Building community through Clubs

It's one of the most rewarding things you can build that’s good for your community, good for the people just getting started, and the kind of engaged crew brand partners notice down the line (more on that in How to turn influence Into income). 

Here’s how to get started.

Creating a Club is free, and it takes about a minute. Before you touch the setup screen, get clear on what your Club is for. It shapes everything that comes after.

• A training group. People who want to follow your sessions and train alongside you.

• A local crew. Based in your city or region, built for real-world meet-ups.

• A fan or challenge community. Global, gathered around your sport, your brand, or a shared goal.

• A team or sponsor Club. Your squad, or a brand partner you'd like to put in front of your community. 

• A private community. Not every Club needs to be public. Set yours to invite-only and you control exactly who joins — ideal for a tighter crew, a smaller community, or creating a space that feels safe and inclusive. 

Then it’s time to build it. In the app, tap Groups > Clubs > Create a Club, and follow the prompts to create a name (go one step further than something generic like ‘Run Club’), upload a photo, include a description that says who it's for, decide your sport(s), and add your location. Make it public if you want to be found, or private if you'd rather keep it small.

Here's the worry that stops most people: what if I start one and it's just... quiet? Totally fair. A little prep makes all the difference:

• Add a few posts first. Before anyone arrives, put up a welcome, what the Club's about, and what's coming. This way new members land on a lively page, not a blank slate.

• Invite your inner circle to start. To get the ball rolling, bring in your training partners, teammates, and a handful of your most engaged community members before you go wide. A small, warm group on day one beats a big, silent one.

• Then tell everyone. Announce it in an activity, pin the link in your bios, and mention it the next time you post about a session or meet-up on socials.

• Host IRL meet-ups. Nothing builds community like turning up in person. From your Club page, tap Create an event, add the time, place, and a Route, and let members RSVP. If you want a bigger turnout, flip on Discoverable and nearby athletes can find your event too. Here's how. 

And the big one: you don't have to run it on your own. You can add co-admins to share the load like a coach, a manager, or a trusted member who loves the community as much as you do. That alone turns a Club from "another thing to manage" into something that runs with you, not away from you. 

For more Club organizer tips available here.

A Club comes alive when you keep showing up — and the nice part is your effort travels. Post to your Club and it appears in the Club feed and on your members' home feeds, so people see it without having to go looking.

A good rhythm is a few times a month posting, running an event, getting a conversation going. Keep the mix varied:

• A heads-up about the next meet-up or Challenge.

• A helpful tip or honest observation from your own training.

• A question that invites members to chime in.

• A reshare of a standout member activity. Try to feature different people each week.

The Clubs people stick with longest are the ones where members see a bit of themselves reflected back, not just you.

A couple of tools do a lot of the work for you:

• Club messaging. We’ve got a chat built right into your Club. Share an announcement or let members coordinate and celebrate together – all in one place, with no second app to download.

• Leaderboards. Set one up by distance, elevation, or activities and let the friendly rivalry take over. A bit of competition keeps people checking in, even on the weeks you're quiet.

And the most important thing of all: the best Clubs run on encouragement, not broadcasting. Celebrate the beginner's first 5K as loudly as the PB. That's what keeps people coming back. 

Nothing brings a Club back together like an event. It gives people a reason to log an activity, turn up, and check back in. A few formats that tend to work for everyone, whatever their level:

• Start recurring meet-ups. Same time, same place, every week or month. Great for runs, rides, or any sport. Regular cadence is what builds a community.

• Set virtual challenges. Think "Most miles in March," or "Everyone covers a 5K this weekend." Open to anyone, anywhere.

• Try themed weeks. Strength week, trail week, recovery week, you name it. Then create an event (or two) to celebrate the theme.

You can create an event in just a few minutes by adding a sport, a meeting point, pace groups, an RSVP cap, adding a Route so members can preview, save, and follow it. You can add waivers and manage attendee caps to help make the logistics easy. Afterwards, GPS-matched attendance shows you who actually came, so you can see what's landing and do more of it.

Clubs thrive when the vibe is inclusive and everyone feels they can belong. As the owner, you help shape that – and we have several settings to help you along the way:

• You decide who's in and how people treat each other. As an owner or admin you set the tone from the very first post. A kind, welcoming space isn't just nice to have, it's what keeps people around (and it's part of what earns a Club its own badge later). Learn more about the privacy settings you can set up in Privacy 101: Balancing growth with privacy.

• Maintain community standards. Strava upholds clear guidelines to maintain an open, safe, and welcoming community and you can report offensive content or unwanted interactions directly from the app or website. Read more in our Acceptable Use Policy and Community Standards. 

• Share the moderating. Your co-admins can help keep an eye on things, so you have a support crew to help keep things thriving. Strava's Club moderation guidelines for admins and owners are a handy starting point.

• Hosting in person? As a recognizable athlete, a public meet-up means a known place, a known time, and people you've never met turning up. It's worth thinking through any waivers, the location and your own privacy before you share the details. Privacy 101: Balancing growth with privacy walks through this in more detail so you can set yourself up for success.

Here's the part that makes the effort worth it: a healthy Club starts to grow on its own. 

• Your events, easily found. People on Strava can search for events by sport, distance, and location. Strava recommends your event to those most likely to show up.

• Every new member spreads the word. When someone joins your Club (through a social post, a Route embed, or a friend's activity) it shows up in their followers' feeds, putting your Club in front of a new audience.

• See your events in the spotlight. And when members turn up to an event, your Club's name appears on their activity from it – reaching their whole network, too.

• Announce your event. Strava creates a shareable event flyer for you – post it to social, drop it in a group chat, even print one for the local cafe.

And don't forget the platforms you're already on: pin the Club link in your bios, mention it whenever you post about a meet-up, and drop a Flyover of one of your regular Routes into your content. For more tips on how to bring people over from other platforms, check out How to grow your community.

Once you've built something real, your Club can earn its own Verified badge. It’s the same orange check next to your Profile pic, just, this time for your community. It tells people the Club is active, safe, and worth trusting. Having a Verified Club helps even more of the right people find you.

The Verified badge is designed for noteworthy Clubs that are truly adding to the community and motivating people to move, like:

• Established professional racing teams

• Races and events (at Strava's discretion)

• Charities and not-for-profits that support an active lifestyle

• Organized community groups (also at Strava's discretion)

• Brands that support an active lifestyle

It's not for small, casual, or inactive Clubs so build first, and apply for a badge later. To qualify, your Club should be active (posting, hosting, and chatting several times a month), and meet all the requirements.

When you're ready, the Club owner or an admin applies through Strava's application form. Have these handy: your Club's name and URL, your name and Strava Athlete ID, your organization's website, your affiliation, your social profiles, and a few links that show the impact your Club has. 

Three things worth knowing: only Strava can add a Verified badge to a Club – so never add one to your own cover or profile photo, as that leads to the Club being permanently removed. Once your application is approved, you'll get an email with more details and the orange badge will appear on your Club's profile picture.

Once you’re a Verified Club, you won't be able to edit the name or linked website yourself. If either needs changing, reach out to us and we'll help you update it.

The Clubs that last aren't built on numbers. They're built on showing up with consistent posts, real events, and members who feel seen, welcome, and motivated. Do that, and you'll have built a community that keeps growing and moving.

When you're ready to think about how that community translates into opportunity, How to turn influence into income is your next read.