About Scouty
Scouty is a New Zealand marketplace that connects people with the coaches who'll actually get them where they want to go. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no cold DMs. Just the right people, together.
Why we built Scouty
It started with me trying to find a coach for myself. I was training for a specific running event and I needed a specialist coach with relevant experience. Finding one was a mess: janky coach websites, scattered and overwhelming social media profiles, no way to compare anyone or know who to trust. So I built a spreadsheet just to compare options. Eventually I found a coach, and ran the race. A few years later I was training for the Coast to Coast, and hit the exact same wall. Another spreadsheet. I couldn't shake one thought: why does something this important still so hard?
Turns out it wasn't just me. Everyone I spoke to had a version of the same story - guessing their way to a coach through Google, social media and gym noticeboards, with no real way to know who'd actually fit. Today the same problem is amplified on LLMs like Chat GPT. And on the other side were coaches who were brilliant with people, genuinely changing lives, quietly going under because they couldn't get found and didn't know how to generate more business. Roughly four in five personal trainers leave the industry within a few years. Rarely because of the coaching.
So I tested a hunch. I put up a rough little website with two forms - one for coaches, one for people looking for one and pointed some traffic at it. Within days, I had enough people inquiring through this pilot to validate the problem. I matched each of them with coaches manually, and it worked. That was enough. I joined forces with two locals - Anthony, a Queenstown developer, and Gary, a fitness-industry veteran who's done every job in it... and Scouty was born.
— Mike Gibb, Co-founder & CEO
Better Together
Empower people to achieve their health, fitness, sporting and wellness goals by connecting them with the right coaches - while supporting those coaches to grow successful businesses.
A world where every person has the right coach in their corner - supporting their health, fueling their confidence, and helping them live stronger, longer and better.
We exist to build a healthier, happier and more active world by connecting people with the right coach for them, in any area of fitness, health and wellness.
Discover: We help people find and connect with the coaches who fit their goals, schedule, personality and training style - taking the guesswork out of it.
Promotion and in two ways: We actively encourage people to live a healthier and fuller life through being more active - then by doing it with a qualified coach who can guide them to success on their fitness journey.
We help coaches get in front of people searching for them, not just on Scouty, but on social media, LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude and on Google.
Better business management for coaches: Giving coaches the tools and exposure to grow sustainable businesses, with less admin and more coaching.
Keeping it human: No generic directories, no pushy sales tactics, just real connections. Better, together.
The team
Three locals who couldn't stop thinking about the same problem.
Co-founder & CEO
The one who couldn't let the problem go. Mike's spent his marketing career across tourism, fitness and tech - from London to Melbourne and now Queenstown, working in award-winning teams. He's also an endurance athlete who's taken on everything from the Marathon des Sables across the Sahara to the Coast to Coast. He knows what a great coach is worth - and what it costs the good ones to go it alone. Scouty is his answer.
Co-founder & CTO
The one who builds it. Anthony's a product engineer and entrepreneur who turns “wouldn't it be good if…” into something you can actually tap - keeping Scouty fast, simple and genuinely useful for the coach checking their phone between sessions and the client searching at 10pm. He's also an ultramarathon runner and running influencer, so he's not just building the platform - he's experienced the problem first hand too.
Co-founder & COO
The one who's done every job - literally. Ten years in the NZ Army, then every role in the fitness industry: trainer, sales manager, club manager, franchisee, and now industry consultant. Gary knows what makes a club thrive and what quietly breaks one - and it's built into how Scouty works. Off the clock, he's a dad of two and a qualified rugby ref. Same standards, different pitch.
What we believe
The right coach doesn't just hand you a plan. They get what you're trying to do, and they're in your corner. Real progress is a team sport.
We take the admin, the chasing and the busywork off your plate — so coaches can spend their time doing the thing they're brilliant at.
You don't need a six-pack or a personal best. You need someone who meets you where you are. Scouty is for every body, and every goal.
Built in Aotearoa
We started in Queenstown and Wānaka, where the idea was born. Christchurch is next, then more of New Zealand - and one day, further afield. Wherever people are searching for a coach, we want Scouty to be the place they're found.
