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Wales internationals Gareth Anscombe and Alex Cuthbert are currently looking for £300,000 of investment to boost their fitness and wellbeing app.
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The pair are hoping to match the off-the-field success of former England lock George Kruis and Wales forward Dominic Day who started their business FourFive in 2019, initially concentrating on cannabis oil (CBD) before branching out into vitamins and nutrition.
Outside half Anscombe, who has returned after 761 days out following a serious knee injury, and former Exeter wing Cuthbert, are teammates at the Ospreys and want to extend the features of Fitap, which launched during the first lockdown in 2020, as well as build a sales team and increase marketing through crowdfunding. “Our aim is to leverage technology to make staying fit easier, cheaper and more enjoyable,” Cuthbert told Insider Media.
“Sometimes people get intimidated about physically going to a gym or exploring activities to help their mental health and wellbeing, but this makes access easier.”
For Anscombe, Fitap is the project that kept him busy when struggling psychologically after being ruled out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan with knee ligament damage. “The gym isn’t for everybody and, when it comes to wellbeing, it’s important to provide support for those who’ve had a few setbacks in life,” said Anscombe.
“For me, in rugby, there’s been great times, but it’s not always smooth sailing. I feel it’s important to provide support and make talking about fitness and mental health more accessible.”
The app, which is free for users, charges businesses a fee to be listed in return for promotion to members of the public who want to find new ways to get active.
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“Because advertising costs tend to be high and therefore too risky for individual fitness providers to try, nobody currently owns consumers’ minds in this space. We aim to,” said business partner, Dean Jones who has a background in marketing and advertising.
