From Pribináčeks to Personal Bests: How Ackee Got Moving

When I was a little boy, during cold, dark winter months in Silesia, I would help my grandmother in the kitchen while she was making soup,.. nah, I’m just messing with you.

You know us at Ackee, we’re all about building great apps, helping companies sustainably digitalize biz and building connections 🚀. And sometimes, the best connections happen outside the office, on a bike, in running shoes, or even through a calorie competition inspired by Pribináček.

Sure, we occasionally leave the office to work out and face our mortality 🥲, but I was missing something bigger. Something more consistent.

Before joining Ackee, I was keen on using that fitness app with the round orange logo. It was fun – friends sharing their activities, a little healthy competition, and the satisfaction of smashing personal bests. That’s when the brilliant idea struck me (disclaimer: this is also how cults start). Let’s set up an Ackee Strava Club. A way for all of us to get back in shape while creating a healthy, inclusive, and motivating environment.

Solid Start

The Beginning was not too bad, we rallied a core group of pre-ASC Strava enthusiasts, and eventually, the club grew to 32 memebers (that’s not a typo btw) – roughly 50% of the company. To keep things fun and encourage more people to join, I’ve started posting weekly stats in Slack. Think leaderboards, weekly total numbers, mvp shoutouts all spiced up with memes tailored to the week’s chaos. This tradition quickly became a highlight of (mostly) Monday mornings.

Motivation

Sparta vs. Slavia, Barça vs Real - What’s a club without a nemesis? Enter: Pribináček. 👺 Every week, Ackee’s fridge gets stocked with 55 Pribináčeks, adding up to a colossal 20K calories. Naturally, the weekly goal became clear: collectively burn more calories than the company consumes. Do we hit the target every week? Not always. But when we do, the victory tastes sweeter than Pribináček.

Numbers don’t lie

After nearly a year of ASC, here’s what we’ve accomplished:

• 32 members, with 20 active participants each week.
• An average of 410 km, 55.6 hours, and 53.4 activities logged weekly.
• A staggering 3,114 meters of elevation gain on average.

Not too bad for a group of office rats.

What’s next?

What started as a fun experiment has grown into something bigger. The most notorious athletes have even assembled a team aiming to participate in a triathlon early next year - and, eventually, an IronMan race. 💀 Is it all worth it? Absolutely. Beyond the calories and kilometers, this little club has created a space where colleagues, coworkers, and acquaintances can share hobbies, experiences, and friendships. And that leads to a better workplace atmosphere, stronger cooperation, and fulfillment of ______ (insert your own corporate values).

Thanks for coming to my TED talk, now go out there and start your own Strava cult – I mean, club.