Young kiwi entrepreneur is shaking up the fitness industry
At times, the fitness industry has suffered as a result of multi-level marketing “supplement” companies, poor information being passed on via the media, lack of knowledge or common sense around nutrition, and people simply not moving enough and struggling with motivation.
Obesity numbers keep rising, which can be attributed to the above issues; lack of education around diet and nutrition, excess calorie consumption, and lack of exercise. Australia is almost on par with the US and has risen from 49 per cent in 1980 to 63 per cent in 2014, and based on these current trends 73 per cent of the Australian population will be considered overweight or obese by the year 2025, unless something changes.
Lack of motivation is one of the main reasons people struggle to stick to their fitness goals. Having an accountability partner, someone to help keep you motivated and stay on track means you’re more likely to achieve your fitness goals, less likely to “fall off the wagon” altogether, and it also makes the training more fun and more social.
Fit Meet founder, Danni Whittaker is on a mission to help people get fitter and healthier together. Seeing a problem in the fitness industry, where a lot of females relatively new to weight training didn’t really have friends with the same interests for moral support, she decided to solve that problem by linking people up to find training partners.
Fit Meet connects people based on their sport and location to find training partners. From walking and running for people simply wanting to find a friend to help keep them motivated, to hard core gym junkies, bodybuilders and power lifters looking for training partners, to social and club level team sports the app has everything.
“From my research and surveys I’ve also found that a lot of mums are struggling to lose weight after having children, so there is a real need for them to be able to connect up with other mums in their area to find walking or jogging partners or even groups, and just get out and get moving again. Often it’s that first step that is the most difficult, but if you have a friend to help you, with the same interests and goals it not only makes it easier but it also makes it more fun and more social.”
There is also a percentage of the retired community who still stay very active, yet find it hard to find like-minded people of the same age, so the app will help them connect with each other too!
Danni has a passion for fitness. She has worked as a personal trainer, competes in figure bodybuilding competitions and is sponsored by the Nutrition Warehouse. She is also a qualified chef, and has an 11-year sales career, still working in a sales role full time as she has worked on Fit Meet after hours and on weekends since originally coming up with the idea last year. Her passion for health and fitness, and wanting to make a difference and help others achieve their goals is the main driver behind the app, Fit Meet.
The app is now available on the Google Play Store, with the iOS version about to hit the App Store in the next day or so. Fit Meet is the first global app of its kind, and is available as a free download from anywhere in the world.
Danni is also working on forming partnerships with fitness related organisations in order to offer exclusive deals and discounts to members of Fit Meet.
“I want to create value for the Fit Meet community, our clients and our partners. And really, I just want to make something cool for the fitness community. I believeFit Meet is going to change the fitness industry, by making it a lot easier and more fun for people to achieve their fitness goals. With the way things have been going with the nation’s health, Fit Meet aims to bring some much-needed changes and get people moving again.”