Art. Games. Sports.
And, now, wellness?
With a membership-based model and active communities centered around niche interests (such as yoga and crossfit), the billion-dollar fitness industry is primed for non-fungible tokens. And forward-thinking gym owners are warming up to the idea. Some have launched Web3 wellness clubs powered by NFTs.
Global Fit Club is a blockchain-based fitness platform founded by Deni Zulic. Zulic’s vision is to use NFT memberships to offer fitness services that pay off — both physically and financially. Through a pay-to-earn (P2E) model, Global Fit Club will pay its members to work out. The more calories they burn, the more money they earn. The program’s expected to launch in 2023.
It’s not only newcomers looking to get in on NFT-powered fitness, but heavyweights too. Equinox co-founder Lavinia Errico believes NFT will impact fitness, wellness, social activities, and more. And, as a first move, she joined Malibu-based NFT wellness lounge Rafi Lounge as an adviser.
Rafi Lounge didn’t begin as an NFT company, but switched to the model. Founder Rafi Anteby brought the memberships on-chain to improve security and retention. Plus, the ability for members to resell their memberships on a secondary market, should they move, was an added benefit.
It’s still early, but the fitness industry is shaping up to be one to watch in Web3.
Walking in a Web3 Wonderland
The fitness industry might just be catching on to Web3, but STEPN was early to the space. At its peak, the move-to-earn dApp got a couple million people exercising to earn crypto. We even covered a few of its biggest milestones….
Back in July 2022, we reported that Usain Bolt partnered with the Step app. The world-famous Jamaican sprinter became the face of the wildly-popular movement app. The specifics of the partnership weren’t revealed.
In November 2022, STEPN partnered with Asics on a phygital shoe. Customers who purchased the real-life, Solana-inspired shoe received rewards and token-gated experiences. Plus, they were airdropped an ASICS x STEPN NFT sneaker.
Lastly, we covered a story about Binance Labs revealing a $500 million Web3 fund. As part of the fund, Binance Labs focused on NFTs and gaming, of which STEPN was a beneficiary.
STEPN was one of the first to find its stride in Web3. If the rest of the industry catches up, it won’t be long until fitness has a foothold on NFTs.