SweatPals, under founder and CEO Salar Shahini’s leadership, is reinventing how people connect through fitness and sports. This fitness marketplace app is a tool for finding workout buddies and a platform that fosters community and belonging among fitness enthusiasts. In this interview, Salar Shahini shares the inspiration behind SweatPals, the journey of building a diverse team, and his vision for making SweatPals a global phenomenon in connecting people through shared health interests.
Can you briefly describe SweatPals?
SweatPals is a marketplace serving sports and fitness communities. SweatPals app connects fitness enthusiasts to these communities and builds social networks based on shared fitness interests.
What inspired you to take the leap and start this company?
I grew up in Iran and moved to the US at 21 to attend grad school. As an immigrant living in a foreign country, not knowing the language or culture, I found belonging through fitness and sports. I found it magical that in fitness or sports, everyone is rooting for each other, regardless of race or language. From then on, that became my way of always meeting people. I started SweatPals to have a home for all these amazing fitness and sports communities and a space for people to connect through shared healthy interests.
Who is on your team and how did you come together?
I met my co-founder Mandi on a business trip to Montreal. She is an immigrant from China, and the idea of SweatPals immediately resonated with her. She then moved to Austin to start it with me. Taylor, Priscilla, Maggie, and our team lead their own fitness or sports communities and are deeply passionate about it. I am very proud of our team.
What do you consider to be your closest competition?
Meetup and Eventbrite.
What is your favorite SweatPals feature?
Discovering new friends that share the same fitness interests.
You have already exited a company. What is the most important lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?
Decisions in the early days are extremely important, and involving investors with the same ethos at what we are building is very important to avoid future issues. I will be very mindful of anyone who gets involved with SweatPals.
If we talk again in 12 months, which milestones will you have achieved?
You will expect to see SweatPals, a go-to platform for fitness and sports in 15 major cities. SweatPals will become part of society in those cities in 12 months. In 10 years? In the world.
