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"Our whole message is get off the couch, meet friends, and exercise more,"

-- Patrick McCluskey founder of ExerciseFriends.com

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Patrick McCluskey pictured above is the founder of ExerciseFriends.com, developed a novel way for people to meet folks of common exercise interests with the intent of keeping each other motivated to exercise.

Shannon Bell recently moved from California to Texas and didn't know a soul in her new home town. As a working single mother, she had little opportunity to meet people outside of work. Shannon used ExerciseFriends.com to make a connection and now works out regularly with her new exercise friend. "I didn't know anyone, so I tried their website and found an exercise partner. We get along really well and have actually become great friends. She took me to her gym, which was 24-Hour Fitness. I liked going there and since my new friend was already a member, I joined too," Bell said. The success of ExerciseFriends.com lies in its ability to quickly search and find people of common exercise habits within a desired geographic area. Privacy is preserved until people are actually ready to meet. At ExerciseFriends.com people are currently hooking up to walk, run, bike, play tennis, workout at gyms and pursue a variety of other healthy activities. After launching this past September, the site continues to gain momentum and is currently growing at a rate of 30% every month. The site has been so successful that it has been recommended by Shape Magazine!

Exercise Friends Are Imperative to Sustained Exercise Activity

But the challenge is finding people of common interests to work out with -- it's awkward to physically approach strangers. With his high-tech background, he knew the web could be the perfect vehicle; after all, dating web sites have been successfully matching profiles for years. Kevin Embree, Director of Research and Development for eBay's Trust & Safety Division and an early investor in ExerciseFriends.com, commented on the site's unlimited potential: "We're seeing people contact each other… they're saying, 'Hey let's meet, where do you work out? ' You can tell from the conversations that people are engaged, and this is a service that is greatly needed. That got me interested. I realized that this will take off and be very popular."

Lou Vessichelli, a personal trainer in New Jersey and a heavy user of ExerciseFriends.com, commented on the importance of having someone to exercise with, "I speak to many clients and most are intimidated to go into gyms especially by themselves… there is just too much going on, they don't know what to do. Having a friend or two takes away that uneasy feeling. Most importantly, accountability to a friend is huge… [it] increases the likelihood of a successful training program."

ExerciseFriends.com is free to the public. "For members, we're the only free site to get on with no membership fees, all the communications tools are included, email, chat sessions, and IM [instant messaging] are all included and we never share personal info with other members," said McCluskey.

Advances In Web Technology Make Matching Possible

Through advanced search capabilities, selections can be set for gender, age range, zip codes and activities sought. Member profiles only display information relevant to exercise identified by a contact "handle". Names, phone numbers and email addresses are never exposed. Emails can be sent to initiate a conversation that can be followed up with IM or group chats. "We offer all the tools to communicate, but we preserve your privacy," emphasized McCluskey.

Not A Dating Site

"We're very strict about the no dating rule," said McCluskey, "further, members have the option to indicate that they only want to exercise with their own gender. Finally, we have an 'abuse button' to report misconduct."

Todd Dunkle is an avid exerciser in Tampa, Florida, but being a husband, father and career person, has little time to find exercise buddies and uses ExerciseFriends.com regularly. "It's very clean and serious. I think it is absolutely brilliant! It's so nice to have a place where you don't have to worry about it being like a dating service. It's not sleazy; if anything goes wrong in there, people are kicked out. There's no way anyone can come in there and start victimizing members," Dunkle said.

A New Marketing Model for Health Clubs, Gyms and Fitness Professionals

Although several popular activities include hiking and walking outdoors, most are geared toward health clubs and fitness professionals: 42% of members weight train, 27% use cardio machines, 30% do aerobics, 30% do yoga and 19% do Pilates.

In addition to profiles for members, there are profile forms for both fitness facilities and fitness trainers to gain exposure to the entire community. When members search for an exercise buddy, they can also view the clubs and trainers in their search results.

McCluskey explains, "There are actually 'no-risk free listings' to have your profile placed in front of qualified members. The beauty of it is, you don't have to pay until it works! If nobody contacts you, you don't have to pay anything."

Vessichelli uses the fitness professional profile regularly to generate leads. He has acquired customers for both personal training and for his bridal & bikini boot camp this spring, "It's very inexpensive, $9.95 per month for a listing is almost negligible, if you pick up one client over the course of 2-3 months, it's certainly going to pay for itself, plus more." Plus the IRS lets you deduct advertising expenses!

Pinpoint Targeted Banner Ads

Dunkle, an advertising executive at Clear Channel, said about ads at ExerciseFriends.com, "It has unlimited promise, sellers can present targeted ads without compromising what the site does for the members, it doesn't become just an ad vehicle, advertising is a sort of 'by the way'."

Private Label Health Club Communities Turn Members into "Active Members"

But the true value of private label Exercise Friends communities, according to Embree, is that it helps gym facilities drive profit centers, enhance member retention and promote member referral programs proven by Shannon’s story above.

Embree explained:

"A private label Exercise Friend community also positions gym operators to earn significant advertising revenues through high quality advertisements targeting a significantly pre-qualified audience. Facilities earn commissions through advertisements broadcast over their private label Exercise Friends community.

That's what ExerciseFriends.com is all about. When you engage your membership and you get them involved with other people, the peer friendship and motivation keeps them renewing their membership and feeling like they're getting value from that membership."

About ExerciseFriends.com

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