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Perceptions · 4 May '20

Wellness app Urban launches one-to-one live streaming pop-up

Wellness app Urban is launching a temporary online home for live-streamed, one-to-one fitness, physio, yoga and mindfulness, in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The service aims to support Urban’s community of self-employed, mobile practitioners, by providing them with a safe way to earn from home; and users an easy way to stay active and well.

Named ‘The stay at home club’, the new category on the app and urban.co features private, live-streamed classes and sessions including yoga, physiotherapy, mindfulness and personal training. Delivered by two-way video, the sessions range from 20 minutes to 55 minutes, and are conducted by qualified Urban professionals from their own homes.

As events relating to the coronavirus outbreak rapidly unfold in both the UK and France, the two countries where Urban currently operates, founders Jack Tang and Giles Williams are acutely aware of the impact they may have on the careers of 3500+ independent professionals.

“We saw the unprecedented measures Italy was prompted to take to limit the spread of the virus, and we knew it was time to act fast,” says Tang. “Since then, we’ve been working around the clock to come up with innovative ways to support practitioners and the wellness of our customers, at a time when face-to-face contact is increasingly limited.”

Urban’s strength has always been our ability to innovate, fast, and since the outbreak we’ve worked around the clock, armed with suggestions from the community, to build something we really hope helps.  Services have been designed with the working from home experience in mind. “Working from home for an extended period has its challenges,” Tang explains. “Routine and self-care is more important than ever; things like morning meditation can really help calm anxious thoughts, while private fitness classes motivate you to stick to your training routine, even if it is at home.”

The pop-up launch comes off the back of Urban’s recent move into on-demand personal training and yoga. The same qualified trainers who usually offer in-person sessions at Londoners homes’ will be able to deliver sessions via two-way video. That’s also the situation for fully qualified, HCPC-registered Urban physiotherapists, who will be able to support existing and new clients in rehabilitation, remotely. Urban’s Mindfulness sessions, have been crafted to tackle two key concerns for the unusual period we’re experiencing: anxiety and loneliness. Using evidence-based approaches, Urban mindfulness experts,  will provide advice, techniques and companionship for calm and clarity at this uncertain time.

The temporary stay at home club will be available to anyone in the UK and France, including its 441,000 users in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Paris.