In this Q&A, you’ll hear from Kit Hawkins, co-founder and CEO of BLOCK, a digital training and recovery platform helping everyday athletes perform their best, for longer. Kit shares how his history of injuries and a chance meeting with Steve Nash led to an app focused on athletic longevity.
Can you tell us about what you’re working on at BLOCK?
Kit Hawkins: BLOCK is an athletic training platform built to help athletes of any age and ability perform at their best.
Designed by [former NBA all-star] Steve Nash and his team of world-class sport performance coaches, BLOCK is helping athletes improve their game and reduce injuries through concepts of dynamic mobility, energy system efficiency, and improved central nervous system function.
In other words, BLOCK helps people move better, perform at their best for as long as possible, and ultimately find more joy in life by introducing proper training principles.
The BLOCK digital membership offers live and on-demand training sessions along with masterclasses from our performance experts. Additionally, members are guided to tailor their training based on whether it’s a Game Day, Recovery Day, or Training Day. This intentional approach allows athletes to train their minds and bodies based on the unique demands of their individual schedules.
Born out of a lack of science-based fitness options, the platform aims to create a new health and wellness category centered on longevity by offering expert knowledge and experience to the masses at an affordable price.
How did you come up with the idea? What key insight led you to pursue this opportunity?
KH: After a lifetime of playing sports, I found myself picking up more injuries once I hit my early 40s. And while these setbacks were nothing too serious, they did keep me from being able to play regularly.
I met Steve through a weekly soccer game in LA. In chatting, he shared his training philosophy, priorities, and the importance he places on mobility, activation, and recovery. When I implemented this approach, it changed everything for me. I was able to not only play consistently, but I also saw improvements to my game.
Digging deeper into the data, I found there a dramatic decrease in people over 35 playing sports due to injury. So, I felt it was important to share this approach with as many as possible. Fortunately, Steve was just as enthusiastic to pass on his knowledge and experience.
How did you turn your idea into a company?
KH: Our initial priority was developing a methodology that allowed coaches to teach at scale rather than in a one-on-one environment. To make this adjustment, Steve formed a brain trust with Dr. Rick Celebrini (Golden State Warriors), [Rumble founding trainer] Joe Ferraro, his own trainer, Yohei Arakaki — all of whom came from a group fitness background.
Building a digital business and product that could deliver the best member experience became the next priority. For that, we brought on Matt Campbell (coming from the Players’ Tribune) as our president to set up our production facility, product operation, and act as our team leader.
To date, our business has been seeded by Steve, myself, and a small number of highly strategic investors. Our next step will be to put together a round to further support our growth.
Who is the core customer? How are you acquiring customers? And how will you grow the customer base?
KH: There are 60M+ Americans who play sports every week, with many more around the world. Within that market, we target everyday athletes in their thirties and beyond who love to play and want to continue doing so for as long as possible.
We have already built out a large range of partnerships with the sport clubs, leagues, and organizations where these athletes play and are activating these partnerships through exclusive content and membership benefits.
Additionally, we’re piloting programs with youth and college sports organizations to help young athletes learn to implement the fundamentals of training and recovery. By starting young, we hope to set them up for long-term playing success.
Looking at your road map, what are some of the milestones you’re targeting over the next 3-6 months?
KH: Up next, we’ll be improving the user experience by introducing new, personalized features within the app, largely based on member feedback. We’re also expanding our membership base—and therefore helping more athletes—by partnering with additional sports organizations.
Anything else you’d like to share with readers?
KH: Expect to see our sport-specific training within the app beyond our initial 10 sports.
We’re also deepening the content library for each specific sport by adding more training options along with new, expert-led education sessions from our growing roster of accomplished and trusted performance coaches.
If you’re interested in having your company featured in our Startup Q&A series, send an email to team@fitt.co.
