Strava may be going out of fashion
A commentary piece argued that hyper‑documenting workouts on platforms like Strava could eventually feel “totally ringard” (uncool), while a Le Parisien feature reported couples saying they met on Strava or local marketplaces and prefer that to dating apps like Tinder. The two pieces together positioned Strava as both a performance tool and a social space with cultural tradeoffs. ( )
A French commentary published on April 11 argued that Strava’s culture of posting every workout could start to look uncool, even as other outlets keep describing the app as a place to meet people. (patrickbayeux.com) François Bellanger, writing in a post republished by Patrick Bayeux, said a shift is emerging toward “running without a trace” and “performing without proof,” and he predicted that in 10 years Strava could feel “as ringard as Facebook.” (patrickbayeux.com) On the same weekend, Le Parisien highlighted couples who said they met on Strava or on the classifieds platform Leboncoin, under the headline that it was “much better than Tinder.” The article appeared on April 11 in the paper’s Society section. (leparisien.fr) That tension sits inside Strava’s own pitch. The company says its platform connects more than 135 million people across more than 190 countries, and its 2024 Year in Sport report said making social connections was the top reason people joined fitness groups. (press.strava.com, (assets.ctfassets.net) Strava’s own data points in both directions at once. The company said running club participation on the app rose 59% globally in 2024, 58% of respondents said they made new friends through fitness groups, and nearly 1 in 5 Gen Z respondents said they had gone on a date with someone they met through exercise. (press.strava.com, (assets.ctfassets.net) The app has also added tools that make it act more like a social network. In December 2023, Strava launched direct and group messaging and said the feature would let athletes coordinate outings, share routes, and celebrate progress inside one platform. (press.strava.com) French lifestyle coverage has been documenting that social turn for more than a year. In March 2025, Le Figaro called Strava a “Tinder des coureurs,” or “Tinder for runners,” and reported that some singles were moving from swipe-based dating apps to public profiles, kudos, and group runs. (madame.lefigaro.fr) Marie Claire reported a similar story in 2025 from a woman who first used Strava to track rides, then learned its social features like personal records, segments, and public comments, and later began a relationship after a back-and-forth on the app moved to another network because Strava comments were public. (marieclaire.fr) Bellanger’s argument is that the same visibility that helped turn Strava into a social space could eventually make it feel dated. If that happens, the app would still be a training log for millions, but the status signal could shift from posting the workout to not posting it at all. (patrickbayeux.com, (press.strava.com)
