Meta layoffs leave superfit users in mourning

Tencia Benavidez, a paranormal user who lives in New Mexico, started VR workouts during the COVID pandemic. She’s become a regular user in the five years since, and describes being able to work out in VR as ideal, since she lives in a rural area where it’s difficult to get to a gym or work out outside during the harsh winter. I stuck with Supernatural because of the community and the dedication of the Supernatural coaches.

“They seem like genuine individuals who don’t talk down to you,” Benavidez says. “There’s something really special about these coaches.”

Meta bought Supernatural in 2022, integrating it into its then-heavily invested efforts. The purchase was not a smooth process, as it sparked a long legal battle in which the US Federal Trade Commission attempted to prevent Meta from purchasing the service due to antitrust concerns about Meta trying to “buy its way to the top” in the VR market. Meta prevailed in the end. At the time, some Supernatural users were cautiously optimistic, hoping that a slew of ZuckerBacks could keep the workout juggernaut afloat.

“Mita fought the government to buy this thing,” Benavidez says. “All this just to shut it down? What’s the point?”

I reached out to Meta and Supernatural, and neither responded to my requests for comment.

Waking up to ash and dust

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Meta has laid off more than 1,000 people across its virtual reality and metaverse efforts. The move comes after years of the company bleeding billions of dollars on its Metaverse products. In addition to laying off most of the employees at Supernatural, Meta has shut down three in-house VR studios that made games like this Resident Evil 4 and Deadpool VR.

“If it had been about the bottom line, I think they could have charged more money,” Geoff Johnson says of Supernatural. “I think people would have paid for that. This seems needlessly heartless.”

There is a division in the community about who will stay and continue to pay the subscription fee and who will leave. Supernatural has over 3,000 lessons available on the service, so even though no new content is being added, some feel there is a lot of content left in the library. Other users are concerned about how Supernatural continues to license music from big-name bands.

“‘Supernatural’ is amazing, but I’m canceling it for that reason,” Chip told me. “The library is large, so there’s enough to keep you busy, but not at the same price.”

There are other VR workout experiences like FitXR or even the basic VR experience Saber wonfrom which the Supernatural family draws many design concepts. However, they do not reach the same level for many supernatural believers.

“I’m going to keep working until they turn the lights off on us,” says Stephanie Wong, a Bay Area accountant who has used Supernatural since shortly after the pandemic and organized and attended meetups. “It’s not the app. It’s the community, and it’s the coaches that we really care about.”

Welcome to the new era

I tried out Supernatural’s Together feature on Wednesday, the day after the layoffs. That’s where I met Chip and Alyssa. When we were able to stop to catch our breath, we talked about the upcoming changes to the service. They played through previous sessions hosted by Jane Fonda or playlists with a mix of music that would change regularly. This series was an artist series featuring Imagine Dragons songs in their entirety.

In session, as we hit blocks while This Shirtless Man sings, recorded narrations from Supernatural coach Dwana Olsen chime in to get us excited.

“Make the most of these moments,” Olsen said as we walked away. “Use these movements to remind you of how great a life you have yet to live.”

Honestly, it was quite encouraging. And bittersweet. We finished another round, sweating, huffing and puffing. Chip, Alyssa and I had crazy fun and were ready for another round.

“Beautiful,” Alyssa said. “It’s just beautiful, isn’t it?”