the winner of the 1998 World Cup? But everyone can still recall the moment David Beckham was sent off for kicking Argentina's Diego Simeone. Speaking of intense country rivalries, let’s look at some of the themes behind these special moments and how they can be applied to video content production in the licensing sphere.
1. National rivalries & conflict
People love drama and disputes. The intense matchups between countries, such as the fierce rivalry between Korea and Japan, or controversial team strategies like those of Team Australia in Physical: Asia, create tension that viewers love to talk about.
Lesson: Capture moments of high tension, disagreement, or unexpected strategic moves in your gym or fitness community. In the world of selling videos, conflict is currency.
2. The unexpected humour
Look beyond pain for unscripted funny moments. For example, Thai contestant James's flamboyant reactions went instantly viral.
Lesson: The best clips are sometimes the funny, unexpected reaction shots or the personalities that shine through the difficulty.
3. The clash of disciplines, technique vs. strength
The show thrives on pitting mismatched athletes against each other, a small judo champion against a huge Ssireum wrestler. Audiences are fascinated by these mismatched size battles, where specialised technique or superior strategy can overcome brute force alone
Lesson: When capturing local challenges, capture David-and-Goliath moments where unexpected skill or strategy, like superior agility, defeats someone much bigger. This twist is catnip for licensing.
4. The superstar struggle
When a boxing legend like Pacquiao looks quietly intense, or an undefeated champion hits a metabolic wall, it shows they are human.
Lesson: Capturing a well-known person's genuine failure under a heavy weight is much more valuable than capturing a random person's personal record.
5. Thrills and spills
Fails are just as memorable as successes.
Lesson: Seeing someone deadlift 100kg is great. But watching them drop the barbell on their new iPhone is funny. That’s the difference. And it’s what makes gym fail videos so popular.
Pain and pride make successful videos
The reason that Physical: Asia resonates so powerfully is not just because of the high-end cameras, it is the story they capture. The team-based, ‘Nation-vs-Nation’ format means the stakes are higher than ever. Athletes are not just failing for themselves - they are failing for their entire country. This intense emotional pressure is impossible to fake. When the cameras capture this struggle, whether in a massive team quest or a simple one-on-one match, it makes the viewer feel the pressure, too. The story of sacrifice and desperate effort is what turns a simple clip of lifting a weight into a high-engagement viral video. This confirms that real emotion combined with a clear high-stakes narrative is the formula for maximum views.
Use Physical: Asia as inspiration to capture these three themes in your own content.
The unbelievable superhuman effort and skill
The show: Athletes demonstrating traditional Korean Ssireum wrestling or Mongolian wrestling, where they perform lifts that look impossible. This proves that the incredible, borderline absurd moments are licensing gold.
Capture: Look for highly unusual or spectacular moments in your community. Capture anything that impresses viewers, impressed by someone’s skill or talent. This could be an unbelievable penalty kick during a local league match, a small athlete managing an obstacle course jump that seems impossible for their size, or someone attempting a personal best lift at your gym.
The surprise or the sudden break
The show: Slips, sudden drops, technique failures, or equipment malfunctions during fast-paced challenges.
Capture: Be ready at local sports events, like a school track meet or a neighbourhood football game. Look for sudden slips on wet ground, a misjudged jump in a recreational volleyball game, or when equipment unexpectedly fails, like a dropped barbell or a shoe tearing during a sprint.
The humbling fails and the star collapses
The show: An elite athlete completely running out of gas, or physically breaking down from pushing past their limit.
Capture: Focus on those moments of exhaustion at public events like a marathon, a charity fitness challenge, or even at a gym. Capture the individual who suddenly hits the wall, the moment they slump over a treadmill, or the raw, painful expression of a local wrestling match competitor who just lost. Better yet, show them rising up to overcome defeat, like this athlete who summoned every ounce of strength to cross the finishing line, with help from a competitor.
Your footage is a hidden asset
The entertainment world, led by shows like Physical: Asia, is teaching us a crucial lesson: the value is in the real, human story, not just the production budget. When you pick up your phone or camera, try to capture that same story that connects with the audience. What unexpected angle or moment of raw vulnerability would make you stay watching? The demand for this type of content is incredibly high. Therefore, your footage of intense human moments at your local fitness event or gym is a valuable commodity. Do not just share those amazing moments with people around you. The world awaits to see moments like this. Upload your video to ViralPress today to let your story speak louder with the opportunity to earn money from video licensing.
