One ‘mule’ told ITV News they charge 32p per kilometre (Picture: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People are tricking an app used to track exercise by paying so-called ‘Strava mules’ to complete workouts.
More than 100,000,000 people around the world use Strava to record time, distance and location data from their jogs, runs and cycles.
They can then share this with friends who may well gift them a ‘kudos’ for their athletic efforts.
But it turns out not everyone is being honest about their exploits.
Some users would rather pay others known as ‘mules’ or ‘jockeys’ advertising their services on social media, than exercise themselves.
One such ‘mule’ is Wahyu Wicaksono, from Indonesia, who does an average of one or two runs of various lengths each day for his 76 regular customers.
He told ITV News: ‘Running has been my hobby since childhood, and I often take part in running championships.
‘I can earn a good amount of money from being a Strava jockey, so I thought, why not?’
‘Mules’ will do short runs and even marathons for paying customers (Picture: Mikolette/Yuri Arcuris Productions/E+/Getty Images)
Mr Wicaksono advertises his 70p – or 14,000 Indonesian Rupiah – per kilometre on Instagram, with higher fees for races and marathons.
Once a customer has commissioned him, he logs into their Strava account and completes the run.
Some people can’t run due to injuries, while some don’t have time to do it themselves, he said.
But users could be banned from Strava if the platform discovers they’re falling foul of its rules.
So what do they get from it, aside from keeping up appearances by looking active on the app?
Well, you could win a ‘King’ or ‘Queen of the Mountain’ badge for your profile if you come top of a leaderboard.
If you’re especially prolific, you could even make money, according to podcaster Adrienne Adhami, known as Adrienne LDN to her large Strava following.
She said: ‘They might be offered brand deals or spots in competitive races with limited spaces, so it becomes a lot more serious once those kinds of rewards are offered.’
Location isn’t a limit for those offering their services as ‘Strava mules’ (Picture: @StravaJockey/X)
The use of ‘mules’ has exploded in Indonesia, and it exists in the UK too.
A London-based IT expert called Gil cashed in on the trend for some fun during the extra free time he found working from home. Now he has dozens of clients.
He said: ‘I thought, I have some time on my hands, and I’d love to go for a cycle ride.
‘And it would be great for someone to pay enough for my coffee, my isotonic drink and my banana afterwards.’
Despite his it raising ‘serious ethical concerns’, he puts the responsibility on customers to decide how they use the data.
With the pool of potential customers rather small in cities like Bradford, for example, Gil doesn’t let geography stop him from making the most of it.
Using forums like LetsRun and RunningAhead to link up with other jockeys, he can outsource the actual exercise to people in the same area as clients.
He did that for …read more
Source:: Metro
