In some ways Strava is a very much like any social media platform albeit with a slightly narrower focus than most Founded as an online portal for bicycling enthusiasts in 2009 Strava it bills itself as the social network for athletes has taken in 70 million in funding and has tens of millions of active users according to CEO James Quarles It is getting very serious about the larger social media play and the ecosystem it hopes to build around it Quarles is new to his job having come on board last spring but he is not new to social media Before taking over as CEO at Strava Qualres ran business operations at Instagram and before that he was at Facebook With new leadership Strava is pushing past its historical capacities helping athletes track and share data about their workouts with other enthusiasts and thinking bigger about the entire fitness journey it is attempting to go on with its customers It is an effort that is making an impact particularly in the niche community it serves According to one InTheBlack reviewer among exercise enthusiasts who run swim and bike Strava isnt just the place users go to log their athletic activities it is where they goes to verify they exist If you run or ride youve probably heard someone say If its not on Strava it didnt happen Its a phrase youll see on T-shirts and hear on cycling routes around the world Quite literally too as around 80 percent of Stravas business is global And according to Quarles it is about to get more global in terms of how it is letting its users tap into the service We want Strava to become the home for your active life and that means an increasing emphasis indoors on the other 55 percent of what people do he says Going to studio classes training at home we want all of those to count and to be a part of the Strava experience To push that forward Strava is adding indoor machines and training experiences to its list of partner integrations alongside Garmin Fitbit and the other 300 or so fitness devices that Strava already syncs up with That is a big strategic priority for us working with indoor partners such as Flywheel Sports Peloton Zwift and LiveRowing to make sure that when you record exercise with those partners the activity shows up in Strava just like your run would or your ride would Quarles said And that list he notes is growing most recently with the addition of MINDBODY one of the leading booking platforms for fitness classes Athletes can use Strava to track and quantify any of the 52 million fitness classes and wellness services offered daily via the MINDBODY app and MINDBODY branded apps and websites Enabling athletes to discover new classes through friends activities turns the Strava feed into a recommendation engine for the best workouts and fitness classes in any locale he noted Moreover going inside with their users is a natural extension for the firm since over 60 percent of Strava athletes reportedly exercise indoors at least once a week Making it possible for athletes to do more and experience more of their workout routines through Strava Quarles said speaks to the core behind the Strava platform itself It doesnt want to be a fitness app for users it wants to be their fitness home