Shnarped, a Canadian tech startup founded by Princeton hockey players, announced the launch of their new social media platform for sports video content. Shnarped is described as ‘Instagram for Sports’, and has allowed youth kids from all over the world to share their highlights and individual talent.
The app itself features video editing tools such as a slow motion filter, moving spotlight, music, and fun stickers that are transparent among other social media platforms.
What individuals are more fond of however, is the existing community on the Shnarped app, in which users can easily find and engage like-minded sports enthusiasts.
Shnarped first came into the sports scene through Hockey Players for Kids, a charity organized at connecting pro-athletes with their fans. Hockey Players for Kids soon led to Shnarped Hockey, which is considered the first prototype-beta of Shnarped, and ran as a social media platform.
The app soon garnered over 100,000 downloads, was adopted by 150 NHL players, and secured a deal by all five dragons on the popular Canadian TV show The Dragon’s Den. Insights from young athletes on their first app guided Shnarped in a completely new direction, and in March of 2015 the company initiated a major pivot into the sports social media space.
“We set out to create a sports platform that was inspiring, youth-friendly, and connected players and fans in a meaningful way” quoted Dustin Sproat, Co-founder and CEO at Shnarped. “We used news and stats as a way to initiate easy communications with athletes, and decided to start in hockey before expanding the model across other sports.”
When asked about their company philosophy, Sproat described it was a sincere dedication to all the kids who needed a platform to post all their sports photos and videos. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Kids just want to have fun,’ says cofounder and CEO Dustin Sproat. “Many kids felt like they couldn’t post their individual highlights because it was a cocky thing to do; in return, we built Shnarped for them. It is really about finding inspiration, having fun, and building communities through a shared love of sports.”
Hashtag Sports Fest, the event where Shnarped made this announcement, is a 3-day expo and conference celebrating the convergence of sports, digital media, and technology.
Anthony Caponiti, Co-Founder of Hashtag Sports, said, “Shnarped lies at a hot intersection between sports-tech, mobile-video, and social media which makes Hashtag Sports Fest the perfect platform for announcing the new Shnarped app. They’ve made sports video-editing really easy, and done it in a way that appeals to the millennial demographic – the sky really is the limit.”
Prior to launch, Shnarped has already been adding almost 1K users a day. “The feedback from everyone has really blown us away,’ says Sproat. ‘We’re just really proud to be able to use social media in a positive way, encouraging youths to live an active and healthy lifestyle.”
The iOS app can be downloaded at www.shnarped.com and an Android version will be released within 6 weeks.