Issue No. 168: web3 x Fitness

Over the past several months, the web3 movement of a new, decentralized internet arrived in full force.

From DeFi to DeSo, web3 is already reshaping a wide range of industries. Now, the disruption has reached fitness.

Building Blocks

Web2, the internet as we know it, is ruled by centralized platforms like Facebook and Google, which monopolize value and profit off user data and content.

Enter web3. It promises the next evolution of the internet through a user-owned, blockchain-based digital world.

Protocols like Ethereum and Bitcoin store data in blocks (hence the name blockchain). Here, transactions are reviewed and approved by multiple validators, enabling users—who may otherwise be strangers—to align incentives and generate trust.

Empowering creators and communities, the space has taken off over the past year — the NFT market crossed $40B last year (and shows no signs of slowing) while decentralized organizations claimed $16B AUM in December 2021.

Exploring these developments as they relate to fitness and wellness, today, we’ll look at how web3 could revolutionize the industry.

NFT Your Movement

Perhaps most prominently, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have invaded the popular discourse. Unique and non-interchangeable, these assets introduce scarcity and proof of ownership to the digital economy.

Seeing the potential, popular brands have begun using NFTs as powerful way to engage customers across physical and digital spaces. Last December, adidas sold over $23M of NFTs, while Nike acquired NFT studio RTFKT.

As it stands, most users are adopting NFTs as social currency, popularized by profile picture-based projects. But beyond social signaling, utility NFTs open up a world of possibilities for health and fitness.

Gamified NFTs. Combining the power of proof-of-workout and pay-for-fitness, move-to-earn startups are using NFTs to gamify and reward physical activity.

• Running app STEPN uses digital sneakers to pay users for walking, jogging, or running outdoors. It just secured $5M this January.
• Genopets, a mobile game which integrates users’ IRL physical activity into digital in-game upgrades, raised $8.3M last October.

Elsewhere, goal-staking startup CommitPool leverages gear like Peloton and Apple Watch. As early entrants, wellness rewards ecosystems Sweatcoin and Clinicoin have attracted dedicated, active user bases for years.

Membership NFTs. Building communities, membership NFTs can be thought of as tickets, granting holders access into a collective of like-minded individuals along with exclusive perks.

• Apex Optimizers provides NFT owners with access to deals with brands like Eight Sleep and Bioloop, signed merch from athletes, and professional, in-person training experiences.
• IRONDOGS, a play-to-earn powerlifting collection, hosts exclusive competitions with NFT prizes and connects powerlifters with strength coaches and personal trainers.
• GYMBROs NFT marries gym membership with apparel — NFT holders are granted access into the full GYMBROs ecosystem, complete with seasonal merch drops and 50% off orders.

Elsewhere, Bike Club NFT and National Parks NFT aim to promote physical activity and the outdoors. The former brings together cyclists around new gear and group rides, while the latter supports hiking and the National Park Foundation.

Beyond a digital club, Apex Optimizers founder Rachel Sanders detailed follow-on effects in both the physical and virtual realms during a Fitt Insider Q&A:

“The communities that emerge from health-focused projects will also play a role in which products and solutions are funded and built — an exciting trend to watch.”

DAOs eat VCs

Another form of community creation, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) are member-run collectives powered by tokens.

Distinct from existing orgs, DAOs grant stake and equity to all members (which appreciate in value along with the DAO), enabling trust and incentivizing meaningful participation. Blockchain contracts offload a significant chunk of governance that most communities require, easing the coordination of stakeholders.

This reduces the time and friction required to create large, engaged communities and, at the same time, augments their capabilities. Put simply, shared interests, or shared experiences, can evolve into the realization of shared goals.

For example, this is already manifesting in the form of health-focused, VC-like collaboratives. VitaDAO boasts 3,000+ members and has wielded its $9M+ community treasury to fund over $1.5M in longevity research.

Instructor IPO 

Besides enhancing fitness communities, social tokens have the potential to supercharge the creator economy, specifically in the fitness world — athletes, instructors, and/or coaches.

Last September, UCLA basketball player Jaylen Clark launched $JROCK. Holders of the token receive special perks, are rewarded if $JROCK appreciates over time, and can directly support Clark — sidestepping middlemen.

For fitness creators, social tokens present a novel way to interact with their followings. Early, devoted fans benefit from investment while creators benefit from capital.

Perhaps most importantly, token economies reduce the power of third-party gatekeepers, “arming the rebels” instead of rewarding the brand or platform. In theory, a $RIGSBY coin could give Peloton fan favorite Cody Rigsby direct ownership of his followers, allowing him to port his offerings across platforms.

The Metaverse

An inherently social activity, fitness has long been trending towards the metaverse in the form of virtual, gamified workouts.

While it’s not fundamentally a part of web3, the metaverse is a powerful tool for facilitating web3 experiences.

For example, fitness metaverse startup Calo Metaverse uses VR and AR overlays to gamify outdoor activity. OliveX, a digital lifestyle company and metaverse developer, just partnered with UK-based boutique fitness studio TRIB3, launching a gym and virtual store on OliveX-owned LAND within The Sandbox’s virtual world.

Elsewhere… fitness itself seems to be a popular on-ramp onto the metaverse, as reflected by Meta’s Supernatural acquisition. But VR games like FitXR and Liteboxer merely scratch the surface of the potential that a fitness metaverse wields.

Looking Ahead

A fully-developed web3 fitness world still has quite a ways to go.

A common critique, many projects aren’t necessarily innovating with blockchain technology — they’re merely flying the web3 flag as a marketing tool. Others question whether web3 is truly decentralized or point to the negative impact that crypto mining has on the climate.

But, believer or skeptic, it’s important to acknowledge the underlying potential of these technologies. Blockchains enable interoperability between different apps, a characteristic that could transform the fitness space.

Most existing digital health and fitness tools operate in silos, spitting out data that consumers must manage on their own. Moving toward a more integrated future where personalized recommendations are unified across fitness and wellness offerings, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hints at web3’s potential:

“I think a lot of the magic of NFTs and a lot of the web3 work is that it’s designed in a way to be fundamentally interoperable… it’ll help break down these silos between different apps… which I think increasingly is what people are going to expect.”

Punchline: The web3 movement is full of hype, but while some projects seek to make a quick buck, others are tackling the world’s biggest health problems. As the category evolves, its biggest contribution might be coalition-building, encouraging more people to get moving.