Asics and Natasha Rothwell call out overpriced wellness culture in new creative campaign
As stress levels rise, wellness travel is booming - but it often comes with long flights, hefty price tags, and treatments that don’t always deliver lasting results.
This World Mental Health Day, ASICS and its newest wellbeing ambassador, Natasha Rothwell, are inviting the world to take an Everyday Escape – a simple 15-minute movement break - that is proven to transport you to a happier place and deliver more lasting benefits than a week at a wellness retreat.1
According to Euromonitor, the global demand for wellness holidays has surged by 33% in the last year 2, with the Global Wellness Institute finding that people spend an average of $1,764 for a week away, 41% more than standard travel.3
However, new global research by ASICS4, surveying 11,000 people who recently took a wellness holiday, reveals that whilst people travel on average 1,920km for their wellness holidays4, they don’t always deliver.
Two-thirds (67%) said their wellness holiday failed to meet all expectations, and an equal number (67%) reported that any wellness benefits faded as soon as they left the retreat or shortly after returning home. For some, the experience even added to their stress levels, nearly a third (32%) cited cost, and a quarter (25%) said long travel distances were stress-inducing.
In contrast, ASICS’ research highlights the transformative power of movement on mental wellbeing, showing that just 15 minutes and 9 seconds of exercise can trigger a measurable mental uplift.5
In a new Everyday Escape trial, overseen by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London, participants who took a simple daily 15-minute movement break reported a 21% greater uplift in their overall mental state compared to their wellness holiday. In fact, 71% said daily movement was more effective at reducing stress, 65% found it more mood-enhancing and 73% experienced longer-lasting mental wellbeing benefits than after their recent wellness holiday.
To help more people find their happy place through movement, ASICS
has enlisted Natasha Rothwell, actor, writer, and wellness advocate, as
its Everyday Escape Concierge. Rothwell will share
inspiration to
help people weave small but meaningful moments of movement into their
daily routines, making wellness accessible and affordable for all.
Gary Raucher, head of global marketing for ASICS, comments: “At ASICS, we believe that you don’t need to go far to leave it all behind. That’s why we’re inviting everyone to take an Everyday Escape, a simple 15-minute movement break, to take their body and mind to a happier place. At ASICS, we’ve always championed the power of movement, however small, to help people feel better. It’s the reason we were founded and why we’re called ASICS – an acronym for the Latin ‘Anima Sana in Corpore Sano’ or ‘Sound Mind In A Sound Body’. We hope people will join us on World Mental Health Day and take an Everyday Escape, because when you move your body, you move your mind.”
Al Wood, chief creative officer, Golin, said: “Exercise takes anyone to a happier place in just 15 minutes – whereas expensive and distant wellness escapes aren’t proven to do anything except lighten one’s bank balance. Hijacking the growing hype about the new season to make this point was too good an opportunity to miss.”
Dr Brendon Stubbs, a leading researcher in exercise and mental health from King’s College London, said: “It’s incredible to see the impact 15 minutes of movement can have on mental wellbeing. The Everyday Escape trial shows that small movement breaks can boost mood and reduce stress more effectively than a wellness holiday. A week away may give a short-term boost, but exercise delivers long-term benefits.”
Credits
Global head of marketing: Gary Raucher
Global Brand Communications Director: Caroline Fisher
Brand Digital Content Specialist: Anna Nikolaenko
Creative and PR Agency: Golin London
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Wood
Creative Director: Elliot Riordan
Senior Producer: Sam Mildner
Talent Manager: Miglė Elena Kriaučiūnaitė
Executive Director: Natasha Weeks
Executive Director: Gemma Combellack
Director: Sarah Penny
Director: Victoria Plato
Manager: Georgie Duckett
Manager: Lydia Goldman
BTS Photographer: Jeff Moore
Production Studio: Iconoclast
Director: Matthew Frost
Media agency: Le Pub
Research notes
1 The ASICS Everyday Escape Trial ran from the 4th to 18th August 2025, led by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London & University of Vienna. The trial studied 17 people from the UK, US and Australia who had attended a wellness holiday/retreat in the last year. All completed consent forms before taking part.
2 Euromonitor International: Traveller Segmentation 2024. Available here:
3 Traveler Segmentation: Unlocking Innovation and Value in Wellness Tourism - Euromonitor.com
4 The Everyday Escape Research was conducted in August 2025 and explored the experiences and perceptions of those who had taken a wellness holiday/retreat in the past year. 11,000 people were surveyed across 16 markets including the UK, the US, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, France, Germany, UAE, Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Indonesia, Spain and Sweden. Each market was nationally representative by age and gender.
ASICS’ research highlights the transformative power of movement on mental wellbeing, showing that just 15 minutes and 9 seconds of exercise can trigger a measurable mental uplift. The ASICS State of Mind score is out of 100, calculated based on the accumulative mean scores across ten cognitive and emotional traits – positive, content, relaxed, focused, composed, resilient, confident, alert, calm, energized.
Global Wellness Institute: A Decade of Wellness Tourism. Available here:
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