Is this the start of the Instagram backlash? Strava has today launched Athletes Unfiltered, a new campaign celebrating an inclusive, positive and uncurated approach to exercise and sports.
Coinciding with a report from Public Health England that 6 million people in England are endangering their health through lack of exercise, the campaign is a timely call for "athletes to be themselves, celebrate the inclusivity of sport, their hard work and reject the curation and negativity found on other social networks".
Now live at https://youtu.be/ByxL7zZD1f0, the Athletes Unfiltered campaign kicks off with a short film created by BAFTA-nominated production company, Archer's Mark. The film features everyday members of the Strava community sharing the raw, uncurated ups and downs of their experience with sport.
Strava say the film shows "the honest, supportive community that separates Strava from other social networks, and that sport has a powerful ability to unite different kinds of people in a time when little else can."
Strava is asking its athletes to go against the grain by posting anti-filter photos, showing off awkward tan lines, flushed post-workout selfies, filthy hands, or just the unfettered joy of getting through a big day out.
The campaign urges Strava users to "forget about what people think; tag posts with #AthletesUnfiltered, and bring each other together with raw and ridiculous photos of the sports we love."
Gareth Nettleton, VP of Marketing at Strava, said: "There are two key insights that drove the work, both inspired by what's wrong with the world lately. Firstly, we live in a terribly divisive time, and sport connects people across lines you might not expect. It is a positive, unifying force, and we want to shine a light on its power to bring people together."
He added: "Secondly, Strava is a real, raw, very unfiltered social network. We believe that people all over the world are exhausted by the pressure to always present a perfect, curated self on other social networks. So we wanted to make it very clear that Strava is a place to put it all out there and be yourself. Unity and acceptance - that's what this campaign is about."
Tashia Palley, a London-based cyclist and Strava member who features in the film, said: "Strava is more real, more raw, in a way. So when you've done some exercise, people are just posting, no make-up, sweaty selfies, of what you've done.
"And I think you feel such a buzz when you're doing your exercise; who cares if you've got no make-up or look a mess?"
For more on the campaign, check out the Strava Blog at https://blog.strava.com/athletes-unfiltered/.
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