Gamers Hit the Gym
I got a smile out of this CNN article about “Fitocracy” – a new site (currently in beta) started by two gamers-turned-fitness enthusiasts: Brian Wang and Richard Talens.
The reason? I’ve got one of these at home: my son, Ryan. Now 21, he’s been my steady training partner since April. Right now, “Minecraft” (aka “Mindcrack”) is the game du jour, but he plays a wide variety of both online and board games. And – although he hasn’t fallen in love with squatting or deadlifting yet – he’s definitely starting to get into the iron.
“Fitocracy” sounds like it’s right up his alley:
“People don’t realize that video games are an expression of personality,” Talens said. “There’s certain qualities that people have. They’re obsessed with improving the stat sheets, getting to the next level; they pay a lot of attention to detail. Guys who play (‘World of Warcraft’) … are very intense about whatever they do. They can turn that addiction and all its characteristics into fitness.”
It’s a theory they’re taking to the bank. Talens and Wang are the co-founders of Fitocracy, a website that’s turning gaming geeks into fitness geeks. The site has 70,000 users in its beta version and hopes to open to the 60,000 on a waiting list in the next couple months.
Fitocracy members can “level up” by earning points for their workouts. New levels unlock special challenges or “quests” that are designed to push users out of their comfort zones. For example, a runner might have to do yoga, or a bodybuilder might have to tackle a 5K.
It sounds like these guys could be onto a winner – the fact that there are 60,000 people on the waiting list is pretty impressive! And the physical turnaround that Wang and Talens made is equally impressive. They’ve gone from fat/skinny-fat to buff… and it’s awesome that they’re now motivating others to do the same.
Ryan read the article over my shoulder – he’s certainly interested in checking “Fitocracy” out. I’ll be curious to see if he gets into it… it looks pretty cool!
October 18, 2011
That does look interesting. Sure is a different concept to fitness. I hope it works out for them and gets a lot of people to think more about fitness.
If Ryan gets into it, I would like to know what he thinks.