0:00:00 Dori Nugent: Hello, FBP family. Thank you for joining me today. Hey, guess who I have with us today? I have Dipra. Ray. He is the co founder and CEO of Bodymapp. Bodymapp is a 3D body scanning company. And we just got word that they are going to be a partner with the Fitness business podcast. Dipra, thank you so much. We’re really excited to have you guys come aboard with the Fitness business podcast. Podcast.

0:00:26 Dipra Ray: Thanks, Dori. We’re super excited to be involved and great to be on the show. Thank you very much.

0:00:31 Dori Nugent: You are so welcome. I think our audience is absolutely perfect for Bodymapp and also the message that you’re going to deliver today about Bodymapp. And basically we’re going to get started. I would love for you to tell all of our FBP family on how you got started.

0:00:48 Dipra Ray: Look, we got started quite a long time ago. Fundamentally, originally I started this because I thought that body measurements were very valuable and I wanted to find an easy way for people to be able to capture body measurements. We capture lots of things. We take pictures, we jot down memories, we post everything we’re eating. But there’s no way of actually knowing your own measurements apart from weight.

0:01:16 Dipra Ray: And we wanted to fundamentally change that. And so that’s what we originally started with. We’ve gone through quite a revolution. We used to have physical machines that were quite bulky and big, and we’ve now transformed to being an unfolding experience where as long as you have an iPhone tent or above or an iPad or a suitable model, you can now actually get scanned in the privacy of your own home anytime and anywhere you want.

0:01:43 Dori Nugent: That’s pretty impressive. I don’t think we’ve seen anything like that. How long has it taken you and your team to develop this product and get it to the point to where it is now?

0:01:55 Dipra Ray: Look, it’s taken us a while. The technology is quite advanced. So one of the things that we sort of pride ourselves on are two things. One is accuracy, and the second is privacy. So from an accuracy perspective, because we’re using infrared sensors, we’re not just taking a photo, it’s a 3D image. But when you only have one sensor, like on the iPhone and someone turns around and moves, it’s actually quite hard to actually get accuracy to work. And we spent well over two and a half years on that project alone.

0:02:30 Dipra Ray: And then secondly, privacy. There’s a lot of people out there who thinks you can take pictures of someone and then work out the measurements. And obviously that may be possible. We think there are some restrictions on it, but obviously then you’ve got to be any underwear. And I’m not sure people want to take pictures of themselves in the underwear for this particular reason. So, yeah, we spent quite a long time.

0:02:49 Dipra Ray: Our business has been around for about seven years, but we’ve probably spent the better part of two and a half years on mobile scanning.

0:02:55 Dori Nugent: And what made you come up with this idea? Did you see a lack of something in the fitness industry? Was it the big bulky machines that you were like, got to be a better way?

0:03:07 Dipra Ray: Yeah, look, I think for us, COVID sort of changed the game. We had our machines and they were in shopping centers, and they’re doing quite well. People saw a lot of value in being able to see their body shape changes, but it’s always been quite inconvenient. Right. Since the day we started, people have said, I want to do this at home. Why do I have to go into my shopping mall? Or Why can’t I just do this in my house?

0:03:30 Dipra Ray: And Apple is what changed the game. Apple put the infrared sensors that we use in their phone. So this was from iPhone Ten, which had Face ID, and so that really made us look at it and say, hold on, if we can have the same sensors that we have in the pod in a phone, surely there’s a better way for us to get someone scanning. And that’s really what inspired us to do that. And as I said with COVID in particular, we wanted to have it a way that people could do it at home and they didn’t have to necessarily go into a facility if they didn’t want to.

0:04:02 Dori Nugent: So I’m assuming there’s an app that you download onto your iPhone ten or above and that’s kind of step one?

0:04:09 Dipra Ray: Yes. So it’s really simple. You download an app and this is what it looks like for those of your video. It’s called Bodymapp. So you can download it from the app store and literally, it’s as simple as that. You sign up and then you can have your first scan for free. It takes about probably three to four minutes for a first time user. Then going forward, probably a couple of minutes, and then you’ll have your results and you’ll be able to see your avatar, which is incredible, and then all your list of your key body measurements, such as hips, chest, waist, but also key health metrics like waist to high, body fat percentage and others.

0:04:50 Dori Nugent: So when you developed this app, obviously, I think, as a creator, you always have to ask yourself, how can we be different? How do you feel Bodymapp is different from any of the competitors?

0:05:04 Dipra Ray: So I think the two things, I mean, 3D body scanning has been around now probably for the last five years in various ways and forms, but no one’s really done it through mobile technology the way that we have. We’re almost certainly the first people to market with something, as I said, that preserves privacy, but also gives accuracy. Accuracy is really important to us, and I think it’s really important for fitness providers as well. Right. You don’t want someone in your facility or someone in your member base who gets scanned three times in a row.

0:05:35 Dipra Ray: And the results, their body fat percentage has changed by 5% or their waist centimeters has changed by three inches. I mean, that’s not going to inspire confidence. So because we use infrared, we’re the only people that we know of that’s using the infrared sensor, which, as I said, preserves privacy, zero pictures taken, but at the same time actually provides a level of accuracy that we don’t think has been seen in the market so far.

0:06:02 Dipra Ray: So from a Usability perspective, I think we’re different. The other two different things for us versus the competitors is that we’re really built for the fitness industry and that’s seen in two ways. So the first is with every scan you actually get a detailed health report. So the health report not only has key metrics like, as I said, body fat percentage a waste to height, it actually has posture analysis, it has recommendations on your somato type, sort of a brief idea of what sort of foods you should eat, and also ranking analysis on how you compare to the rest of the population that’s used Bodymapp.

0:06:38 Dipra Ray: And so that creates, I guess, a touch point for a salesperson, or let’s say a personal trainer, to actually have a conversation with the client to explain how their health is going. And for them to be able to do that not just once, but ideally over and over again as they’re working out at the studio or they were working out at the gym. So that’s the first point of difference. And the second point of difference for us is engagement.

0:07:03 Dipra Ray: I’ve heard so many facilities say, yes, look, I’ve bought a body scanner, I’ve got something, but no one really uses it. The way that we’ve done it on the app is that it’s incredibly engaging. We actually have emails that go after people saying and push messages encouraging people to get scanned on a regular basis. And we also do that by allowing users to set goals. So, you know, especially at this time of the year, everyone’s looking at setting a new goal. We have more people setting goals in this month than we ever will in any other month.

0:07:33 Dipra Ray: And we’ll have people saying, okay, I want to get stronger, I want to get fitter. And once they’ve set that goal, we’ll actually help them track that and reach out to them on an ongoing basis. And that means that they’re actually using the product. You’re not promoting a product that’s just sitting on the side of your gym. It’s actually something that’s being used.

0:07:53 Dori Nugent: You talked a little bit there about fitness clubs and boutiques. Why should a studio get involved with Bodymapp?

0:08:02 Dipra Ray: Reasons, I think what you measure can be improved. And fundamental reason that people join studios gyms is because they want to improve health or they want to maintain their health. And I think having a benchmark and a measure for that is critical. And getting someone to be able to measure themselves on a regular basis is key. And we offer the most seamless and most engaging way for you to measure your clients.

0:08:29 Dipra Ray: We don’t take up any space, which is unheard of. Right. So people can do this at home. We don’t cost anything upfront for the facility at all. And for most cases, we don’t charge the facility anything, really. It’s an easy way for you to improve the member experience by showing them their measurements, by allowing them the way to see how much progress they’ve made and hopefully keep them coming back to the studio or the facility over and over again.

0:08:58 Dipra Ray: Yeah.

0:08:58 Dori Nugent: It’s so important that in this day and age, with so many fitness clubs out there and so many boutiques and franchises, that you have the latest and greatest and you try to offer something that’s a club next door or the studio that’s next door down the street that they don’t have. So I think Bodymapp would just be a wonderful addition.

0:09:19 Dipra Ray: Thank you. Yeah, we absolutely agree with that. And we’ve seen from our experience, as I said, the biggest difference for us is that people will use it. That’s where we stand head and shoulders above our competitors. We’re not just one machine. We’ve got an entire ecosystem built where people come back over and over again. And so you’re going to have a creative member experience. You can use it to upsell.

0:09:39 Dipra Ray: We hear a lot of facilities that will do that. Get people to scan that avatar is unfortunately, or fortunately, one of the most confronting, rewarding things that someone will see, because once they see it, you look at yourself in the mirror every day and you think you’re fine. And then my wife tells me, hey, go get scanned. And I look at my avatar and I go, oh, wow, I’ve really drifted. And that you cannot get through body impairment scanners or any sort of technology out there right now.

0:10:07 Dori Nugent: I like how you said I drifted. I haven’t heard that before.

0:10:11 Dipra Ray: I like, well, we yeah, we see this, right? Like, I and I wish I had an avatar of myself, you know, from ten years back, because it would be wonderful to see, because I think I haven’t changed. I look at the mirror every day, but the reality is I have. And you change incrementally, right? And some people will put on weight very quickly, but most of them is incremental. And you’re used to it. When you see something every day, you gradually grow.

0:10:37 Dipra Ray: But when you see something, as I said a year ago, what does that look like and what it looks like now, you can be motivated and then you can make sure that you don’t. Because once you start drifting, and I think everyone knows that once you’re out of shape, it’s a lot more work to get back to shape versus if you stay in shape.

0:10:56 Dori Nugent: Let’s talk about how easy it is to learn how to use the app. So if there’s personal trainers that want to try to upsell this product, is there training that they need to go to? Is it just you kind of work your way through the app? How does that work?

0:11:10 Dipra Ray: Yeah, really simple. So from a user perspective, you can just download Bodymapp from the app store and literally sign up and use it in a matter of minutes. You don’t need to talk to anyone. For trainers and for facilities. We do have a program, so we do have a partnership program where we do offer them training on what the report means, how to best leverage the features of the app that we have. And we do that at no cost.

0:11:36 Dipra Ray: And all they have to do is visit Bodymap.com and they’ll be able to find details on that and just reach out to us. We do offer an incredibly good partnership platform and generally it’s a win win. So trainers and gyms can actually make additional incremental revenue by participating in our program. But yes, we do have materials and training materials and how to leverage that. We also offer a platform which I think is very unique, where you can actually see which of your clients have used Bodymap and in the very near future you’ll be able to see what the results look like actually on that platform as well.

0:12:16 Dori Nugent: What I think Bodymapp has done that’s just completely different is I like how you keep saying it can be done in the privacy of your own home. All the years that I’ve worked in the club, we’ve always had some type of body scanning device but you had to use it with the trainer so the client needed to stand on it. Listen, when you work in the gym, in the fitness industry, it doesn’t bother you. Like I would jump on that thing all the time and I didn’t care who was looking at my numbers.

0:12:46 Dori Nugent: And we’d talk about it over lunch. But you have to try to remember that folks that are coming in that it’s hard for them to walk in a gym, first of all, and now you’re asking them to step on and some type of piece of equipment, and they think everybody’s looking at their numbers and it’s not the most pleasurable experience. So the fact that people that are a little self conscious can do this in the privacy of their own home, I think you’ve hit it out of the park with that.

0:13:12 Dipra Ray: Thanks. Sorry. And we completely agree there is a lot of like judgment, right? People feel judged. Am I getting measured? As you said, who’s looking at it? And we used to see this, people will do it when no one’s looking. And the other thing for us, I think that’s really important is you don’t need a trainer anymore to actually stand there, right? Personally, I’ve done a lot of training in the past, and it’s really annoying when a trainer is taking a tape measure and measuring me. I’m like, man, this is a waste of my time. I’m paying $80 a session or something.

0:13:47 Dipra Ray: I don’t want to spend ten minutes getting measured. Most of the time, the measurements are done wrong and consistently. Now, the fact is, it’s like homework, right? This is what I want to do. I want you to fill in a diary of what you’ve eaten. We’ll do the exercise at the end, by the way, get scanned, and if you’re okay with sharing a chair, and if you’re not, that’s fine. But the fact is that you’re saving trainers and salespeople a lot of time and not asking people to get scanned at the facility.

0:14:12 Dori Nugent: I love it. Absolutely love it. Tipper, how can our FBP family, that they’re either listening to this or they’re seeing the actual video of you and I hear, how can they get in contact with you, maybe either to learn more or maybe they’re just all in right out from seeing this video. How can they get in touch with you and maybe have a continuing conversation?

0:14:35 Dipra Ray: Yeah, we’d be very excited here for any of your members. We’re scaling quite quickly, and we’ve got a lot of clubs joining us every single week as we speak. Very easy. If you just go to Bodymap.com, so bodymapp.com, and there’s a partner page there. If you just fill out those details, someone will be in touch with you within 24 hours.

0:14:56 Dori Nugent: And we’ll also make sure we get these links set up on our show notes so that I can just click right onto that link and make it super easy. Well, Debra, listen, I’m very excited to have you. Come on, I say this all the time, but we could not do our show. The Fitness Business Podcast could not be what it was or what it is without our sponsors and our partners and our advertisers. So thank you to you and to everybody at Bodymapp for joining us on this amazing, incredible journey.

0:15:28 Dori Nugent: The fitness business podcast has been having an incredible year. 2022 was so good to us, so we’re really excited to see what 2023 brings as well.

0:15:40 Dipra Ray: We’re super excited to be supporting it, and we look forward to participating in this program going forward.

0:15:46 Dori Nugent: Perfect. Thanks, Dipra. Thanks for joining the Fitness Business Podcast.

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