ateam, is intersecting dating and wellness.
Courtesy of ateam
Finding ways to get creative with dating and wellness became a challenge over pandemic. Many turned to online dating as well as digital fitness and wellness routines. With millions of searches around dating and relationships last year, many took time to reflect, re-evaluate and shift how they wanted to approach finding love. As singles prepare for a return to socializing, swipes on dating apps are surging but their priorities have shifted.
A couple who met during the pandemic, and are now engaged with a baby on the way, were tired of dating app culture. Both of them valued activities like yoga, meditation or sweaty workout but they would always end up on dates where it only involved late night cocktails and small talk. Dan Ilani and Megan Baldwin fell in love over their love of being active. During the early stages of their relationship they dove headfirst into unpacking the friction in finding healthy relationships, looking closely at the magnetic world of wellness and fitness studio culture and how to bridge the gap. That led Ilani and Baldwin to develop and found the ateam, a new membership-based dating and networking app founded on the belief that we’re only as healthy as our relationships
“Where we find community has shifted and the pandemic has forced everyone to think differently about dating, friendship and networking,” said Ilani, a former entertainment lawyer, talent agent and executive producer. The idea for ateam came about after Ilani initially took some time off to focus on getting healthy. Surrounded by positive energy, inspiring instructors and motivating classmates at his fitness classes, he started to ask himself why there wasn’t a way to meet like-minded people who share the mindset and lifestyle of the wellness and fitness community. “One day I just looked up from my yoga mat and asked myself why don’t I know more of these amazing humans?”
Ilani put his TV production career on hold and set out to build ateam, the first membership-based dating and networking app for people who are passionate about health, wellness and fitness. “Connecting with like-minded people has become harder than ever. And yet, we know people live longer and healthier lives when they’re part of a community, part of a team. We’ve all felt that spark of connection in a studio class or at a starting line, now ateam wants to take that feeling one step further.” After Baldwin started dating Ilani, she immediately joined him in building the ateam sharing similar beliefs when it came to growing fruitful relationships as well as bringing her branding expertise into the app.
Megan Baldwin and Dan Ilani, founders of the ateam.
courtesy of ateam
The name ateam comes from the belief that the best relationships in life function as “a team” and is driven by the motto that fitness is a mindset, not a body shape, look or size. The app is committed to inclusivity by welcoming all genders, races, sexualities and identities. The unifying attribute is a commitment to health personally, socially and globally. “If you’re motivated to be the best version of yourself, you should be working out your mind, body, and soul with people who share your values,” shared Baldwin and Ilani. The ateam’s membership committee is composed of wellness leaders who are excited to be bringing like-minded people together in a whole new way. The app hopes to reinvent dating, socializing and networking by encouraging members to engage with one another through activity instead of another night at the bar. “ateam’s members value the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and believe that healthy relationships are founded in supporting their teammate’s well-being — whether that’s an early morning alarm or how they choose to spend their leisure time,” the founders said.
To build a members-only community with a shared love of fitness and wellness ateam partnered with wellness enthusiasts, fitness instructors and studio founders to connect people with common lifestyles and mindsets. “We want to connect people who believe in bringing their health beyond routine and ritual, into relationships—people who take their health seriously, like us,” said Ilani. The ateam has partnerships with 30 boutique fitness studios and counting across the US, most of which are regional leaders in their category with multiple locations. Members will have access to weekly drops of free group classes, members-only events, and opportunities to socialize while experiencing the best in group fitness experiences. Clients of partner studios, which range from Y7 Studio and Box +Flow to MNDFL Meditation, are also put on the fast track for acceptance. This network of studios and referral partners ensures a holistic approach to meeting like-minded people who have already put in the work. Essentially ateam is like Raya for wellness enthusiast.
Prospective members download the app and create a profile by uploading their favorite photos and filling in data points about their health and wellness routines (like preferred activities, favorite time of day to workout), along with questions about their favorite books, podcasts, songs and movies. ateam members pay a flat $14 per month, all-inclusive subscription fee. The experience isn’t gamified and romantic connections are sparked by two-way conversation, no likes or swipes required.
The brand has recently signed on Olympic medalist Aja Evans, who started organically using the ateam app when she moved from Chicago to Atlanta to start training for the 2022 Olympics. Aja began using ateam as a way to meet like-minded people in a new city, ensuring her transition into Atlanta’s wellness and fitness community was a seamless experience. Aja is now a spokesperson for ateam, and with the current newscycle spotlighting athletes’ mental health issues, Aja’s partnership with ateam and mission to drive conversations around healthy relationships comes at the perfect time. In addition to Aja, notable Gold winning Olympians, pro athletes and the who’s who of celebrity fitness trainers have flocked to the app.
Beginning in July, ateam members will have access to invite-only events held with ateam’s fitness studio partners. Each week, members will be invited to either virtual or in-person events that will include a fitness class and social hour, free of charge. ateam also plans to roll out a “Reinvent the Date” series, where ateam members will have the opportunity to invite each other on dates to studio partner locations and receive 2-for-1 classes.
As one of the first couples to found a dating app together Baldwin and Ilani, ultimately,want ateam to serve as a foundation to foster healthy relationships, whether for romance, networking or friendship. “We set out to build a community of people dedicated to being their best selves, that feels like a close-knit crew, a team, where you might meet your next collaborator or maybe, even, the one.”
