Train With a Community: Fitnesse - The Ultimate Workout App

‣ Company: Fitnesse
‣ Founders: Michael Garrick and Marcus Harrison
‣ Mission: To help people train efficiently with limited equipment
‣ App launched: 2021
‣ Team size: 2 (not including trainers)
‣ Go-to emoji: 🙏🏾

Michael Garrick and Marcus Harrison, longtime friends and cofounders of the workout app Fitnesse, both excelled as athletes in college. But after starting careers in tech, they found their fitness regimens adrift.

That’s why they structured Fitnesse’s program around circuit training, which involves tackling multiple rounds of the same two or three exercises before moving on. Some workouts require barbells and dumbbells, while others just need a training mat—perfect for at-home training. “You can get in shape the same way you would at the gym,” Harrison says.

But it didn’t take long for the duo to see Fitnesse as being about more than workouts: They realized the app could “branch out to be a holistic health and wellness platform for people who look like us,” Harrison says.

We spoke to Garrick and Harrison about breaking into the tech world as outsiders and the importance of giving back.

How is Fitnesse different from other fitness apps?

Harrison: Other workout apps had a lot going on. Sure, it’s cool if you’re interested in data or you want to look like a bodybuilder. But we didn’t find anything that was simple or included functional workouts. The other thing was the community and culture we wanted to build Fitnesse around: our community, people of color. We saw a huge opportunity to identify with our demographic.

What were the challenges of being an outsider to the tech industry?

Harrison: The hardest thing was when we went to raise money. That was where we got a lot of pushback: “Have you guys done this before? Do you have a technical cofounder?” At the time, I was uncomfortable saying I was technical. We were going down the path of maybe hiring a developer. Then it came to the point when I told Michael, “I can figure it out.” Over time, it became clear we could do it ourselves, and we became confident enough to say, “We have a technical cofounder: myself.”

What role has mentorship played in your journey?

Garrick: Without our core mentors, we wouldn’t be where we are today. No one in our circles has ever done what we’re doing. We don’t see people who look like us or talk like us, or who are from where we’re from who we can reach out to. For us, mentorship was the only way we could be successful.

Harrison: If people do reach out or have questions, we want to be that helpful hand when we can. We’ve had a few interns who said, “Can I still work with you? I want to learn.” We want to pull people up and give back.

Without our core mentors, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Do you have advice for newcomers starting an app?

Garrick: Just start. We weren’t ready at all to release our app when we did, but we set a date. We knew if we didn’t, we’d keep trying to perfect it. The great thing is we got so much feedback. The first was, “Do you guys have an Apple Watch integration?” OK, that’s the next thing Marcus has to build. Or they’d say, “Do you have a bodyweight program for people without equipment?” If we never started, we wouldn’t have had the feedback.

What makes you a good team?

Harrison: Our friendship and brotherhood negates any disagreements we may have. He was one of the best men at my wedding. I’ll be a groomsman at his. We grew up in the same environment and were brought up in a similar way. When we come up with concepts and ideas, it makes sense to both of us.

Fitnesse is a part of the App Store Small Business Program. If you are a developer and would like to learn more about the program, follow the link below.