Why I built HobbyMate
A couple of years ago I landed in Sydney with two suitcases and zero mates. And like every European who's ever moved here, I went straight to Bondi. This place was everything I'd hoped for. Sunny arvos, ocean swims before work, a pretty good flat white on every corner. But I worked out pretty quickly that a beautiful place feels a bit empty when there's no one to share it with.
I tried everything. Dating apps, social apps, group chats. Loads of ways to be "connected" and hardly any ways to actually hang out with someone.
Then I met Jason, who lives a few doors down from me in Bondi. He'd been surfing Bondi for years, and I'd been watching the surfers there every morning, wishing I could join them. Turns out he'd always wanted to learn Italian, which happens to be my first language. So we did a swap. He took me out on the board, I taught him how to order a proper coffee in Italian. The first full sentence he ever said in Italian was "Buongiorno, posso avere un po' di zucchero?" 😄
No money changed hands. We just had something the other one wanted to learn. And somewhere between the lessons, we became good mates.
That got me thinking. Every street in Sydney is full of people who know how to do something brilliant, and people who'd love to learn it. They just never meet.
That's what HobbyMate is for. Find someone nearby who's into what you're into, swap what you know, and go do it together. Less time on your phone, more time at the beach, in the kitchen, or wherever your thing happens.
If you're new in town, keen to pick up something new, or just after someone to share your hobby with, I reckon you'll find your people here. I did.
— Olmo Biancardi, founder