STACKD is live. Build and preview your own fitness creator app with modular blocks, brand kits, and built in monetization.
Open STACKD →The Opportunity
Fitness creators today rely on fragmented tools. Instagram and TikTok for discovery, YouTube for retention, and platforms like Alo Moves or Peloton for monetization. Each step lives on someone else's brand, with limited ownership and customization.
STACKD explores a white label product direction: a modular platform where creators own their app, voice, and revenue lanes from day one.
Literature Review
Dunne & Raby (Speculative / Critical Design)
Design questions assumptions about what a fitness app has to look like. This helped me reframe streaks, tiles, and podcasts not as features, but as cultural signals in fitness UX.
Agre (Critical Technical Practice)
Argues that technical systems should be analyzed by surfacing hidden assumptions in the tools we build. This supported my interpretation of workshop sketches as evidence of implicit mental models around home screens and priorities.
Products That Inspired the Direction
Canva, Shopify, and Notion each democratized creation in their domain. STACKD applies those same principles to the fitness creator economy.
The Fitness Creator Space
Creators move through three stages: recognition on social platforms (free), retention through long form content (free), and conversion through owned subscription products (monetized). STACKD targets the gap between retention and conversion, where brand ownership matters most.
- Recognition (free): Instagram, TikTok
- Retention (free): YouTube
- Conversion (monetized): Alo Moves, Peloton, Functional Burn by Natalie
Platforms for Conversion
Marketplace platforms (creator joins)
- Playbook: simple onboarding; creators reportedly keep about 80% after store fees; fast monetization but limited branding and ownership versus true white label
- FitOn, BODi, ClassPass, CorePower on Demand: distribution engines with varying revshare and limited brand control
White label builders (creator owns)
- Passion.io, Mighty Pro, Kajabi (mobile), Uscreen: strong ownership and broader course or community DNA, but fitness specific programming support is limited relative to coaching tools
Coaching platforms
- Trainerize, TrueCoach, Everfit: built for programming, adherence, and client messaging; custom branded tiers but not fully creator owned apps by default
Monetization patterns
- Subscriptions, time boxed challenges (4, 6, 8, 12 weeks), cohort launches, bundles, upsells (nutrition guides, form checks), IAP vs Stripe, community add ons, affiliate links
Competitive Analysis
Trainerize, TrueCoach, and Everfit serve fitness native coaching but offer only partial brand ownership. Passion.io delivers full white label customization but lacks fitness specific DNA.
- Trainerize: Partial brand ownership. Subscription revenue. Branded logo only. Basic store compliance. Best for coaches scaling 1 on 1 clients.
- TrueCoach: Partial brand ownership. Subscription revenue. Theming only. Basic store compliance. Best for independent trainers.
- Everfit: Partial brand ownership. Free for clients, paid for coaches. Theming only. Basic store compliance. Best for small coaching teams.
- Passion.io: Full white label on Scale tier. Flat SaaS fee. Highly customizable. Product team manages store process for creator. Best for course creators wanting apps.
Audience & Demand Trends
Gen Z fitness shift
Gyms and group fitness seen as social hubs. Growth in pilates, strength, and low impact modalities.
Aesthetic led fitness
The pilates and wellness aesthetic continues to drive apparel and content engagement. Creators align content with lifestyle and self care.
Adherence drivers
Daily streaks, check ins, DM accountability, and habit stacks correlate with retention in app and subscription models.
Content format
Short form for discovery (TikTok and Reels), long form for depth (YouTube), mobile apps for structured programs and push notifications.
Interviews
11 interviews across 5 participant groups
Founders
To learn about entrepreneurship
Fitness enthusiasts
To understand their digital skill level
Fitness creators
To understand my target audience
Wellness professional
To get a new perspective
Aspiring fitness app owner
To understand my target market
Workshop Findings
Four fitness creators mapped their ideal home screens across six feature categories. No two layouts matched, which confirmed that interchangeable modules, not fixed templates, are essential.
Creator 1: streak/progress, podcast/lifestyle
Creator 2: body part filter, shop commerce
Creator 3: streak/progress, social community
Creator 4: body part filter, social community, class booking
From Research to Design Principles
Vision
Theme: Creators want brand identity and voice.
Evidence: Named apps, custom typography, personal labels.
Design implication: Provide brand kits and naming tools.
Structure
Theme: Different creators center different homes.
Evidence: Streak vs filter vs booking vs social.
Design implication: Provide interchangeable home page modules.
Functionality
Theme: Multiple monetization flows.
Evidence: 1 on 1 vs group, booking vs saved vs podcast.
Design implication: Support multiple revenue lanes.
Interaction
Theme: Lifestyle and fitness content is mixed.
Evidence: Podcast tab, saved posts, Sasa Talks.
Design implication: Content modules alongside fitness modules.
UX behavior
Theme: Simplicity over data.
Evidence: Big streaks, tiles, simple tabs.
Design implication: Visual nudges instead of stats dashboards.
Proposed Product Directions
- UI built from interchangeable blocks, not fixed templates
- Multiple monetization lanes built in from day one
- Brand kit onboarding to reflect creator voice and identity
- Simple, motivational UX instead of complex data dashboards
Core Components
- All components that will never be removed
- Studios and creators
- Calendar, book a new class, and reservations