Summary

Our interview with Thomas Butter, founder and CEO of Movaia, provides insight into how the Movaia platform increases performance and reduces injuries for runners.  Thomas' inspiration for Movaia arose from a personal experience that drove him to seek a solution. Having suffered plantar fasciitis due to poor running form, Thomas had the idea for Movaia after paying hundreds of dollars for a running form analysis. Thomas draws upon his extensive background in marketing and management: accumulating decades of expertise in these fields, he understands the significance of effective strategies, efficient operations, and targeted outreach to bring his vision to fruition.
Furthermore, Thomas' lifelong fascination with computer sciences plays a crucial role in his endeavor. Recognizing the immense potential of technology, he is harnessing its power to develop an innovative platform that democratizes running form analysis. By combining his understanding of marketing, management, and computer sciences, Thomas aims to create a user-friendly and affordable solution that caters to the needs of countless runners, allowing them to optimize their running technique and reduce the risk of injuries.


Interview

Hi Thomas, please tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a runner and triathlete and the founder and CEO of Movaia. I am from Austria and have been living in Hong Kong since 2006, where I love spending time outdoors on the trails or in the ocean.

What is the story behind Movaia?

Like many runners I got injured while training for a race. I saw a physiotherapist for that injury and had a running form analysis done. The analysis was hugely helpful in getting me back running so I realized how helpful a running form analysis could be. I have had a lifelong interest in technology (fun fact: Back in the 90s I was a finalist in a national coding competition) and realized that it should be possible to automate running form analysis with computer vision and AI. Two thirds of runners have a running injury in any given year so I was convinced it would be important to make running form analysis more accessible for runners. Another Target Group are physiotherapists and coaches that want a more time efficient way to create running form analysis. That is why I set up Movaia (which stands for Movement, Analysis and AI) and started working on bringing this idea to reality. Next to my daughter that was born 3 months ago, Movaia is now my “other baby”!

What is the primary mission of Movaia and how does it align with the needs of runners?

Our goal is to make running form assessment (which is often expensive and difficult to get) more accessible, so runners can both become faster, more efficient runners and stay injury free to get the most out of running. Running form analysis is a tool that should be accessible to any runner and is currently underutilized. An analogy could be power meters in cycling or heart rate monitors – tools that were once exclusive to elite athletes but have since become mainstream tools to make athletes better.

What specific products or services does Movaia offer to benefit runners? How does Movaia's products or services help runners improve their performance or achieve their running goals?

Runners upload their videos to Movaia.com. Our algorithm then analyses these videos and creates a report that visualizes runners form and provides recommendations based on analysis results. Our analysis is based on input from physiotherapists we work with as advisors and only costs a fraction of what an in-person analysis would cost. This lowers  the entry barrier for analysis but also makes it feasible to have an analysis done regularly and track progress.

Does Movaia offer any training or coaching programs for runners? If so, how do they benefit runners? How does Movaia help runners stay motivated and engaged in their running journey?

Movaia is currently in beta test and every report includes detailed analysis, videos with exercises and a training plan. Like many aspects this is an area we want to expand further in the future. Most runners are hugely surprised when they see their running form visualized, which creates a strong incentive to try and improve. Our analysis results are quantified and our reports come with a built-in progress tracker so athletes can stay on track and stay motivated.

How does Movaia collect and analyse data to improve the running experience for its customers? How do you generate your recommendation for the form run analysis?

We use computer vision and pose estimation as the foundational technologies that let us understand the parameters of individual runners. We then combine this “raw data” with essentially a large “decision tree” a coach or physiotherapist would go through when doing a real-life analysis. This is where our cooperation with elite coaches and physiotherapists is hugely important. While we do not provide medical advice, we provide running science as it relates to a runners form and exercises that a coach would prescribe based on the running form observations.

What partnerships or collaborations has or plans Movaia established with other companies or organizations to bring your benefit to runners?

We love being part of the vibrant running community and plan to be a good partner with visibility at races, running clubs as well as partner with coaches, physios and other companies in the sports ecosystem – like TRAILME. Stay tuned for those plans to come to fruition in stages.

How does Movaia differentiate itself from its competitors?

There are few competitors at this point, but we pride ourselves in providing accurate feedback that a runner can easily visualize and act on. For example, instead of telling a runner their foot lands in a certain way, we do show them a picture of the exact moment their foot hits the ground and the implications of that. This is hugely important as only about half of runners can correctly identify even a “foundational” running form element as foot strike (heel / mid-foot or forefoot strike) correctly.

And maybe most importantly we take accuracy and relevancy of what we measure very seriously. While it is very easy to build a product that is right 70% of the time, it takes significant know how to build a product that is consistently accurate.The feedback we have received so far both from runners but also professional users encourages us in continuing with that direction.

What are the plans for future development of Movaia’s products or services and where do you see your company in 4-5 years? What would help you now most to get there?

Our vision is to help runners run faster with minimum injury risk so they can enjoy their sport to the fullest. We will develop our product around this vision and the feedback we receive from the community. That is why we have launched the free beta which will be open until end of June. The best way to help us succeed in our vision is to sign up at www.movaia.com, let us know in our survey what you think of our analysis and tell your friends about it!

It was great catching up with Tony Bruno who just launched one of the biggest events to take place in Hong Kong this January 2023. He is the man behind WEEZ WALK 2023, an event that advocates for and raises awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.

Thank you for joining us. Could you please kindly introduce yourself (& your team) for those that haven’t heard of you and your charitable events in aid of mental awareness. 
“I’m Tony, the organizer of WEEZ WALK, I’ve lived in Hong Kong for 26 years. My wife and I formed The Weez Project about four years ago as an organisation that advocates for improved mental awareness and suicide prevention in Hong Kong. We do this primarily through improved education in schools with young people. We partner with Kely Support Group who work to improve youth mental health and wellbeing and equip young people with the skills, knowledge and opportunities to support themselves and each other.”

How did you get involved in organizing WEEZ WALK?
“During the middle to late 2020, when Hong Kong started to lock down, Weez Project and Kely faced some difficulties as we weren’t able to do many of the events we wanted to do. So I thought, why don’t I do something to raise some funds and awareness for Kely? I had done the Hong Kong island Coastal Trail with friends a few times before,  so, in February 2021, I did the walk again and set up a Just Giving page, to see how much money I could raise. I also managed to get a few people from Hong Kong Football Club involved. In the end, we raised approximately HK$300,000.00. This was pretty much by simply setting off one morning, emailing friends, posting on social media, and trying to get the buzz going. I think we did quite well for something that was quite casual.

I completed the route in a  “record time” of 12 hours and 58 minutes, at least that’s my record time. With the level of success we had, a natural next step was to stage an organised event and  WEEZ WALK 2022 was officially created. The event  had to be  in virtual format because of covid restrictions in force at the time. We had an event period  of about a month,  we  attracted some corporate sponsorship and some organisations helped us with gifts for participants. We feel the event was very successful , with 720 participants, HK$2.1 million raised, and  lots of press publicity and social media activity. The next obvious step was to organise on a multi-year basis, and  so we’re onto the third edition,  WEEZ WALK 2023.”

We are delighted that you are organizing this event again next year, how did you (or will you) get the public involved in WEEZ WALK 2023 event?
“We have marketing teams promoting the event and using social media extensively. Various partners, who are really committed to the event are helping to promote the event also; for example, we have ‘Design Hong Kong’ promoting to their database, ‘TRAILME’  promoting the event to the local running community, we have sports clubs in Hong Kong that are keen to participate and get involved, and we have a lots of corporate organizations  who recognized the importance of mental health awareness and education who are promoting the event to their staff as well. Another important channel is through educational institutions for older students at colleges and universities.

There’s also another part of this as well, in the past few years we have had volunteer street artists to do some artwork for us; in 2021 we had a great piece of art in Wong Chuk Hang painted by local artist Stern Rockwell. In 2022 we had temporary artwork at the AIA Vitality Park in Central. For WEEZ WALK 2023 we have a great mural in Sai Ying Pun, at 120 Connaught Road West. We’ll also have other artists volunteering pieces placed at various locations along the route. These pieces of artwork all reflect mental health issues and will be highly visible to people who are participating in the event.”

How did you feel when you completed your first fundraising challenge?
“Elated, a little emotional because of the background and the reason why I’m doing it. But at the time all I wanted was a beer, a big pizza and a hot bath. “

Any messages for the public about WEEZ WALK 2023 event?
“One of the key antidotes to mental health issues is getting exercise, so I am encouraging people to get out and walk; for people who can’t get much exercise, walking is a great thing. The event has a competitive element for elite runners and ambitious people, but it is also for people who just want to do it for fun as a family group. Please get out there into the fresh air and do some exercise with your family and friends and help us raise money for mental awareness.”

Any last tips for the events participants entering the last week of preparation for this event?
“I cannot give any tips for the elite runners; they could give me tips! For everyone else, just get out there and enjoy it, and spread the word! Don’t put any undue pressure on yourselves. There’s lots of beautiful places to explore along the Hong Kong Coastline, there’s so much to see and observe. So, my advice is to take your time, take it easy and enjoy it.”

https://www.trailme.com.hk/events/weez-walk-2023

TRAILME: Congratulations on your Wilson challenge performance!

TRAIME: How and when did you discover trail running?

Saw a poster - “Come and Join the First Edition of Vertical Running @ KK100 tower”

this caught my attention way back 2016 when I was jogging in the park. So, I did join and had a chance of a lifetime experience to climb the tallest building in Shenzhen.

Eventually I survived to the top but suffered leg muscle soreness for a week.

And to cut a long story short. Got Hooked up & I tried to look for more Vertical races in the internet, and so happen appeared on my search was the “Lantau vertical” race here in HK ….and I don’t have any idea of the Trail Running race before…

So, I did register, and I accidentally fell in love with because I feel some connection with the nature and somehow a big stress relief for me from work which frees me from anxiety and other negative vibes around me. 

Then that’s my journey of my life becoming a Trail Runner.

TRAILME: How often do you train?

Before, I just only run around 50 to 80km total on my weekdays and on the weekend, just around 15 to 20km. Nowadays, I seldom run due to my new role at work…plus we were hit by the pandemic in which all races were cancelled. So, I don’t have much training to prepare, but then again, I still do some strength and core work training just to maintain my cardio exercise and to  keep me fit every day. Well, if there’s a good brutal challenge races that interest me. I progressively run a bit every night after work, maybe around 5 to 10km.

TRAILME: You are now well-known “A Man Who Runs Long Distance with pair of Sandals.” How do you managed to do this? What inspire and what the story behind this?

Yep, I really love punishing myself in a good way.  I'm fascinated in some great challenges ahead. I normally run from 50km to 100km to hundred miles, because I want to challenge myself and wanted to see my so called rock-bottom where exactly I can reach my possible lowest point

I can’t explain much why. But I just really love those pains, during and after the race.

Using my running sandals gives me somewhat a freedom of feeling the ground which mimic the sensation of being barefoot and reconnection with the nature itself

I’m a big fan of a minimalist runners like the one inspired me most, the amazing Tarahumara runners from Mexico. Those sandals’ soles are handcrafted out of rubber car tires and a leather strap that wrapped laced on foot.

TRAILME: What is your running theme? How do you motivate yourself when you run? Any favorite music?

Running theme? Mmmm…. I don’t have any preference; I just strap my Sandals on then move forward and run.And for some motivations when I run? Well, those Race Bib attached on my wall are one that kept me motivated most…

For some music.. I love basically every genre of music… listening to music’s are one of my diversions of my sufferings.

TRAILME: Can you share your experience in running the virtual Raleigh Challenge Wilson Trail?

I decided to start around 9.30pm of Friday the 15th after work so that I would be able to finish the challenge early before the end of weekend (Sunday.) My experience on the race was totally-brutally awesome & well executed. I finally had a chance to do the whole section of Wilson trail which they say, one of the hardest of the four major trails in Hong Kong . And, for the record, this is my first time doing the Wilson Trail, because when I did it with my team in Raleigh Wilson 2018, most of the routes were diverted due to super typhoon Mangkhut, which devastated Hong Kong.

Anyway, going back to my story...

When I say well executed, I mean that I was slow on my journey to Nam Chung, and my expectations were very conservative. There are several temptations to run faster on my way, but I'm constrained by my rucksack, which weighs around 15kg, and I don't want to injure myself along the way.

Before leaving from Nam Chung, I gave my heavy backpack to my friends who supported me, then later bring out my running vest.  Along the way, I felt tremendous relief and superlight =) because I was no longer carrying any heavyweights on my shoulder. My main goal was to go slow and easy during the first half of the race and the rest of the race, I progressively increased my pace, That is why I was quicker by 1 hour on my first half compared to my fellow runners who completed the Tornado Challenge, who were faster on the first half but slower on the second half of 156 km; I think they were slower by an average of 3 to 4 hours.

TRAILME: What’s your next race?

I have some series of line up that fits all my criteria: tough, brutal and beautiful for 100km and 100 miles coming ahead this year and in the 1st quarter of 2022. Which I look forward to see and test my limits again

TRAILME: What has been your most memorable trail running experience?

Got hooked much on ultra-races, so I didn’t notice I had tons of line up races every weekend. I truly love exploring my limits and limitations, as well as embracing those pains and sufferings. I attempted to explore my Rock bottom and just simply want to hit lowest possible point of myself. And by far my most memorable was December 2019 I had two 100 Miles race and one 100km  and one 50km every week.

1st week- 100Miles -HK168 – finished 23rd place

2nd week- 50km Maxirace YangShou China – finished 80th out of 300 runners

3rd week- 100km- The North Face HK -finished 227th out of 600 runners

4th week- 100 miles- Golden 100 HK- finished top 25th  out of 150 runners ...

And by surviving these challenges, I was lucky enough to stay injury free.and by surviving these challenges, I was lucky enough to stay injury free.

TRAILME: How do you keep yourself updated with upcoming race information?

I do subscribe like the TRAILME apps to keep me posted on upcoming races plus the social media and of course the trail community group here in & outside HK.

TRAILME: Do you use any sports apps or wearables when you go trail running?

Yep, I do love my “Coros Vertix” watch because I can upload/export all my training workouts then later synced it to my Strava. So, I can study my performance well.

And to add up, it has super extra-long battery life compared to my previous GPS watch. Wearables? Mmmm I simply love my “LUNA sandals”, I just strap them easily & hassle free...and for my hydration pack is my “Simple hydration” bottle which I just hang on my back of my favorite Ahon shirt a locally made from my place which I wear most of my trainings and in my races.

TRAILME: Any words of advice for other runners out on the trail?

“Always Stay Low and Fly high”  Simply just stay focused & don’t overcomplicate things.Just get it done one stage at a time. Get out there enjoy the fresh air, have fun on the nature view and finally be prepared to embrace those pains.

TRAILME: How did you get started as a race organizer? 

“I  started as a member volunteer of organizing committee of Raleigh  Hong Kong  since 2012.  Most of organising committee are all volunteers and every year  we recruit  a group of young people to help organize this race.  Raleigh Hong Kong is a big charitable event , we need a lot of planning and logistical support, and these young people who volunteered and joined our organising committee helped us a lot and they are committed for around 6 to 9 months. This is a great platform for the teenagers and young adults to learn how to organise a big event and learn how to cooperate and work as team and learn to be flexible when they encounter different problems. So this is how I started, a young member Raleigh Hong Kong  organising committee.”

  TRAILME: What inspire you as a race organizer?

“What inspire me is the benefit  for myself and the other member  of organizing committee, where we can raise funding for ourselves for overseas expedition in different developing countries. It was a very good chance for me when I started as a student because I gained experience on  how I communicate to others,  how to think from multiple aspects and  prospective and also learnt  how to run and organise a good event. It also inspired me seeing runners in  the check point who challenged themselves  to  complete to the finish point and hearing their opinions  where it helps us improve to organised the race much better.”

TRAILME: Will you tell us a little bit about the Wilson Raleigh ? 

“This is a charity event aimed to raise funds in continuing to support the youth Challenge. Wilson Trail first started in 2000 as an internal event for Raleigh members to challenge themselves. Because of the enormous response from the participants, this event became open to the public in 2003.”

TRAILME: It’s been a tough year for racing, with COVID-19.  What is your biggest challenge as a race organizer? 

“Because of the government race permit restriction, the biggest challenge as organizers is not knowing whether we have the physical race or virtual race. The planning is very different when we do physical race; it requires a lot of volunteers,  manpower and logistic support for food and beverage. It really requires a lot of preparations and with this pandemic, it is not easy to plan, so as an organizer, you have to be well prepared to have a backup plan, which is the virtual race.”

TRAILME: With the COVID-19 situation in the city, how do you feel about the cancellation of races? Does it affect the trail running community a lot?

“I feel very sad hearing about the cancellation of races because I hope that the physical race will happen this year.  This has a significant impact on the trail running community in Hong Kong. Hearing from my group friends and other participants who are not big of virtual race, they think the physical is more competitive and much better.  Personally, I was initially not interested in virtual races, but as time went by, I felt bored not racing, so I decided to join a few virtual races. It was good, but it requires a lot of planning, and for a long-distance race, it’s not easy without physical support, and I see this as one of the impact for long-distance runners as support is not provided by the organizer when doing the virtual race.”

TRAILME: What role do you think technology has to play? How have you been adapting to the new virtual format? Was it easy to transition?

“As a runner, the transition required detailed planning to where I could get food and water and in this case I have to ask for personal support from friends; the good thing by using the TRAILME helped my supporters to track me. As an organiser, the transition from physical to virtual is not that difficult. When doing the physical, we focused on the checkpoint support, but for the virtual race, we spent more time on promotion on social media to motivate runners to be engaged. We also help with the registration so more runners can join. In addition, we give out a good souvenir for the runners in their race pack.”

TRAILME: Do you think the virtual format will carry on? 

“We hope the physical trail running race will happen this year because the Standard Chartered Marathon has already happened. And we thought OTW would go ahead smoothly, but sadly it was not good news for them, and a few of the long-distance events (HK 100) also put their registration on hold for now. I don’t have confidence that other events will go ahead, and I think virtual will go on this year.”

TRAILME: I know the virtual Wilson Raleigh challenge race still running for another week, but so far what has been your most memorable experience on this event? 

“I think it was the two days support in our cheering stations. Because it mimics the physical race  and we have communications from the runners and we can take some photos and exchange information to how we can improve. We did a lot of preparations as a team so it was memorable experience specially supporting people in Hok Tau where runners needed more support om this part of Wilson Trail. We were so happy to see happy runners to received our support.”

TRAILME: What’s your personal favourite trail in Hong Kong and why? 

“One of my favourite trail is Pat Sen Ling- The 8 immortals because the scenery is very good, you can see the Tolo harbour and the greenery mimics the location some part of Europe. It is also challenging and every time I run this trail I feel so satisfied and happy.”

TRAILME: Any words of advice for trail runners this year? 

“For Trail runners, even we can’t do the physical race at the moment,  continue to go outside and continue to challenge yourselves and enjoy the nature. “

TRAILME: Congratulations on your Wilson challenge performance, Kimmy! That was a superb achievement.

TRAIME: How and when did you discover trail running?

Kimmy: I discover trail running in 2015 when I joined the OXFAM TRAILWAKER after that I kinda  like addicted with trail running.

TRAILME: How often do you train?

Kimmy: I train 4 to five days a week. Normally during weekday, I train and do easy running around 1 to 2 hours after work. I don’t have any training plan but i run the route that I think of.

TRAILME: What is your running theme? How do you motivate yourself when you run? Any favorite music?

Kimmy: I don’t listen to music when I’m running but enjoying the view is my great motivation.

TRAILME: Can you share your experience in running the virtual Raleigh Challenge Wilson Trail

Kimmy: I started the race at 4 in the morning because I don’t want to be alone at Pat Sen Ling at night. I have two hours of running the dark over the Hong Kong side. I put my timing and run whole day and finished it wasn’t dark yet.

TRAILME: What’s your next race?

Kimmy: Originally it was OXFAM TrailWalker but again it is cancelled.

TRAILME: What has been your most memorable trail running experience?

Kimmy: If in Hong Kong, it was the HK4in4 Challenge last year who is organized by Andre Bloomberg. Where you can just go to the start point and start. It was very memorable because it was challenging race where you start in Lantau Trail, then Wilson Trail, Hong Kong Trail then finished on Maclehose Trail for 4 four consecutive days during Christmas time. I have to wake up 4’oclock in the morning in four consecutive days. I joined this challenge last year with my boyfriend Tony.

TRAILME: How do you keep yourself updated with upcoming race information? 

Kimmy: I have many friends whom I discussed about the races, and we can also see some upcoming event in TrailMe app.

TRAILME: Do you use any sports apps or wearables when you go trail running

Kimmy: Yes, I use Garmin.

TRAILME: Any words of advice for other runners out on the trail?

Kimmy: Just train when are in good condition and enjoy the race even it’s a virtual race.