Do you find it difficult to locate recreational activities to do with friends? Blood, Sweat & Cheers aims to provide a ‘fun fitness’ solution. The company’s free daily email aims to recommend one essential activity, workout, event or product subscribers need to know about to live a fit, adventurous and fun lifestyle.

In 2012 Canadian born entrepreneur, former editor and writer, Jonathan Ages started the company to fulfill his personal passion for thrill-seeking adventure and fitness. The company releases two daily editions: a national email to help subscribers discover fun activities in their backyard and around the world; as well as a New York edition to reveal urban adventures and turn ‘Gotham City’ into a playground for you and your friends.

When Ages is not working 16-hour days to build his ‘fun fitness’ movement, you’ll likely find him running, cycling, playing basketball, skiing and (occasionally) losing at bar trivia. It was this zest for adventure that led Ages to start his own company. “I created Blood, Sweat & Cheers to make it easy for others to find fun, and timely social activities,” Ages explains.

Publishing emails for profit is serious business. Startup Digest explains, “First you need to figure out exactly what content you will be serving and exactly the community you want to reach. You need to be uniquely passionate about this community of people.”

Ages idea to connect with active men and women, like himself, who strive to be fit and adventurous has caught traction. Blood, Sweat & Cheers has been featured in Bloomberg Television, AdWeek, Glamour magazine, FOX & Friends, SHAPE magazine and other national media outlets. Earlier this year Blood, Sweat & Cheers was recognized as a 2013 Webby Awards Honoree in the email newsletter category — a distinction that was granted from a pool of 11,000 entries.

Learn how Jonathan Ages identified his niche within the recreational fitness industry and why he believes entrepreneurs must build something they truly care about.

How I Got Started

Blood, Sweat & Cheers is an idea I came up with after losing a dodgeball game. I was battling against the last person on the other side. I turned around to pick up a ball … and I got hit by a sneak attack.

Smack! I was out!

So I drank away my sorrows with my teammates afterwards. We ended up hanging out with the other team too. I eventually realized that dodgeball – this goofy game from my childhood – was one of the most fun things I had done all week. I loved that I’d get in a workout without it feeling like “work.” Meanwhile, I was having fun with friends and meeting like-minded people. And, I’d get to throw stuff at people — really hard!

I was having fun playing dodgeball once a week. But I asked myself, “What was I doing the other six days of the week?” So, I started digging for more fun, social activities. Eventually I found a bunch of activities to join including a 5k footrace on a JFK Airport runway and a 500-person pillow fight held a few blocks away from my apartment.

The problem was this: I would find out about these events and activities after they had already happened. That did only one thing: it pissed me off!