When Walker Ferguson met Hampton Tanner the summer before their freshman year, the two Wake Forest football players immediately hit it off. Beyond having similar home lives and interests, they both knew they wanted to create something together that helped others — they just weren’t sure what it was going to be yet.
Three years later, their new wellness app “Ascend” is prepared to launch this October with a full launch expected by the end of 2024. The app uses AI-driven solutions to create personalized programs that can help users with stress relief, better sleep, meditation and more.
Meditation and mindfulness became centered in Ferguson’s life once he turned to reading as a way to find balance in managing the pressures of being a full-time student while also being a collegiate athlete. His schedule was packed so rigidly, and the weeks would go by so quickly that it felt impossible to slow life down and process anything.
“I was definitely not always grateful for everything around me before Hampton came into my life and helped me get on the path of my spiritual journey,” Ferguson said. “I’ve been able to cultivate a sense of gratitude, and my mindset has completely changed… that’s the whole reason we started this app. It was never about making a profit; we want to help as many people as possible.”
Tanner wants to emphasize the importance of breaking down barriers surrounding mental health ––– especially when it comes to meditating.
“At the core of our mission is a deep commitment to improving people’s lives,” Tanner said. “Our main goal and priority is to uproot the stigma around meditation and make meditation a powerful tool for positive transformation in every endeavor of life.”
The app’s developers are Colin Graydon and Gordon Grandbouche, who met Tanner at Georgetown University after he had transferred from Wake Forest after freshman year. Tanner originally met Graydon in a lower-level Spanish class, where they were the oldest students. He soon learned Graydon was involved with Georgetown’s Computer Science Club, and began to share his and Ferguson’s idea for the app. When Graydon connected them with Grandbouche, the planning for the app began.
Users can prompt the AI with whatever they’re personally struggling with, and the app will respond with a program that can help your current state of mind while tackling long-term goals. For instance, the app can create a sleep story that is tailored with a variety of choices of calming voices, landscapes and other features that can help users drift to sleep.
“It’s given me a way to stay calm amidst the chaos, stay grounded and level-headed and be the best version of myself in all aspects of my life,” Tanner said. “Wellness has helped me approach and overcome challenges with a calm and clear mindset, which is exactly what I want to offer to others through Ascend.”
Throughout the summer, all four of them would connect, meeting nightly online to brainstorm ideas for the app. They all eventually met in person for the first time at a Mets game in New York City this past summer.
Although the app was the friends’ brainchild, it came to fruition through the help of many others along the way — namely Cathy Pace, the former CEO of Allegacy Credit Union, and Mike Buckovich, Stan Parker and Steve Lineberger from Winston Starts.
“Honestly, my goal is to get just 1% better every day and be more grateful for everything in my life,” Ferguson said. “Just being able to pause and relax for a few moments is priceless […]. I know this app can help people do that.”
The pair is excited to see what the future holds for their app and themselves.
