Meet The Brains Behind The New Fantasy Virtual Fitness Platform TernFit
Take your fitness journey to the next level with TernFit
Combining his love of fitness with a desire to make a positive change in the world, David Stubbs has launched TernFit, a brand new fitness platform that offers its users a whole host of incredible fitness challenges – with a fun twist of fantasy.
David knew how much exercise can make a difference to a person’s mental health. ‘I realised the benefits that it gives me,’ he explains. ‘When I wasn’t as active, my glass was half-empty, whereas when I run I’m a much better person for it. You hear so much these days about mental health issues and I think you don’t have to be an athlete for it to play a big part in your life. We relieve some of those day-to-day stresses – that’s definitely what it does for me.’ No stranger to fitness himself, David regularly takes part in the Great North Run and attributes events like it to helping him keep his feet on solid ground. He wanted a way to share this with other people.
David set about designing a fitness platform that could get people motivated in a way that was both fun and effective and in early 2024, TernFit was officially launched. The challenges (which include everything from 10km and half marathons to a ‘legend series’ covering more than 500km) all take inspiration from classic fantasy and folklore, with a medal and printed map to mark your accomplishment at the end (think Viking invasions, swimming Loch Ness in search of its monster, and racing to the end of the world). The design of the medals themselves draw inspiration from the challenges, something David hopes will bring an element of fun to the exercise challenges and inspire people to push themselves further. ‘It adds a little bit of drama to it,’ he says. ‘People will hopefully enjoy connecting to the stories and the fantasy.
‘The process of designing the challenges started with a lot of research, brainstorming and sketching ideas. I'm a designer by trade, so I'm used to creating, and once I was in the zone the ideas flooded out. Designing the medals was such a fun project and seeing them come to life is so satisfying.’
But don’t worry – as impressive as they sound, the challenges are designed to be taken at your own pace and in your own way. ‘For the first release of challenges I wanted to cover a lot of different distances to appeal to a large audience, and not intimidate potential participants with super long distances,’ David explains. ‘You don’t have to run. You can walk, you can swim – anything that you can track as movement will go towards the total distance and your medal.’ The challenges run virtually via the Strava app or online, meaning your progress can be tracked and saved without the need to finish the challenge immediately. There’s also no need to do every challenge, with the platform offering the ability to pick and choose the distances (and adventures) that suit your preferences best.
‘I have done a lot of testing over the past year or two so have completed a number of the challenges,’ David says. ‘The challenges are all cumulative, so it's a gradual build to getting through the distances which breaks down the barriers of competing in one-off distance races. It's all about keeping consistently active rather than doing something once. If I had to choose a favourite, it would be the Viking Invasion – it’s about the sense of adventure and history with a really long journey to give you a long-term goal.’
But fitness isn’t the only goal of TernFit, and charitable giving has been a building block of the platform since the beginning. ‘My running journey and my fitness journey has always been alongside charitable giving,’ he says. For David, his charitable giving began after a personal loss, and as he developed TernFit he knew that it would be an essential part of the business. For every challenge purchased, 10 percent is donated to a charitable cause including The Children’s Heart Unit Fund (which David has a personal history of running for), as well as the Red Sky Foundation (for those in need of cardiac care), Alzheimer’s Research UK, and If U Share Care (a charity dedicated to supporting families affected by suicide).
Although it is still early days, TernFit has already made an impact. ‘Everybody seems to love the concept of TernFit. The business was created to be benefit led, from getting people active through to giving back to a number of charities (and some people just love the adventure of it all – and the medals!),’ David says. ‘Audiences are coming from all over. We’ve helped a number of our customers get back on the fitness trail which is mission accomplished from our perspective – and all while contributing to charity.’
Going forward, David has big plans for TernFit. ‘The challenges are going to get bigger,’ he explains. ‘Once people realise they don’t have to do it in one go, and they can do something as impressive as a 340 mile challenge, they’ll think why not go bigger? The incentive is there, and that’s really what it’s about.
‘I have a number of challenges that have yet to see the light of day and these will be a staggered release over the coming months and years.’
David also hopes to be able to expand TernFit into an online fitness community. ‘We really hope to set up a blog where we can give people fitness tips and everything they need.’ David hopes that TernFit can foster a real community where people can share their achievements, encourage each other, and develop a support network of like-minded people. ‘My goal in year one is all about building an audience and creating a community of people who champion each others’ successes. Success breeds success as they say,’ David says. ‘I call it creating a movement through movement. Beyond year one I want to then look into building an app and would love for this to be in play by the end of 2025. By this time ideally we'll have an established audience, with new challenges coming monthly.’
What is your favourite local running event?
I have to say the Great North Run. It's the buzz and atmosphere you don't get anywhere but here in the North East. It always makes me proud to be from here and the amount of money raised for charity is such a positive feeling. It ticks all of the boxes I want TernFit to.
What is your go-to snack before a workout?
If it's a morning run, it would be muesli and a coffee. But generally, you can't go wrong with a trusty banana.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I wish I'd found running a lot earlier in my life. The benefits are fantastic and it just makes me feel amazing. I think it might be my superpower! Also, to take that leap of faith and believe in yourself. The hard work will pay off in the long run.
For more information visit ternfit.com.
