The gym is being disrupted from all angles, from workout gear, the quantified self to even how we workout at home. Fitmob is launching today with a new way to create workout, and redefine what the gym is in the digital age.
Founded by Snapfish CEO and Mayfield VC Raj Kapoor and Ness Computing co-founder and former Palantir Engineer Paul Twohey, fitmob is placing its bets on connecting people through local, indoor and outdoor group workouts with high-quality trainers. With San Francisco as the first market, fitmob is announcing $9.75 million in equity and debt funding from Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, and angel investors.
Via the fitmob mobile app or website, you can find local workouts in a park or indoor facility near you, sign up, enter your credit card info and attend the class. For now, fitmob will offer 30 workouts per week in San Francisco at the Brannan Street Wharf in SOMA, at fitmob’s HQ on 5th Street and in Dolores Park, focusing on strength, cardio and yoga fusion. Workouts are open to the public with the first week free for new members. We’re told fitmob will continue to expand to new neighborhoods and cities over the next year.
Fitmob’s drop-in workouts start at $15, and the more you use fitmob every week, the less you pay per workout. So participants who come twice a week pay $10 per workout, and those who come three or more times a week pay only $5 per workout.
On the trainer side, fitmob certifies trainers, and allows them to create their own workouts according to their skills. Signature workout experiences on fitmob include Weapons of Ass Reduction, Sweat Soiree, Twerkout Conditioning and Guru Gone Wild. The company also says that Tony Horton, the celebrity fitness trainer behind the boot camp style P90X workouts, is a co-creator behind the company’s concept.
Personally, I’m a big fan of hacking the workout, and finding alternative ways to get exercise in. The appeal of fitmob is being trained nearby in a group setting by professional trainers and also being able to meet people who share your fitness interests. Eventually it would make sense to see fitmob expand into workouts around smaller, vertically-focused groups such as new moms, marathon enthusiasts and more. The startup has even carefully hired trainers who not only can provide quality workouts but entertain the group as well.
In the video above, you can hear Kapoor talk about why he went back into the operational world from VC and how he sees fitmob evolving in the future.