Gemma Snyman has a simple theory: the problem isn’t motivation, it’s momentum. We’re surrounded by workouts that light a spark, from TikToks saved at midnight to Instagram posts bookmarked with intent, yet when it comes time to train, that spark rarely turns into setting up your yoga mat at home or trying that new calisthenics routine.
“I kept noticing this disconnect,” Gemma said. “People are constantly saving content that inspires them, but when they actually want to move, they don’t know where to start.”
PHYT, her early-stage startup, exists to bridge that gap. It’s an app that lets you collect workouts from anywhere, organise them into boards, and turn them into guided, trackable sessions you can play through and share. Instead of adding to the noise (and the feed), PHYT makes use of what already exists, shifting focus from endless discovery to seamless doing.
Gemma’s insight came from the data as much as her own experience. Four out of five people never revisit saved workouts, and three in four still feel stuck when it’s time to train. “There’s an oversupply of content,” she said, “but almost no infrastructure to turn inspiration into action. PHYT is about unlocking that value.”
Right now, PHYT is sitting at the prototype stage, with user testing focused on how people import, sort, and play their favourite workouts. The MVP isn’t yet live, but the vision is clear: a frictionless layer between the discovery platforms we already use and the consistency we want.
You can import a workout straight from Instagram or the web, drop it into a board, and let the app translate it into a guided experience with reps, timers, and notes. There’s a social layer too, where you can follow friends, see what they’ve completed, and swap recommendations. “The goal is to make movement feel personal again,” Gemma said. “Like having a shared playlist, but for workouts.”
Throughout our chat, Gemma reflected on her relationship with fitness and team sport. Tennis and netball filled her school years and coaching came naturally after that, but stepping away from structured sport revealed how easy it is to lose rhythm once you’re on your own. “I love variety,” she said. “But when I finished school, all that structure disappeared. Suddenly it was up to me to find a balance, and I realised how hard that actually is.”
That frustration became curiosity, and later a whole lot of action alongside Uni. Gemma first explored the idea during the Student Founder Bootcamp (fka Student Fellowship) treating it as an experiment rather than a commitment. “I wasn’t sure if this would be the idea,” she said. “But I’ve always been inspired by the startup world. I did work experience at Canva in Year 10 and came away thinking, you can actually build your own solution to a problem. That mindset stuck.”
By the time she joined Launch Club, PHYT had taken shape as a real hypothesis. She spent the program talking to over a hundred people, validating both the problem and the features that mattered most. The result wasn’t just user insight; it was conviction. “Every conversation reinforced how common this pain point is,” she said. “People want freedom and consistency, not another subscription or one-size-fits-all app.”
Now, Gemma is preparing to turn PHYT from prototype to product, looking to partner with a technical co-founder who shares her passion for the problem. “If someone resonates with this space and wants to build alongside me, I’d love to chat,” she said.
In the meantime, she’s building in public, sharing lessons, progress, and reflections on the build. “I’ve been really inspired by founders who show their process online,” she said. “It makes the whole thing feel real and I’m ready to do the same.”
PHYT’s premise is quietly bold: we don’t need more ways to find workouts, we just need better ways to get them done.
Connect with Gemma and follow along the PHYT journey.
