JAKARTA/SINGAPORE: Freshly graduated from high school and waiting to take the recruitment exam to join the police in September, Jakarta teenager Wahiu Wichaksono has found a way to make money from his love of running.
He became a “Strava jockey,” recording other people’s running achievements on the popular fitness-tracking app for a fee.
“I’m active on (social media platform) X and (the trend for StravaJockey) is growing rapidly there,” said Wayu, 17, who started promoting the StravaJockey service about two weeks ago.
“My hobby is running, so I thought I’d take advantage of this situation and turn it into a business.”
His startup venture gained eight customers in the first six days.
Wahyu charges 10,000 rupiah (US$0.62) per kilometer for a “pace four” (four minutes per kilometer) and 5,000 rupiah per kilometer for a “pace eight” (eight minutes per kilometer).
Clients pay before he starts his run, and he runs using his own Strava account or login details given to him by his client.
According to him, the most lucrative job he has ever had was for Rs 100,000.
The trend of selling Strava performance data is growing in Indonesia, where Strava jockeys sell records of their running, cycling and other athletic achievements on the app in exchange for money or items such as energy bars.
“If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen” is the motto of the app, which allows members to follow each other and share and show off their athletic achievements.
Strava users can also participate in virtual “races” where they compete against other members running the same distance for position on a leaderboard.
According to Strava’s website, the app boasts more than 100 million paid and free members in over 190 countries, but there have been no major reports of the trend catching on in other countries.
“They’re all older customers than me.”
In Indonesia, the phenomenon appears to have started on July 3rd with a jokey post that went viral on X, then known as Twitter.
“Btw, I’m launching Strava Jockey service!!,” posted X-user @hahahiheho along with a mock Strava screenshot, “but it’s my brother/family who will be running and they’re great runners. Price depends on pace, distance, etc. DM me (direct message).”
The image turned out to be a route from the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”
