New mobile app energizes the ‘dawn’ of a female fitness community

Dawn, a new and upcoming mobile app, seeks to make the fitness landscape on college campuses more accessible, social and vibrant for young women.

“No more feeling scattered trying to find what equipment is at your gym, what workout to do, or who your gym buddy can be. Join Dawn today. Let’s become stronger women, together,” the app’s motto reads.

Virginia Wooten, founder of Dawn and a graduate from Wake Forest University, said that the idea for the app came to her after she started Athenas, an all-female weightlifting club at Wake Forest. In just two years, 12 percent of Wake Forest’s student population was involved with the organization in some capacity, she said.

After receiving swarms of positive feedback from members within and outside of the club, she said she felt inspired to take the idea for an all women’s weightlifting club and run with it. 

She presented the concept to the Entrepreneurship Center at her university and was awarded grant funding for the idea along with outside aid to help make her vision become a reality, she said. 

“Dawn is the female fitness app for women on college campuses. Our goal is to help women interested in fitness find their community in the gym, and beyond,” The app says.

On the app, you will find detailed descriptions of the equipment available at your university’s fitness centers as well as instructional videos informing how to use the different equipment. The main goal of this feature is to inspire confidence within young women to explore new machines or workouts in a safe manner, Wooten said.

On Sept. 23, the app was launched at UNC. 

Taylor Romeo, a sophomore at UNC studying business and environmental science, said that an app that informs people, young women especially, on the equipment available at different facilities would be extremely beneficial.