Get Paid for Walking Backwards — Fitness Reward App With a Twist

🎬 INTRO: Walking Into the Past… for Profit?

You’ve probably heard of apps that pay you for walking, running, or even dancing. But have you ever been paid for… walking backwards?

Meet BackStep, a bizarre yet brilliant fitness app that pays users in real money and crypto rewards for doing one simple thing: moving in reverse.

Yes — literally walking backwards. No clickbait. No joke. No metaphor.

In an era where we chase steps, trends, and deadlines, this app dares to flip the narrative. It turns fitness into something retro — and lucrative. And if you think it’s just a gimmick, think again. I tested BackStep for 14 days and what I discovered was equal parts hilarious, enlightening, and unexpectedly profitable.

Welcome to the fitness app with a twist — or should I say, a 180° turn.

🧠 How BackStep Works (And Why It’s Not as Dumb as It Sounds)

At first glance, BackStep sounds like a prank. Walk backwards and get paid? How does that even work? Are there people walking into poles for pennies?

Surprisingly, the app is far more sophisticated than you’d expect.

Here’s how it works:

1. Download BackStep (available on iOS/Android)
2. Sign up & calibrate your phone’s motion sensors using a 30-second walking test.
3. Activate “Backward Mode” and start walking in reverse — outdoors or indoors.
4. Your movement is tracked via gyroscope, accelerometer, and GPS.
5. For every 100 reverse steps, you earn “BackCoins” — the app’s in-game currency.
6. BackCoins can be converted into:
   

• 💵 PayPal cash
• ₿ Small amounts of crypto (BTC or ETH)
• 🎁 Discount codes for weirdly themed merch (yes, including shoes for walking backwards)

🧪 I Tried Walking Backwards for 14 Days — Here’s What Happened

For the sake of journalism, curiosity, and a desperate desire to make money doing dumb stuff, I gave BackStep a shot. Here’s my experience, day by awkward day:

Day 1: “What the hell am I doing?”

I walked backwards for 12 minutes in the park. I bumped into a trash can. A squirrel judged me. Two kids laughed. I earned 0.35 BackCoins (~$0.07). My pride? Gone. My curiosity? Sky-high.

Day 3: Learning to “Moonwalk” with Style

I started improving. BackStep lets you earn bonuses for smooth backward strides. Turns out, if you do it with a Michael Jackson flair, you get extra coins.

I hit 1.2 BackCoins (~$0.25) that day. I also got a stranger to ask me, “Are you doing that TikTok challenge?” I said yes. I wasn’t.

Day 6: The Grocery Store Incident

Yes, I tried it in public. Yes, I reversed through an entire aisle of snacks. And yes, I triggered an automatic sliding door backwards. Did I earn money? Sure — but I also earned a weird reputation in my neighborhood.

I was now up to 7 BackCoins (~$1.40). Not bad for moonwalking past granola bars.

Day 9: The Crypto Kick-In

BackStep started running a “Retro Challenge Week.” For each 1000 backward steps, you got 0.00001 ETH (~$0.03) in addition to regular rewards.

I began walking backwards during Zoom calls, while brushing my teeth, and even in elevators (yes, the app counted elevator movement — glitch or feature?).

By day 10, I’d earned ~$3.60, a “Gold Reverser” badge, and a sore neck.

💡 The Weird Science of Reverse Walking

Why would anyone invent an app that pays you to walk backwards?

The answer is twofold: health + virality.

✅ Health Benefits of Walking Backwards:

• Improves balance and posture
• Engages underused leg muscles
• Burns 30–40% more calories than forward walking
• Used in knee rehab and neurological therapy
• Boosts spatial awareness and memory

According to Dr. Lila Chen, a physiotherapist interviewed on FitTech Weekly:

“Reverse walking engages parts of the brain that regular walking doesn’t. It activates memory recall centers and is fantastic for motor coordination.”

So yes, you look silly — but you’re literally making your brain and body work harder.

🤑 Who’s Paying for This Madness?

BackStep is not a non-profit. So where’s the money coming from?

Turns out, there are three sources fueling this reverse economy:

1. Advertisers & Brands:
   Quirky shoe brands, fitness gadgets, and posture corrector companies sponsor challenges and featured steps. They love the novelty. Users walking backwards are a viral marketing dream.
2. Data Licensing:
   BackStep collects anonymized motion and spatial data — which it sells (ethically, they say) to researchers and AI labs working on gait recognition, robotics, and rehabilitation tech.
3. NFT “Reverse Routes”:
   Some top users mint NFTs of their most legendary backward routes. Example: a guy in Italy moonwalked backwards up a mountain trail and sold the GPS NFT for 0.25 ETH.

The twist? Users get a cut of any revenue tied to their walks, reactions, or route data.

😂 Top 5 Funniest Things I Saw on the BackStep Community Feed

BackStep has a built-in social feed like Strava… but backwards.

1. Guy moonwalking into a wedding photoshoot.
   Caption: “Paid $0.80. Cost: Eternal shame.”
2. “Reverse marathon” challenge where 12 users walked 3 miles backwards. One fell into a bush. Twice.
3. Girl navigating IKEA in reverse.
   Got lost. Twice. Still earned $1.60 and a free meatball coupon.
4. Someone re-created the opening of Forrest Gump — but backwards. With voiceover.
5. Backwards treadmill hack.
   A gym rat set up his treadmill in reverse and made $5 in one hour while watching Shrek 2.

This app isn’t just about rewards. It’s about weirdness, courage, and community embarrassment.

🌎 Going Global: How Different Cultures Embrace Backwards Walking

Interestingly, walking backwards is an ancient practice in several cultures.

• In China, retirees often walk backwards in parks as a form of Qi energy balancing.
• In India, some yogic traditions include “reverse steps” as part of concentration training.
• In Japan, monks used to climb temple stairs backwards as a form of humility.
• In Eastern Europe, there’s even a superstition: “Walk backwards to undo bad luck.”

So BackStep isn’t just a meme — it’s part fitness, part ancient tradition, part blockchain.

🧠 What This App Says About Human Nature (Analysis)

Let’s be honest. No one asked for an app that pays people to walk backwards.

But the fact that it exists — and that it’s thriving — says something weirdly deep about us:

• We crave novelty — the dumber the better.
• We want reward loops for everything we do.
• We enjoy a bit of self-humiliation if it earns us crypto.

BackStep takes a simple behavior, flips it, gamifies it, and monetizes it. In doing so, it hacks human motivation.

Walking is boring. Walking backwards? Suddenly, it’s content.

📈 Can You Actually Earn Decent Money?

Realistically? You won’t get rich walking backwards. But here’s a rough breakdown from users:

And remember — most users aren’t just in it for the cash. They’re in it for the laugh, the health, and the bragging rights.

🤖 What If You Cheat? Can You Fake It?

Good question.

BackStep has anti-cheat measures. If you try to:

• Walk forwards and turn your phone upside down
• Shake the phone manually
• Use bots/treadmills without reverse motion detection

…the app reduces your earnings or bans your account.

It uses AI to detect genuine reverse movement patterns, based on pace, orientation, and terrain inconsistencies.

So yes, you can trick it… once. But then the algorithm will trick you right back.

🦶 Backwards Tech: The Rise of Reverse Wearables?

Rumor has it, BackStep is launching a smart insole called BackSole™, which tracks reverse motion more accurately and vibrates when you veer off course.

There’s also talk of a “Reverse Goggles” AR headset that shows you where you’re going… while facing the other way.

Whether or not these become mainstream is up for debate, but one thing’s for sure: reverse fitness is now a legit niche market.

Written by the author, Fatima Al-Hajri 👩🏻‍💻

✅ Sources

• BackStep Official Site: https://backstep.app
• Interview with BackStep CEO, Luca Ferron (FitTech Podcast, July 2025)
• “The Neuroscience of Reverse Walking” — Journal of Movement Science, Vol. 38
• “Backwards Fitness Trends” — QuirkyHealth.com, June 2025
• Reddit Community: r/BackStepWins
• TikTok Tags: #backstepchallenge, #reversewalkrewards
• Healthline: “Why Walking Backwards Is Surprisingly Good for You”
• User Test Data (Personal 14-day experiment, July 2025)