by Magali Mathieu, atlasGO co-founder
What is atlasGO?
atlasGO is a global community of sweaty changemakers! Through our web platform and fitness tracking application, we help nonprofits fundraise money, companies keep their employees active and everyday individuals move for a cause!
What inspired atlasGO?
The drive behind atlasGO is the global potential of healthy people, doing good and GOing the distance together. Our community is built of sweaty changemakers that believe in the power of pushing their boundaries physically through sport and taking care of their mind with movement or meditation whilst giving back to those in need. That’s what continues to push us every day!
What brought you to Decathlon?
Ask any French person where their first pair of shoes, tennis racket, swimming goggles were from, and I bet it’s Decathlon!
We’re three European co-founders. The French community in San Francisco is quite small, so when we heard the rumors of the Decathlon store launching (in 2017) we directly got in touch and partnered up.
In Europe, Decathlon is a brand that you grow up with. Ask any French person where their first pair of shoes, tennis racket, swimming goggles were from, and I bet it’s Decathlon! I think it makes sense when you’re growing up. As you’re trying different sports, seeing what will stick, there’s no other quality gear that has this kind of price point. That’s why we were so excited to introduce it to our US community!
What are your current goals?
There are a lot of really exciting things going on for us at atlasGO right now. It’s strange to be doing so well and growing so much when the world is in such a state with the global pandemic.
On the community side, we partnered with One Tree Planted. This is a really exciting partnership where 100,000 trees have been pledged to be planted in California and we just need sweaty changemakers like yourselves to walk, run, bike, do yoga and trees get planted. It’s free for anyone to join and a great way to find out more about why our forests are so important. Join the initiative here.
We’ve also recently launched a new site: www.virtualrace.org, where anyone can find a virtual race to participate in. You donate a ticket entry for a good cause and take part in the race at your own pace, on your own time through the app! It’s a way for nonprofits to raise funds and for the racers to have the “race day” feel digitally.
Lastly, we’re working closely with our corporate clients in how they can best invest in their employees’ wellbeing. How they can help each other feel connected, staying healthy, setting the right boundaries to ensure their people are taking care of themselves. [Learn more about atlasGO's initiatives].
What's next with Decathlon?
Before the the COVID-19 situation, we hosted regular group runs and yoga sessions at Decathlon's Bay Area stores. It was a great opportunity to get fit and have fun together. After Shelter In Place, we moved our events online, which was great because we could help connect with Decathlon's global community, beyond the Bay Area.
Additional note from atlasGO:
Currently, Magali, atlasGO co-founder, is coaching an All-Levels Yoga class each Wednesday, free for Decathlon's community, and we look forward to continuing these partnerships into the future!
View all the workout's on Decathlon's YouTube page here.
