Dr. Muscle

“Hey man, I need to get off my butt and get in shape. Can you help me with that?” It was 2016, and one of my best friends (Mack) was calling. I said “Sure mate, it’s about time you asked!” Mack really needed help. “Look, I’ll help out, but you have to promise me one thing: that you’ll stick to the program.” Mack said: “Yes, yes, I’ll do it!” Three weeks later, at a party, Mack confessed: “Ah, I’m sorry man. I tried, but it’s just too hard. I’ll get back to it some day.” I leaned in: “Dang, that’s too bad. Look, there’s got to be a better way. What if I found a great app to keep you on track?” I left early and spent the evening trying out workout apps. Most were just for tracking. Those that had workouts were not customizing anything, or looked pretty random. I was deleting my 12th app with reddening, half-closed eyes when this crazy idea hit me. I rushed to my computer and wrote to a small group of clients: “Would you trust an app that creates custom workouts for you? Like a personal trainer in your phone?” The next day, a French client replied “Yeah, I’d love to see that. I’m a developer. Need any help?” We got to work, and after a year of trial and error, we built the first ever fully automated, evidence-based trainer in your phone. We made it for advanced lifters too, because I wanted something I could also use for my advanced clients and me (I’d been lifting weights for 16 years at the time, and was about to get my PhD in exercise statistics). Finally, we had to give the new product a name. So, we thought we should name it after what it does. It builds your muscles. And it’s scientific, like a doctor. So, we did. And that’s when Dr. Muscle was born.