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Jason L. Baptiste

Studio - Like Peloton for running

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We make running on a treadmill not suck. Enjoy boutique group running classes that pair a motivating instructor with a killer playlist at anytime that's convenient to you. Compete in real-time on our leaderboard against runners from across the world. Earn Fitcoin with every class to level up and unlock prizes.

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Ryan Hoover
Congrats on the launch, @jasonlbaptiste and team. The fitness space in tech seems to be increasingly competitive with apps like MoveWith and Aaptiv targeting runners. How does Studio compare?
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@rrhoover 🎉🎉🎉🎉 We think of ourselves like an entertainment platform akin to Netflix or Spotify, which is a different lens than everyone else is looking through. My last company worked with all the world's largest publishers and that gave me deep insights into how to create an entertainment company. First, we're putting out new content every single day. That content is coming from top instructors with experience from places like FlyWheel, SoulCycle, Orange Theory, CityRow, etc. - we're recruiting the stars of our space to create "House of Cards" quality content for fitness. You can't get this quality of instructors elsewhere and we have some new coaches coming soon that will blow your mind. We'll also be increasing the amount of content released everyday. We're a social and community driven platform, instead of "one-way" content with no interaction that feels like just a Podcast. Our runners can compete in real-time on our leaderboard against anyone else from across the world. Group Fitness has become popular due to accountability and the social dynamic of classes. We've taken that to another level by removing the 60 person limit physical classrooms have and delivering the community of group fitness virtually. As entrepreneurs, we're big believers in focus. The other two winners in the space have been Headspace in meditation/mindfulness and Peloton in cycling. You can't try to be everything to everyone. That's why we focused on running, specifically on a treadmill at the start. It's the most purchased piece of equipment (> 2X cycling bikes in home) and the most used piece of equipment at a gym. Our focus on running allows us to deliver better content on a more regular basis and in a much more interactive way.
Jake Tsacudakis
@rrhoover @jasonlbaptiste Love your response and the focus. The differentiation and pain point is very well articulated here and on the landing page. Well done :) Personally, as a runner I've never liked the treadmill (it really does suck), so your tagline immediately got me. I'll download and give it a try. One question - I'm curious about your approach to Fitcoin. Can you share your thoughts about how you see this adding value to the community? I saw Sweatcoin recently and felt like it may be the new Gamification model. Curious how your team sees it fitting into the community.
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@rrhoover @jaketsacudakis Thank you!! Small piece of trivia: the treadmill started as a torture device. It still kind of is one. You earn FitCoin based upon time and distance. We'll eventually have other things that factor into earning it. Right now, you just level up. Each level is an alliterated animal with emoji like "Basic Bear" and "Wild Wolf". Eventually you'll be able to redeem it for virtual customizations, real world prizes, and more. There's some wild things we're planning to do with it, that I'm keeping slightly quiet about :). Beyond FitCoin, we also want to bring community together. It's not just about during the run, but connecting with likeminded folks after.
Jake Tsacudakis
@rrhoover @jasonlbaptiste Very cool. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Best of luck with the launch!
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
Hello!! This has been almost a year in the making, but in reality it's been over eight years in the making. Eight years ago, I was fifty pounds heavier and wanted to do something about it, so I started running. On June 7, 2009 I turned it into a permanent promise to run a 5K every single day of my life and have stuck to it since. Frankly, running gets boring and is solitary. Group fitness classes like SoulCycle and Barry's Bootcamp are the opposite - they're entertaining, so we wondered how do we bring the entertainment of group fitness to running? Enter Studio, a way to make running on a treadmill not suck. We pair a motivating instructor with a killer playlist. We have instructors from top institutions like SoulCycle, FlyWheel, Orange Theory, City Row, and more along with full music rights. That means you can get an awesome like the "Jay-Z" one my man VJ Wesley taught last week. We also have a real-time leaderboard you can compete in if you connect your Apple Watch. This makes it a social experience where the community pushes you further. Each run also earns you Fitcoin (NOT A REAL CRYPTO), that allows you to level up and eventually earn prizes. At its core, we think of Studio as a media company. We've internally been using the phrase "fitness entertainment" to describe what we do. If we can make fitness more entertaining, a lot more people will participate. Every hour you run, about 1.5-2 Studio classes, extends your lifespan by 7 hours. We think we can have a profound impact on the health of the human population.
Ben Parr
It's simply a beautiful app, and I know you've recruited a bunch of top-tier coaches to make running not suck. If this can make me like running, it will be a smash success.
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@benparr Thanks you Ben. <3 you
Nathaniel McNamara
Maker
@benparr thanks Ben! We have gotten a lot of similar feedback that Studio makes running fun again. Instead of running on a treadmill watching CNN or "Keeping up with the Kardashians" you can now run with a great instructor with a killer playlist. See you on the leaderboard!
Ricky Yean
Get my butt moving. Awesome @jasonlbaptiste!
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@rickyyean Thanks man!!!
Nathaniel McNamara
Maker
@jasonlbaptiste @rickyyean We will look for you on the leaderboard - run faster!
Aziz Firat
Wish it was available outside of the US...
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@azizfirat hey! It's a music rights thing. We have plans to be worldwide AND teachers with multiple languages. Which country are you in? PS - Fan of the Tidal design, nice work :)
Nathaniel McNamara
Maker
@azizfirat As Jason mentioned there are big opportunities to expand beyond the US - but starting here due to music rights constraints. We are always eager to hear where people want us to go next, so let us know your preferences. thanks!
Jon Chu

I've been using Studio for a couple of months now and it's has been fantastic! Gained a bit of weight from all those summer drinks and had a Apple Watch laying around. Charged up myself and my watch....started to run with Studio on the treadmill. The instructor has been spot on and motivating to the point, I don't even know how to run without it! No reason to gain that NYC padding during the harsh winter, when you can get into beastmode indoors with Studio.

Pros:

Easy to use, motivating, a great use case for Apple Watch

Cons:

More challenges!

Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
Thanks Jon! I've enjoyed running against you on the leaderboard :D
Nathaniel McNamara
Maker
Jon - thanks for the good words. glad you can finally find a use for your Apple Watch!
Romanos Fessas

Love the fact that I can run alone and still get coaching and feel like I'm in a class, even when I'm alone in my building's basement. Lots of good classes, and there are enough new coaches and classes that I never get bored.

Pros:

Makes treadmill running fun, even for me

Cons:

Longer runs might be cool at some point

Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
Thanks Romanos!!! Longer runs are definitely something we're thinking about :)
Alex Iskold
Even longer? Dude you are a pro ;)
Ryan Shearman
Extremely well designed. Well done guys!
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@ryanshearmannyc thank you Ryan!!
Joel Wish
Love this product and team!
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@joelwish Thank you Joel!!!!
Arjun Ram
Have been an early user of this product. Love the way @ jasonlbaptiste and the team have iterated on this. Gets addictive after a couple of tries - looking forward to buying the Apple Watch to just try this app out! Excited to see how they take this forward! High recommend it to anyone that hates the treadmill. I sure did till I started using Studio.
Jason L. Baptiste
Maker
@arjunram Thank you Arjun!!!!
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