Strava Year in Sport (2014–2025)
The fitness platform that turned kilometers, elevation, and kudos into the most-shared athletic content on the internet. Now in its 12th year, Strava's Year in Sport combines personalized animated recaps for 180M+ registered athletes with a global Trend Report that generates wall-to-wall press coverage. What started as a simple stats page in 2014 evolved into custom-generated films (1.8M unique videos in 2017 alone), a native in-app experience, and the centerpiece of Strava's growth flywheel — athletes share, friends sign up, the network strengthens. Strava filed confidentially for an IPO in January 2026 at a $3B+ valuation.
180M+
Wrappeds Generated
12M+
Social Mentions
200+
Press Mentions
Campaign Breakdown
Strava's Year in Sport is the longest-running wrapped-style campaign in fitness — and one of the earliest personalized year-end recaps anywhere, predating even Spotify Wrapped by two years. The first edition launched in January 2015, covering 2014 data: 2.7 billion kilometers logged across 75.7 million rides, with an optional personal highlights reel at 2014story.strava.com. It was modest — mostly a global stats page — but it established a tradition that would run unbroken for over a decade.
The breakthrough came in 2017 when Strava partnered with Stink Studios and animator Andrew Vucko to create personalized animated films for every athlete. A logic system pulled each user's best moments — hilliest ride, total miles run, longest activity — into a unique, data-driven video. The result: 1.8 million unique films generated, which Strava called their 'most successful campaign ever.' The following year, Giant Ant joined to build 20 code-driven, customizable scenes per film, producing over 2 million unique 75-second videos. This was years ahead of most brands' personalization capabilities.
In 2020, the experience moved natively into the Strava app for the first time, designed by Manual creative agency using the Lottie animation framework. The three-minute animated experience reached 2.5 million athletes across 11 languages, structured as a three-act narrative: opening (active days, sport types), middle (distance, longest activity, pace), and climax (elevation, achievements, photos). That same year, the pandemic supercharged growth — 1.1 billion activities uploaded (+33% YoY), 2 million new athletes joining per month, and 30 million weekly uploads at peak. Walking uploads tripled, Everesting rides surged 400%+, and 76% of April marathons were run solo.
What makes Strava's Year in Sport uniquely powerful is the dual-format strategy. The personal recap drives social sharing — athletes post their total miles, elevation gain, and segment PRs as identity signals, fueling comparison and friendly competition among training partners. Meanwhile, the companion Trend Report functions as an earned-media machine. Packed with data on shoe rankings, city comparisons, generational fitness trends, and climate impact on exercise, it gives journalists dozens of ready-made headlines. The 2025 report surveyed 30,000+ people — the largest sample yet — and generated coverage across TechRadar, GearJunkie, Fortune, and dozens of cycling and running outlets.
The campaign hasn't been without controversy. In 2023, Strava moved the personal Year in Sport recap behind its $80/year paywall for the first time, sparking user backlash. They reversed course in 2024, making it free for everyone, then put it back behind the paywall in 2025 — triggering another wave of criticism. The tension highlights a fundamental challenge: unlike Spotify Wrapped (which is free and drives subscriber acquisition), Strava treats Year in Sport as a premium perk to justify subscriptions. Despite this, the platform's growth has been relentless: from 48 million athletes in 2019 to 180 million in 2025, with 14 billion kudos exchanged, 1 million clubs, and 51 million weekly activity uploads. Strava has been profitable since 2021, and in January 2026 filed confidentially for an IPO at a reported $3 billion+ valuation — with Year in Sport as the crown jewel of its annual engagement cycle.
Year by Year
180M registered, ~50M MAU
Subscriber-only again ($80/year)
14B kudos, 1M clubs
12th annual Year in Sport. Back behind paywall — triggering another backlash wave. 180M+ athletes in 185+ countries. 14B kudos (+20% YoY). 1M total clubs (nearly quadrupled in 2025). Hiking clubs grew 5.8x, running clubs 3.5x. New route created every 19 seconds. 51M weekly uploads. Largest survey ever: 30,000+ people. Theme: 'Doomscrolling is Out, Movement is In.' Gen Z plans to use Strava more in 2026 while reducing Instagram/TikTok. Confidential IPO filing in January 2026 at $3B+ valuation.
The IPO year. Strava filed confidentially for an IPO at $3B+ with Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter. Despite the paywall controversy, growth continued: 180M athletes, $500M ARR target, and profitability since 2021. The acquisition of Runna and The Breakaway signaled expansion into AI-powered coaching. Gen Z choosing Strava over Instagram was the headline stat of the Trend Report.
135M registered
Free for everyone (paywall reversed)
Video + static sharing to IG, TikTok, FB
Year in Sport made free again — reverting the 2023 paywall. New features: maps and Flyover, quizzes about friends, customizable Totals card (cumulative or sport-specific, profile picture toggle, 2023 comparisons). Video and static sharing to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, messaging apps. 135M+ athletes. 59% increase in running club participation. 40% longer activities with 10+ people. 40%+ of new athletes were women. Average workout: 53 minutes. Revenue: $163M+.
The reversal. Making Year in Sport free again was an implicit acknowledgment that the 2023 paywall hurt engagement. The addition of maps, Flyover, and friend quizzes made this the most interactive Year in Sport yet — and the customizable Totals card gave users control over exactly what stats they broadcast.
120M registered
Subscriber-only (first paywall)
10B+ kudos, reduced free sharing
Year in Sport moved behind the $80/year paywall for the first time — sparking significant user backlash. 120M+ athletes. 10B+ activities total. 40M/week. 10B+ kudos. Running grew 5%. Gravel biking +55%. E-bike share +23%. Group runners 83% more likely to set segment PRs vs solo. Cyclists 53% more likely. 75% said extreme heat affected exercise. Revenue: ~$132M+.
The paywall controversy. Making Year in Sport subscriber-only was a bold bet — and users weren't happy. Unlike Spotify Wrapped (free for everyone), Strava chose to treat the recap as a premium perk. The backlash foreshadowed an even louder reaction when the paywall returned in 2025.
100M registered
7B+ cumulative activities
9.9B kudos exchanged
100M+ members. 40M activities/week. 30M+ segments. 7B+ total activities shared. 9.9B kudos. 10M+ photos/videos shared weekly. Hiking tripled in 3 years. E-bike rides +26% YoY. Marathon share nearly doubled vs 2021. International activities +101% YoY, nearly back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Revenue: $110M.
The 100-million-athlete milestone. Hiking tripled in popularity over three years, e-bikes surged 26%, and international travel activities nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The platform's expansion beyond cycling and running into hiking, yoga, and weight training diversified the Year in Sport content.
95M registered
Manual creative (2nd year)
Kudos hit 9.6 billion
95M+ athletes in 195 countries. 1.8B public uploads (+38% YoY), 37M/week. 20B total miles covered. 10B cycling miles with 480B ft elevation (+20% YoY). 9.6B kudos given. 189,000 new clubs. 120M suggested routes generated via Maps tab. Challenge participation increased 4x since 2019. Pandemic runners from 2020 set 2x more PBs in 2021. Revenue: $91M. Strava turned profitable.
The year Strava became profitable. 95M athletes, 1.8B uploads, and $91M in revenue proved the subscription model worked. The 'athletes don't quit' narrative from 2020 paid off — pandemic converts stuck around and set more personal records than ever.
73M registered
2.5M+ athletes (in-app)
11-language animated experience
First native in-app animated experience, designed by Manual creative agency using Lottie framework. Three-minute, three-act narrative: opening (active days, sports), middle (distance, pace), climax (elevation, achievements, photos). Average pace and speed were subscriber-only. 1.1B activities uploaded (+33% YoY). 30M weekly uploads at peak. 2M new athletes/month. Walking tripled. Everesting rides +400%. 386.4M photos shared. 7.1B kudos given. 172,000 new clubs created.
The pandemic year transformed Strava. 2 million new athletes joined per month as lockdowns drove people outdoors. The move to an in-app animated experience (replacing external web videos) made Year in Sport feel native for the first time. 76% of April marathons were run solo — a stat that captured the isolation of 2020.
48M registered
Available to all users
Pre-pandemic peak of organic sharing
822 million activities uploaded across 48 million athletes in 195 countries. 8 billion total miles: 5.6B cycling, 1.3B running. 49% of bike rides were group rides. Average run 4.1 miles. VR cycling adoption nearly tripled since 2016. Summit subscribers uploaded 30% more activities. Gear rankings debuted (Nike Next% fastest at Six Majors).
The pre-pandemic high-water mark. 822M activities and 48M athletes established Strava as the dominant fitness social network. The Trend Report's gear rankings — surfacing the fastest shoes and most popular devices — gave the press irresistible data-driven headlines.
36M registered
2M+ unique films generated
Shareable 75-second personalized films
Stink Studios and Giant Ant (Vancouver) built 20 code-driven, customizable scenes per film. Each video was 75 seconds long with original music by CypherAudio. Logic system surfaced hilliest ride, total miles run, and personal bests. Available at 2018.strava.com. 5th consecutive year of Stink Studios collaboration.
Over 2 million unique personalized films — the most ever generated. The 20-scene, 75-second format hit the sweet spot between depth and shareability. Strava's API integration with the creative agency was so deep they called it 'a natural extension of our technical team.'
28M registered
1.8M unique films generated
Massive increase from personalized videos
First personalized animated video experience, created by Stink Studios and animator Andrew Vucko. A logic system pulled each athlete's best moments — hilliest ride, total miles, longest activity — into a unique data-driven film. Strava called it their 'most successful campaign ever.' Available via web URL.
The personalization breakthrough. 1.8 million unique films was an enormous technical achievement for 2017. The campaign proved that athletes would share their data stories when packaged as a polished visual narrative — the same insight Spotify would capitalize on two years later with in-app Stories.
~20M registered
Web-based personal highlights reel
Global stats report only
First Year in Sport — a global stats page covering 2.7B km logged and 75.7M rides. Optional personal highlights reel at 2014story.strava.com. Mostly a data report for the community, not yet a personalized animated experience. ~100,000 new users signing up weekly.
The origin. Two years before Spotify rebranded 'Year in Music' as 'Wrapped,' Strava was already packaging annual activity data into a shareable report. The format was simple, but the tradition it started would run unbroken for over a decade.
Ready to Wrap
Your Year?
Tell us about your business and our wrapped agency team will craft something extraordinary.