New Fitness App Rewards University of Illinois Students for Exercising
Nick Polak
Plyo, a technology platform that rewards college students for exercising on campus, has extended its free app to University of Illinois students. The company is on a mission to inspire the next generation of students to live active lifestyles and is doing so through partnerships with local restaurants and retailers. Students can earn virtual points based on the amount of time they spend exercising at gyms on campus and can redeem those points for exclusive offers at restaurants and retailers, such as Blaze Pizza and The Illini Union Bookstore, or for discounts and gift cards from popular brands, like Garmin, Lululemon, or Amazon.
Co-founders Peter Schultze and Justin Buhl started Plyo in a dorm room at the University of Minnesota in 2017 with the goal of inspiring students to prioritize exercise.
“I had the idea as I was going through my own personal health and fitness journey,” Schultze said. “I realized how challenging it was to live a healthy and active lifestyle at college, and wanted to find a way to inspire more people to be active.”
Plyo users earn points based on the amount of time they spend exercising at gyms on campus at a rate of 50 points per hour or 100 points per hour when they work out with a friend. Rewards typically range from 100 points for smaller offers to 500 points for the more coveted rewards.
Since its launch on campus, Plyo has been met with positive feedback and great reactions from students on campus. Utilizing a wide array of growth strategies to reach all types of students, Plyo is looking to motivate every student on campus to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle!
UIUC freshman, Nick Polak, has been using the app since its launch on campus. “I’ve already earned a lot of points simply by working out and practicing for intramurals with friends. I also get double points through inviting my friends to play basketball on campus. Plyo is a great way to earn some free/discounted food by getting in the gym with my friends and teammates.”
Another student, Nicole Wozny, has just started using Plyo for her workouts. “It’s a super fun platform that motivates me to work out and invite my friends along to earn double points”
Currently, students can redeem offers at 12 popular Champaign-Urbana restaurants and retailers, and an array of popular online brands. The Plyo team is working to add more local partners throughout the year.
Plyo launched in Champaign-Urbana on January 28 and currently has nearly 40,000 users throughout other Big Ten universities. Since Fall 2018, students have logged over 1.5 million hours of exercise and have redeemed over 100,000 rewards from local businesses through Plyo.
Plyo is available for free in the App Store and Google Play.