Handstand, the app and website that brings a customized fitness experience to mobile, forged a partnership with Reebok and is launching in two major markets, New York City and Boston.
The exclusive partnership with Reebok, as part of the #TrainerTribute campaign, gives all Handstand trainers access to Reebok’s instructor network ReebokOne, the brand’s exclusive community of fitness instructors from around the world. The launch brings Handstand’s total number of markets to three and comes after significant growth and a $1 million investment from Reebok, notable angel investors and startup studio Science Inc., the company that invested in and helped grow Dollar Shave Club and DogVacay.
Handstand, available on iOS and Web, directly connects trainers, instructors and coaches to customers and offers dozens of types of workout sessions, including yoga, boxing, Pilates and kickboxing, eliminating the pesky gym fees and unbreakable contracts. Tiffany Hakimianpour, a Los Angeles entrepreneur, was inspired to create Handstand in 2015 when she tried to find an affordable personal trainer but found the process to be outdated, expensive and time-consuming. All of Handstand’s certified personal trainers, instructors and coaches are individually interviewed and screened, undergoing thorough background checks. Users can pick their trainers, book a workout on their own schedule and choose the location, whether it’s in their home or at a fitness center or park. Trainers bring all the necessary equipment, so it allows users to order a workout on-demand to their doors.
“We’re impressed by Handstand’s traction and are thrilled to partner with a service like theirs that helps bring customized fitness and personal training to the masses,” said Steve Robaire, director of instructor marketing at Reebok. “Through the partnership, we’ll welcome their network of trainers to our global instructor community and offer them priority access to the latest cutting-edge fitness products. And in turn, we’re excited to be able to give our current network of instructors the opportunity to join a platform like Handstand that will help increase their own customer bases and networks within their cities.”
Through technological and engineering support from Science Inc., a Los Angeles-based startup studio, Handstand has seen significant growth. The app’s initial pilot market of Los Angeles has grown to thousands of users and has expanded its instructor network to over 700 trainers.
“Handstand has seen much demand in Los Angeles, we are thrilled to finally launch more markets, particularly Boston and New York. We are really excited about the opportunity to pair carefully vetted trainers with people looking for a convenient and effective way to work out from the comfort of their home or even a local gym. As we head into colder months in the Northeast, we are particularly excited about making personalized exercise easy and accessible for people who may not be able to enjoy outdoor exercise. Reebok is a revolutionary brand that’s become a valued partner as we embark on this next phase of growth. After these two new markets in October, we’ll be following a national rollout plan with them by our side,” said Tiffany Hakimianpour, founder and CEO of Handstand.
Starting today, Handstand is available in New York City and Metro Boston, in addition to Los Angeles County and Orange County. The app will be available in additional cities in 2017. For more information or to download the Handstand app, visit HandstandApp.com.
