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Forget the high-gloss gyms where bodies move like clockwork to curated playlists. In fact, scrap everything you think you know about fitness. Sekond Skin is letting new voices rewrite the rhythm.
Lee-Ann Reuber identified long-standing barriers within mainstream fitness apps and responded with innovation, creating a platform intentionally designed to welcome and support everyone. Sekond Skin is what happens when you stop asking why and start asking why not? Why not a seated strength class taught by an instructor who uses a wheelchair? Why not yoga led by someone who’s blind, with instructions so vivid they paint pictures through sound? Why not a space where people with and without disabilities move together, side by side, no hierarchy, no assumptions, just sweat, laughter and mutual respect?
Reuber built the Sekond Skin fitness app because real people kept getting left out, those whose needs never seem to make it past the brainstorming table of your average fitness app. That’s the people who roll, sign, navigate screens with screen readers, people with different ways of moving but with just as much right to move.
Her experience is rooted in years of listening with purpose and precision. For two decades she supported folks with disabilities, mental health challenges, developmental needs and every intersection in between. But even more than that, she’s built trust. She’s had hundreds of conversations that were not about what the market wanted in a fitness app but what people needed and couldn’t find. They were tired of compromising. Sekond Skin was therefore born from lived truth.
It has full-body workouts, seated options, ASL classes, instructors of all backgrounds and an interface designed with extreme care. The app’s technology is built to be navigated by people using assistive tech. Features include adjustable captions, contrast options, and separate volume controls for music and voice . . . you can tweak the music volume separately from the instructor’s voice, adjust captions to suit your eyes and navigate it with a screen reader. But here’s the twist that really turns heads. The instructors aren’t just diverse. They are people with disabilities. Blind, deaf, autistic, wheelchair users and those with non-visible conditions . . . all standing at the front of the room, teaching movement on their terms. And yes, they’re teaching non-disabled people, too.
People who’ve been excluded from leadership in fitness are now leading it and they bring knowledge born from lived experience, not just training manuals. It changes how people think. When a non-disabled user realises halfway through a class, “Wow, my instructor is deaf,” their whole concept of ability reshapes itself. Imagine never seeing an instructor who moves like you, until one day, you press play and there they are. Moving like you do. That moment? Pure gold. And it’s unfolding every single day with Sekond Skin.
The feedback from participants? Emotional. Messages are received from folks who haven’t taken a class since their injury. People who had given up on group movement because they couldn’t find a single space that welcomed them fully. People who’d never seen themselves reflected in a fitness space until now.
You won’t find a one-size-fits-all class with this app. Every class comes in multiple versions: full-body, seated with or without lower-body movement, and one in American Sign Language. You can even stream two versions side by side. That means you and your mate, your mum, your colleague, or your caregiver can take the same class at the same time, in the way that fits you. Imagine doing yoga on the floor while your best mate next to you follows a seated version, both of you watching side by side. No more awkward compromises. No more “you do yours over there and I’ll do mine here.” This is shared experience. Real community.
Launched only a few months ago, it is already humming with momentum. And members co-create because Reuber and her team are still listening. They’re adding features, bringing in new modalities (dance, boxing, meditation), and working on AI-powered personalization. Think: your app knows how you feel today and can tailor a class just for you. Think: speed it up, slow it down, quiet the music, amplify the voice. Make it yours.
And this isn’t only for the user on the mat. It’s being built for the curious, the learning, the hesitant. That includes people who are just now exploring what inclusion really means which is why Sekond Skin is taking its time with the social side. There’s no built-in community forum yet, but it’s coming. They want it done right. It will be a space where people can connect, share and ask questions without fear of judgment or bias. A place built to be safe, well-moderated, and open to learning. Lee-Ann knows this can’t be rushed. True inclusion takes time, intention and a boatload of listening. That’s why the platform is being shaped with its users, not for them.
Let’s talk about cost: 20 bucks a month or 200 for the year. Not bad for something that might just change your relationship with your body. The app’s currently mobile-first, with plans for a web version soon. And if you’re wondering, yes, it works on both Android and iPhone.
Sekond Skin is many things: A fitness app, a tool for change and a beautifully crafted space where difference is something to celebrate. And it’s only just getting started. If you’ve ever felt like the world of fitness had a door you couldn’t quite open, consider this your personal invitation to enter. No knocks required. Just walk, roll, wheel or tap right in.
Because movement belongs to everyone and this time, nobody’s getting left out.
Sekond Skin is many things: A fitness app, a tool for change and a beautifully crafted space where difference is something to celebrate. And it’s only just getting started. If you’ve ever felt like the world of fitness had a door you couldn’t quite open, consider this your personal invitation to enter. No knocks required. Just walk, roll, wheel or tap right in.
Because movement belongs to everyone and this time, nobody’s getting left out.