How Did Effit Come About?
It all started with our co-founder Tom, who was the king of the yo-yo diet. One minute he was on a health kick, the next he was back to square one. He’d always relied on others to drag him to the gym, and accountability? That word wasn’t even in his vocabulary. But then, COVID hit, and things spiralled. Tom ballooned to 115kg (for a 5ft10 guy, that’s not great), he could barely breathe, was regularly being sick in his sleep, and honestly, he’d hit rock bottom. Enough was enough.
Desperate for change, Tom roped in two mates to start an accountability group. The rules? Simple: hit the gym Monday to Friday, send a selfie as proof in the group chat, or pay the price. Literally. Miss a session, and you had to cough up $20 to the other two. And to make it official, created and signed a commitment contract. For the next eight months, not even lockdowns could stop them—Tom didn’t miss a single gym session, until the group disbanded when his mates moved back to the UK.
In that first year of sticking to the plan, Tom dropped a massive 35kg. Not only that, but he ran two half marathons, smashed two Half Ironmans, completed a full Ironman, and even became an Ironman All World Athlete—putting him in the top 2-7% of his age group. And if that wasn’t enough, Tom tackled 10 endurance events in 10 months for two mental health charities the following year. His whole point? If he could do it, literally anyone can.
Then it clicked—this accountability thing was the secret sauce! Tom tested the idea with several friends and family and saw that everyone went on to do amazing things. Non-runners started smashing out half marathons, even his mum ran her first half and full marathon at 59. Some people didn’t miss a single workout in a whole year! That’s when the idea for Effit was born—a platform where you and your mates can build a community, keep each other accountable, and finally stick to your fitness goals. And, of course, if you slack off… there’s a forfeit waiting for you.
