Charlotte entrepreneur buys run club app Fitvil, eyes 500,000 users
What's the deal? Charlotte entrepreneur Brandon Lewis has acquired an 81% stake in Fitvil, a Raleigh-founded run club app, and plans to more than triple its registered base to 500,000 users within a year. Deal terms were not disclosed.
What's the endgame? Lewis is relaunching the app with new features, including personal trainers and venue booking. The platform helps people find and organize in-person running activities.
Why now? Social running is surging. Strava reported that running clubs on its platform nearly quadrupled in 2025, reaching one million, with club-organized events also rising.
What could go wrong? The 500,000-user target remains a plan rather than a milestone. Fitvil also faces competition from established platforms such as Strava, and there is no evidence yet that the app has reached the scale needed to hit that goal.
The signal: The acquisition tracks a broader shift toward apps that turn online fitness tracking into real-world meetups. As clubs and events multiply, smaller platforms are betting there is room to help runners connect offline — if they can grow fast enough to matter.
Read more: bizjournals.com
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