New York’s Fitness Scene Gets Its Own Dating App

Ateam, a wellness-first take on dating and platonic connection, has relaunched in New York with a slew of fitness industry investors and brand partners. In time, the app plans to launch in other cities

There’s a particular kind of person who can tell you their resting heart rate, their VO2 max and the exact macronutrient breakdown of their lunch. They train, they recover, rinse and repeat. 

And if they are in the market for a special someone, or just a new friend to share a sauna with, they may find their match on Ateam (stylized as ATEAM).

The application-based membership, founded by husband-and-wife team Dan Ilani and Megan Baldwin, hits New York this week with a slew of fitness and wellness industry investors and an 8,000-person waitlist ready to mingle and compare Oura scores or biomarkers.

Ateam is not entirely new. An earlier version was built around fitness as the shared connection point. Now, it reflects how much the category has grown since then, Ilani said. Recovery, sleep, nutrition, mental health and healthspan are now part of how the company’s target audience defines wellness.

“We’ve optimized almost every aspect of wellness except the way we meet and build relationships,” Ilani said. “We track our sleep, train with intention and recover like athletes, yet still leave connection to chance. The quality of our relationships remains one of the greatest determinants of our health, happiness and longevity. Ateam exists because if your relationships are misaligned, no amount of cold plunging is going to make you well.”

There are supportive measures in place with wellness in mind, such as an 11-minute daily cap to prevent endless scrolling, the absence of a “Like” button so conversations begin organically and a no-ghosting feature to encourage more positive, real-world connection.

Ateam is giving away more than 1,000 free health-focused dates to founding members, from workouts and runs to recovery sessions and shared wellness experiences.

“The goal is simple: move dating away from default drinks and dinners, and toward connection that feels healthier from the start,” Ilani said.

More than 15 studio partners have signed on for ateam’s ongoing Date Night Series, including Aarmy, Brooklyn Track Club, Fuze House, Gotham Boxing, SoulCycle and The Yard.

New York is just the starting point, as Ateam plans to expand globally and has seen major interest from Miami, Los Angeles, Austin and London.

Ateam’s arrival comes as run clubs, social wellness events and endurance races are pulling record participation numbers, driven in part by a need for human connection. The timing also tracks with Gallup’s latest reading on loneliness, which has barely budged in years — one in five U.S. adults still reports feeling lonely daily.