Manchester tech entrepreneur Steve Tucker, the founder of Bunting and Shopcast, is back with a new app, and this one could literally save your life.
Breezer aims to take the effort out of exercise take by using your daily steps as a currency to build a cute SIMs-style store.
Tucker explained: “I never met my grandfather. He died aged 42 of a heart attack, leaving behind 4 kids and his wife, my grandma. Although I never knew him, I often think of him. And, as I approached my 40th birthday, I thought of him more than ever – because I was terrified of facing the same fate.”
Tuckers big stumbling block was, he freely admits, the fact that he hates exercise, and he’s probably not alone. He tried to take up running, invested in shiny new running shoes, a hefty podcast collection, rewards, and even running partners of varying degrees of willingness to help him in his quest, but still he failed to attain the gym bunny mindset.
Then Tucker hit on a cunning plan: “An idea hit me,” he explained. “I’m a serial entrepreneur and software developer, and have been building creative businesses for 20 years. Could I use my skills to build something that motivated me to exercise?”
Tucker imagined the steps he was taking being used as a currency to build a cute virtual shop, and Breezer was born.
The Breezer app motivates people to get fit, because the more you move, the more you can fill your store with products to sell. The player with the highest-earning store wins.
Tucker went on: “I built the app quickly and within two months, 20,000 users had signed up, purely from word of mouth, with glowing reviews from users saying it had motivated them to walk, run and workout. As for me, I bought a treadmill and now run three times a week. Except I don’t ‘reward’ myself with food, drink or shiny purchases anymore – I go straight onto Breezer and update my store.”
Breezer has now been live for one year, and has so far racked up over 100,000 downloads and more than 50,000 registered users, all from word of mouth or social media exposure, with barely a penny spent on advertising.
Tucker concluded: “It means the world to me to have built something that is helping people so much. I hope my grandad would be proud.”
If you’ve noticed the pounds piling on, the app is available at major app stores or via breezer.app.
