Strength by Mari

What it does

Strength by Mari is a fitness application centered around the workout philosophy of its founder, Mari Llewellyn. The app provides users with structured workout plans, a library of over 700 exercises, healthy recipes, and tools to track progress. It aims to be a comprehensive guide for users, particularly women, looking to start or advance their strength training journey at home or in the gym.

Where it shines

The app's most striking feature is its confident and direct user journey. The onboarding is incredibly swift, moving from a simple value proposition screen featuring the founder (00:02) directly to a sign-up form (00:07) and then a hard paywall (00:23). This demonstrates a clear understanding of its target audience, who are likely followers of Mari Llewellyn and arrive with high motivation and trust already established. The paywall itself is also well-designed, presenting a clear list of benefits with checkmarks before revealing the pricing tiers (00:28), which helps frame the cost in terms of value.

UX highlights

Founder-as-Trust-Signal: The very first screen leverages a quote from the founder, Mari Llewellyn, to immediately establish credibility and a personal connection.
Minimalist Onboarding: By skipping feature carousels and quizzes, the app removes potential drop-off points and accelerates the path to conversion for its high-intent audience.
Clear Value Proposition: The paywall at 00:23 uses a clean, scannable list with specific numbers (e.g., "700 unique workouts") to make the benefits of subscribing tangible.
Focused UI: The design throughout the observed flow is clean, with a simple color palette and generous white space, making the calls to action clear and prominent.
Animated Loading State: A subtle infinity loop animation on the sign-up button (00:21) provides clean feedback without being distracting.

Monetization & growth

The app employs a hard paywall strategy immediately after sign-up (00:23), with no free trial mentioned. This filters for highly committed users who are willing to pay upfront. Three subscription tiers are offered: monthly, 6-monthly, and annually, with discounts clearly highlighted to incentivize longer commitments (00:30). The annual plan is presented first and offers the largest discount (40% off), anchoring the user to the best-value option. This entire strategy is built on the strength of the founder's brand to drive conversions without the need for a try-before-you-buy period.

Who it’s for

This app is clearly designed for followers of Mari Llewellyn and individuals already familiar with her brand and fitness approach. The target user is likely a woman aged 20-40 who is looking for a structured, guided strength training program and is motivated enough to pay for a premium service from a creator she trusts. It's less suited for casual fitness browsers or those who need extensive education before committing to a plan.

Notes & opportunities

The directness of the onboarding is a strength but also a risk. Users unfamiliar with the brand might be put off by the immediate system notification prompt (00:03) and the lack of any free content or trial. Adding a notification warmup screen could soften the permission request. While the sign-up is simple, offering social login options could further reduce friction for new users. The core app experience beyond the paywall is not visible, which is where the long-term value must be proven.