WeWard, a free walking app that rewards users for every step, announced that tennis pro and entrepreneur Venus Williams has joined the company as an investor and ambassador.
With a shared commitment to promoting healthier living, Williams and WeWard aim to raise awareness around the dangers of physical inactivity and highlight the significant health benefits for cardiovascular health, mental health, metabolism, and energy levels from developing a daily walking routine.
As part of the announcement, WeWard debuted a 50-second spot showcasing the tennis champion tracking her steps on the app and later celebrating during a match after hitting her step count goal.
Williams is a longstanding advocate for prioritizing personal wellness on and off the court. This partnership closely follows the release of her health and wellness book Strive, which outlines a holistic and science-backed approach to life improvement.
“As someone who is deeply passionate about personal health and wellness, I’m thrilled to be partnering with WeWard,” said Williams. “A large part of staying well and active is simply by moving your body whichever way you can, and with WeWard, walking becomes a fun and rewarding experience. I’m excited to be part of a movement that encourages people to take that first step towards a healthier, more active lifestyle.”
The WeWard lifestyle app, founded in 2019, rewards users for their daily walking activity, bringing a gamified approach to exercise motivation. Users can track their daily steps, redeem them for incentives, including cash deposits, charity donations or retail gifts, and participate in social challenges, including leaderboards and collectibles.
WeWard reported in a media release that users of its walking app “increase walking activity by nearly 25 percent and, to date, the company has given $20 million in cash back to users, $1 million to charity partners and helped save more than 600,000 tons of CO2 from walking activity generated.”
The partnership with Williams marks a significant milestone for the startup, which “expanded to 20 countries in July of 2024 and recently crossed 1 million downloads in the U.S. since its rollout in the region.”
“We couldn’t have found a better partner to help us inspire more people to walk,” said Founder Yves Benchimol. “Venus has been such a huge inspiration to so many throughout her multi-faceted career, and we’re thrilled to have her energy, advocacy and entrepreneurial spirit on board to help us drive WeWard’s mission to get more people walking.”
Image courtesy WeWard, video courtesy YouTube
