Overview of Sekond Skin Society

Sekond Skin Society is a fitness app dedicated to accessibility and inclusion, bringing people with and without disabilities together through movement.

Accessible tech features include the ability to navigate with a screen reader navigation or other assistive tech, dark mode, customizable captions with text size and color contrast adjustments, and separate volume controls for instructors and music.

Content is co-created by instructors with and without disabilities, offering multiple standing and seated options for Yoga, Cardio, Strength, Dance and Meditation classes. Our instructor community continues to grow but currently includes instructors who are blind, who are Deaf, who use wheelchairs, who have invisible disabilities, as well as instructors without disabilities.

Multiple class versions can be viewed simultaneously on a dual/split screen, so people with different needs can take classes together.

Classes include enhanced instruction for independent participation by individuals who are blind/low vision and we offer classes taught in American Sign Language.

Our members tell us the biggest impact in what we’ve created thus far is:
– Access through the tech and the options that meet a broad range of needs. The accessibility and options available makes members feel like they are no longer having to adapt to an instructor/industry, but finally have someone meeting them where they are. This is where our tagline “Fitness that fits you, not the other way around” is becoming powerful.
– Empowerment through representation – the impact of knowing you’re represented gives the emotional impact of belonging. Particulary in the fitness and yoga industries that have been excluding disabled people for decades, this representation is powerful.
– Being part of something bigger than themselves – being part of a community of people coming together and connecting on shared interests and common goals, while also working together to change an industry and change society’s assumption of what it means to be disabled.
– Health outcomes – it goes without saying that regularly moving your body supports overall physical and mental health. Our members have shared the impact of now being able to practice yoga daily, after having not found an option that met their needs previously, taking meditation classes when feeling anxiety or depression giving them a much needed gentle support, having structure in workouts and taking the guess work out of what exercise to do – all of this supports an increased quality of life for our members and their health goals.

Current target segments include people who are blind/low vision, Deaf/hard of hearing, wheelchair users/assistive device users, and their social circles.
Strongest signals since launch have come from blind/low vision community – they are first to message when downloading the app (sharing about the rare experience of having the image on the login screen described), first to purchase memberships – purchasing yearly memberships, not just monthly memberships, first to share feedback to help us continue to optimize the experience, first to share public reviews (on AppleVis, LinkedIn, social media, word of mouth).
The concept have been received very well from all target segments, but we recognize (through feedback) more classes are needed for other target segments (Deaf/hard of hearing, wheelchair users) to find the value in joining the membership today. We expect stronger signals across all target segments as we launch the next batch of content with full class options.

We’re currently partnering with corporate and nonprofit partners to develop values-aligned channels to reach more end users, while impacting our partners in supporting their missions/inclusion strategy.

Corporate Partners Confirmed:
Nielsen, Microsoft
Firming up partnership with Walmart, Deloitte, Salesforce
In the pipeline: Merck, Sodexo, Atos, Zain, Adobe, NYT

Nonprofit Partners Confirmed:
CNIB, CP Alliance, Parkinson’s Canada
Firming up with Easter Seals Canada (and their provincial chapters across Canada), ALS Canada, Hydrocephalus Canada, Perkins School for the Blind,
In the pipeline: CCRW, RNIB, Blind Institute of Technology, SCI across Canada

The goal right now is to secure 25 corporate and 25 nonprofit partners to leverage their reach and exposure, as well as build credibility through our partnership. Because we’ve had the strongest signals from members who are blind/low vision, I’d love to get connected with more, large nonprofit partners in this space as a priority, as well as look to secure the remaining corporate partners who would have the largest disabled employee bases.
We aim to secure these 50 channels with a realistic expectation of reaching 100 new users through each, given their scale across employees and communities.

Currently open to receiving $100k USD.
Funds would be used for product development, content development and marketing materials, as well as supporting ongoing business expenses.
With the developments expected from the use of these funds, and the partnership rollouts through corporate and nonprofit partners, we aim to reach 5000 yearly members (average 100 members through each corporate/nonprofit channel) and $1M in revenue.

Use of funds:
$45k – continue building out the current version of our app, with member feedback and co-design processes to ensure we’re getting it right.
$25k – next batch of content, with full class options and increased production quality, so all target segments can will feel the impact of their feedback implemented and the value of the product there for them to join our membership and continue expanding.
$10k – developing compelling marketing materials will take our partnerships further, as employees and community members would experience these as their first impression of us and what we do.
$20k – ongoing business expenses and ad spend to leverage the credibility and reach through our partnerships, getting in front of our target audiences again and again.