RAWDAWG running club inspires young people to find community in active ways – The Daily Texan

Instead of looking for their soulmate for life in a bar at 2 a.m., young people should try running three kilometers at 8 a.m. to find their dream partner – at least that’s the belief of the viral RAWDAWG Run Club.

Four fitness fanatics and friends Tin Nguyen, Ian Fonz, Noah Rolette and Darren Belasa founded the RAWDAWG Run Club in February this year. The run club went viral on Instagram a few months ago because of comedic videos promoting the club as an alternative to online dating. The account now has over 50,000 followers on Instagram. The runners meet weekly on Saturday mornings in Sammataro. Since the first meeting that launched RAWDAWG’s weekly Saturday runs, the club’s membership has grown from 30 to over 700 people.

“Every week it got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Nguyen said. “We posted on (the founding members’) Instagram and on (the RAWDAWG account). And before you knew it, it just unfolded before our eyes.”

Nguyen said the running club started as a fun activity among friends before the group decided to take it public. As for the seemingly suggestive choice of name, Nguyen said “Raw-Dawg” represents a mindset.

“We all kind of identified with the raw dogging life,” Nguyen said. “It’s a lifestyle – not always… (you’re so) caught up in the preparation that you don’t follow through.”

Despite unanimous admiration for the name, the founders said they had considered changing it to make a more professional impression and present the club to a more diverse audience.

“We tried to think of other names, but they didn’t fit and didn’t feel authentic,” Nguyen said. “We realized that ‘Rawdawg’ is vulgar, but it will be our job to change that (stigma).”

Although the club was originally touted as a method of finding a partner, Nguyen says the founders wanted the club to be less like speed dating and more like a way to combat toxic gym culture.

“Running is so popular because it’s a social activity; you feel happy afterward and you meet new people,” Nguyen said. “All you need is … a pair of shoes.”

Final-year chemical engineering student Adiya Brakefield said running with the club motivated her to push herself to do more runs because of the lively and supportive atmosphere – and being surrounded by so many good-looking people didn’t hurt either.

“Personally, I didn’t feel like I was going to date anyone there,” Brakefield said. “But they were all really attractive. So I thought, ‘If someone comes up to me, boom, chakalaka.'”

UT alumnus Kenneth Fernandes said that before trying out the club, he was skeptical about the running club’s authenticity because of its large social media presence.

“I realized it’s more about the vibe and the social aspect than the actual running, which isn’t a bad thing,” Fernandes said. “It’s great to have a (running club) and promote health and wellness in the community.”

As the club continues to grow, the founders hope to continue to provide a fun and free environment where one can run around “sexy faces” at a sexy pace.

“We want it to be more than just a running club,” Nguyen said. “It’s a movement.”