A WARRINGTON student has created an app she hopes will help people around the world make friends and get fit.
Lydia Jones, 16, who studies BTEC Personal Training and Sport Science at Priestley College, created FitFlash after feeling a sense of separation as a result of being home schooled.
She said: “I was home schooled which worked for me, but left me feeling cut off because it was more difficult to make friends.
“With the home schooling I really had time to think about myself more, where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with my life, but I didn’t have the social side of school that most people have.”
What she did was turn to social media to create a community called FitFlash for people who like to exercise, but can’t go to a gym regularly.
“My app brings gym education and interaction directly to people,” said Lydia.
Several thousand people – including supporters in America and China – have already joined FitFlash and are offering each other support in their quest to get fitter.
Members in different countries have worn FitFlash t-shirts to sporting events to help spread the message.
Lydia hopes to reach 50,000 members by the end of the year giving her the chance to pursue an investor.
“You have to reach that level before people will take you seriously,” she said.
Lydia came up with the idea for FitFlash a year ago and convinced her older brother and sister to invest some money so they could approach ReRaise Design to develop the idea.
She also put in some money that she had saved for a car in a bid to get the app off the ground.
Since then it has already been nominated for two awards and won praise from a marketing agency who believe it has worldwide appeal.
The app allows users to create their own comprehensive fitness journal keeping track of workouts and setting personal goals, they can follow friends to keep each other motivated and interact by posting photos of workouts.
There are also groups for various sports including football, cycling, golf and crossfit so users can personalise their timeline and connect with like-minded fitness fans.
Lydia said the app had already boosted her confidence and made a difference to many of its members.
“It’s really helped me discover what I want to do,” she said. “I just hope it helps as many people as possible in the same way.”
You can download FitFlash from the App Store.
