Why I’m starting a workout buddies group
I go to the gym a lot. Almost every time I’m there I look around and everyone is staring at their phones. Nobody talks to each other. And yet with loads of other activities, chatting is the norm. You can’t imagine 10 people playing football and not talking throughout the game, can you? Why do gyms have to feel so sterile?
The only time this is different is when I work out with friends. Those workouts are always 10x more fun and I usually lift more as well. I see my friend Jamie most weeks and it's great fun lifting weights whilst talking about our tech projects.
So I thought I’d make a group to find workout buddies:
Besides the gym, I also like running and I want the community to be open to other activities like cycling and swimming as well. My mission is to connect people who want to work out socially. With a workout buddy you can reduce feelings of loneliness, improve your health and fitness and have more fun!
I’m starting the group in Edinburgh (where I live) and I’m going to focus on getting a community going here first. I don’t want to have an app with 10 users in London, 4 in Edinburgh, 3 in New York etc. So the plan is to get lots of people using the group in Edinburgh and then try another city: probably London.
So if you aren't in Edinburgh, you can still register your interest on the Get Workout Buddies website - I'll add more cities based on who signs up and where they are from. So if lots of people sign up from one place, I'm likely to add that city first. Tell your friends 😀
It’s definitely going to be free for early members. If you join now, you’ll never pay. In the future I may charge access for different features or for new members. I also plan to explore sponsorship opportunities with gyms and running shops.
Initially, the community is going to be on Slack. I want to take a minimum viable product approach and build the smallest version of my idea first. I was very aware that I didn’t want to spend months building a mobile app only to find people don’t like the idea or that I can't reach them. So the plan is to get people into the community first and test if people want to find workout buddies. If Slack doesn't turn out to be right for this, I'll use Whatsapp or something else.
I’m really excited to be working on this! I’ve found a whole new energy in the last few days and it feels great. I’ve already got a few people interested in Edinburgh so let's see how this goes! My thinking is that even if it fails as a business, I will have succeeded if I can bring people together for some workouts. And hopefully I’ll find some new workout buddies too!