Ten thousand steps. You’ve all heard in regards to the magic quantity that may flip you right into a mannequin of pure well being, proper? It’s good for us, however what if that data isn’t sufficient to incentivize you?
What in the event you needed to attain that every day purpose so you possibly can donate a meal to feed these in want? Whenever you exercised, one much less individual might not go hungry.
That’s the good enterprise mannequin of Vizer, a social justice wellness app that began in San Diego. The identify Vizer is a play off of “incentivize,” a phrase that co-founder Samantha Pantazopoulos got here up with.
The well being app works like this: You train any approach you need—whether or not you stroll 10,000 steps, test right into a health club, or play pickleball in a rec league. For every day, you accomplish your purpose, a meal is donated to feed the hungry. The premise is that altruistic people may use an additional enhance to remain wholesome and do good. In case you don’t train, somebody might not get to eat. Thus far, Vizer has already donated 3.5 million meals via meals banks throughout the nation.
In honor of Nationwide Starvation Consciousness Month final month, Vizer partnered with manufacturers to carry consideration to meals insecurity that impacts individuals in all places, together with homeless individuals, households, veterans, seniors, and school college students.
One in every of Vizer’s companions, Jiant, launched a limited-release kombucha taste referred to as Planet Pomegranate nationwide, donating earnings to meals banks. Different companions embrace Vita Coco, Dream Pops, and Hydrant. Vizer additionally lets individuals earn rewards like free juice pictures or protein bars.
Pantazopoulos got here up with the concept when she was a part of a social entrepreneurship incubator program at Semester at Sea. The primary time she witnessed how devastating meals insecurity may be was at a port cease in Senegal. Starvation was an injustice that she was impressed to do one thing about.
“I feel an enormous catalyst was understanding [that] in the event you didn’t have sufficient meals to eat and also you weren’t correctly fueling your physique, it was going to be unattainable to develop different wholesome habits,” defined Pantazopoulos, who lives and works out of her Crown Level condominium. She desires to verify everybody has a shot at gaining access to good diet and obtain their well being objectives.
When she bought again to California, she persuaded her cousin Dylan Barbour to affix her in beginning the corporate. Finally, he give up his secure job (with well being advantages) at Morgan Stanley in San Francisco to place his vitality into Vizer. And simply in case you have been paying consideration, you might know that identify from his time as a contestant on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, the latter of which launched him to his now fiancée, Hannah Godwin.
As of late, Vizer is rising and thriving in its mission. The corporate already has “tens of hundreds of customers,” mentioned Pantazopoulos. They’ve additionally signed up corporations, groups, and faculties just like the College of San Diego, her alma mater which has been instrumental in launching her entrepreneurial profession.
Rising up, the cousins have been at reverse ends of the train spectrum, however they each struggled with balancing bodily exercise with diet. Whereas Barbour was a school athlete, Pantazopoulos had bronchial asthma and gave up her sports activities desires after she performed on her fifth grade basketball crew.
Pantazopoulos’ philosophy for train these days, although, is “ask your self what feels good on that day.” One in every of her favourite actions is a seashore hike from Crystal Pier to South Mission Seashore. Lately, she purchased ballet sneakers on-line so she will be able to study to bounce with a Misty Copeland video. “You gotta boost your train routine,” she says.
Thirty minutes of something that raises your coronary heart price counts on the Vizer app. And for Pantazopoulos, she and Barbour designed the social justice wellness app to not solely measure exercise however to additionally measure what number of meals you possibly can donate to “increase consideration to the truth that the issue of starvation is throughout us,” she provides.