To stay healthy - physically, mentally and spiritually - motivation and support is key.
Friends and family are great to lean on, but sometimes a little extra support goes a long way in pushing you toward your goals, whether that’s dropping a few pounds or managing stressful days. With the Internet and social networking, it’s now easier than ever to connect with people walking along the same path. And Cincinnati company
SparkPeople.com has connected more than 4 million people across the city and the globe to make that walk (or jog, or run) easier.
SparkPeople.com, founded by University of Cincinnati graduate and former Procter & Gamble employee, Chris Downie, has a central mission: to spark millions of people to reach their goals and lead healthier lives. The free site does this in a myriad of ways: through nutrition, health and fitness tools, and maybe most importantly, through personal support with online message boards, blogs and social networking groups.
SparkPeople.com stands apart from other weight loss and health sites in a couple of ways, said Downie, company founder and CEO. There’s the obvious - the services are free. But SparkPeople.com also takes a Big Picture view of health and fitness, addressing issues that make up the whole person. Downie - who said he once suffered from anxiety and shyness - realizes that keeping healthy isn’t just as simple as calories in, energy out. Your family, work and other situations can keep you from getting, and staying, healthy.
SparkPeople.com reflects that view.
“Other companies will just focus on weight, but we take a more holistic approach. That makes a difference, and it’s really working because every day someone tells us the web site has changed their life in unique and exciting ways,” said Downie, a Cincinnati native and Northwest High School graduate.
Downie started SparkPeople.com with the proceeds of Up4Sale.com, which he sold to Ebay in 1998. It was the online auction site’s first acquisition. And though SparkPeople’s thrust is health, fitness and weight loss, for some the site has affected their lives in other ways.
“You can look at just at the name and see how we are different. We try to tap into positive thinking and making a true lifestyle change. So it’s not just about health. Using these same techniques, people have told us they got a promotion at job, or are being a better parent. They take small steps and get huge life breakthroughs,” Downie, 39, said.
Among the locals whose life has been changed by the site is Merle King, of Colerain Township. Since joining SparkPeople.com last spring, she’s lost 63 pounds, made new friends and has
taken a leadership role on the web site. King, a product development manager at Convergys, joined the site to lose weight and incorporate more daily physical activity into her life.
“I’d become pretty darn sedentary, you know when you can’t walk up one flight of stairs without losing your breath? I didn’t want to run a marathon, but wanted to move without being winded,” she said.
King already had started counting calories, when a friend turned her onto SparkPeople. The calorie counter, exercise tracker and menu ideas hooked her.
“I think generally we tend to underestimate our calories and overestimate our exercise. The tracking system on the site was a huge help, and it makes you honest,” she said.
Initially, King wanted to lose weight solo. She wasn’t interested in the web site groups, called Teams, or the message boards devoted to weight loss, fitness and other life topics.
“It grew on me. I did not get into the social stuff. When I first signed up, (SparkPeople) put me in a Cincinnati team. I got into a group of similar age, with a similar amount to lose. What got me into it more was when someone started an exercise challenge, you’d post each day what you did and if you met the requirements,” she said.
After buying the Nintendo Wii gaming system, King decided to join the Wii Fit Team for fans of the exercise game. When the Team leader disappeared, she later took over to keep the group going. As leader, she issues weekly challenges to other Wii Fit fans to keep them moving and motivated. Now the former non-social butterfly can’t imagine being without her fellow SparkPeople.
“That’s my home base. I love that team. I love those people, and get a lot of motivation. And enough of the team seems to get something out of it too,” she said.
King was one of the success story speakers at the second annual SparkPeople.com
Convention at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center over the weekend. The daylong event included health expert panel discussions, a motivational speech by Downie and a morning riverfront run/walk through Covington. It also gave SparkPeople members a chance to meet in person.
SparkPeople has come a long way since its founding in 2001 as a goal setting site. In the next year, the site began to focus on diet and fitness. Downie started the site as a paid-service, then in 2005, decided to offer SparkPeople.com for free. Membership skyrocketed. Today the site gets 4 million unique, monthly views. That includes 11 to 12 million total visits and 100 million total page views each month, making it the largest diet and fitness web site in America, according to research by
comScore, Inc., Downie said.
“In the early days when it was a paid site, it was really small. One reason (the site went free) is that there are so many big brands in our category that it was hard for a really small company in Cincinnati to get attention. We knew we had the best site and the best program,” he said.
Now SparkPeople.com makes money through advertising. The company, based in Oakley, employs 25 full-timers and up to 10 part-timers. The basic philosophy of goal setting and fitness was developed by Downie, but he has health experts on staff, including a registered dietician, who make sure all advice, tips and menu options are sound.
SparkPeople is now moving beyond the Internet. In addition to the annual conventions, regional
Sparkrallies have formed where people meet up to socialize and workout. And on Nov. 22, Downie will unveil his new book
”The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life” at the
”I Can Do It” conference in Tampa, Fla.
“Right now on Amazon.com “The Spark” is listed as number one in the Movers and Shakers category. The early response has been very, very exciting,” Downie said.
Photography by Scott Beseler
SparkPeople people, Jenny Uhlmansiek, Nicole Nichols, Stepfanie Romine, Tim Metzner, Grant Miller, Dominic Acito, and Paul Elfer
Chris Downie, CEO, image provided by SparkPeople, photo by Jeffrey Hosier