Musashi is heading into one of the world’s fastest-growing fitness scenes, and it’s taking Thompson Spencer with it.
After a competitive pitch, the independent full-funnel agency has been tapped to lead the performance nutrition brand’s Middle East push, starting in the UAE.
It’s a natural escalation of a partnership that’s already seen both companies play aggressively beyond home turf; think America’s Cup activations across Auckland and Barcelona that turned social feeds into virtual grandstands.
This next act? Bigger stakes, new territory, and a culture where the gym isn’t just where you train, it’s where you belong.
‘Fitness is community first. Gains second.’
Thompson Spencer co-CEO Melanie Spencer lights up when she talks about what her team found on the ground.
“The Middle East is becoming fitness-obsessed, especially the UAE and Saudi,” she told Mediaweek.
“Fitness there is a community, a place where people meet, rather than an individual pursuit like in many Western countries. We go to get fit. They go to connect. It’s a movement that’s genuinely socially-driven, not just health-driven.”
It leads to a simple, high-impact insight: wellness isn’t just personal in the Gulf, it’s social currency. And that changes how brands show up.
Immersion, not assumption
The agency didn’t roll in with a pre-baked playbook. Instead, it embedded.
“We had creatives, social leads, influencer specialists, media thinkers, everyone in the room,” Spencer said.
“But first we needed to understand the people. So, we spoke to gym owners, athletes, marketers who live there, everyday fitness communities. We asked a lot of questions. All of that fed into the thinking.”
This was less “global template hits new market” and more “read the room, then build the room.”
Melanie Spencer
Swing big, then sharpen
If you know Thompson Spencer, you know restraint is rarely the first instinct… and that’s by design.
“We always push the boat out,” Spencer laughed. “We’ll throw out some gargantuan ideas – knowing some won’t land. But it’s easier to shape bold thinking than to inflate safe thinking.”
Creativity with teeth
“We move hearts and minds, but we also move sales. The idea’s not done until the numbers move. That’s the job.”
Before turning their sights to UAE, the team did a little inventory.
“We’ve actually run campaigns in 75 countries,” Spencer said. “So it’s familiar, and totally new at the same time. We do the work. We immerse. We invest.”
And right now, somewhere between studio briefings and strategy decks, the agency is running an influencer campaign for London City Airport. No one at Thompson Spencer seems interested in staying in one lane.
Scaling fast and deliberately
The agency’s pace is notable. Four acquisitions and a merger in five years, during inflation spikes, media disruption, and a pandemic.
“We move fast and we’re super brave,” Spencer said. “Now the merger’s humming, creative, performance, social all crossing over, we’re doubling down on Australia even as we go global.”
That ambition shapes the team structure: multidisciplinary, future-weight, human at the core but tech forward.
“I never imagined I’d sit at a pitch table with a creative director, social creative lead, influencer lead, data scientist and futurist,” she said. “You need the human lens to connect, but you also need tech and AI. When those work in unison, that’s the magic.”
The runway ahead
Execution begins now. Launch campaigns land 2026. And the brief is clear: Musashi enters a market where ambition is baked into the skyline and the treadmill count.
For Thompson Spencer, it’s another marker that independents can punch at global scale, provided they show up local, curious, and bold.
As Spencer puts it: “It’s about momentum. It’s who we are. And this is just the start.”