A Michigan grad who had never built a mobile app made an AI lifting coach app that brings in about $14K to $15K a month
Max Hirsch built Maxed AI with Claude Code in about six months, charges a flat yearly fee, and grew it with his own daily videos.
Subject: Maxed AI (Max Hirsch)iOS fitness app with a hard paywall and a single upfront yearly subscription
Case Overview & Background
Max Hirsch graduated from the University of Michigan after summer internships in finance that he says he did not enjoy. After an earlier app idea stalled because he could not code, he saw people with no coding background shipping apps and started building with Claude. Lifting was his favorite hobby, so he built Maxed AI, an all-in-one lifting and health app. He says it has about 1,000 active subscribers, 20,000 iOS downloads and brings in roughly $14,000 to $15,000 a month.
How AI Is Used
Step-by-Step Process
He chose lifting, knowing there were many competitors, because he saw no single unified app the way runners have Strava.
With minimal coding experience he built the app with Claude, using Supabase, Vercel, Expo and RevenueCat around it.
On advice from a more experienced app builder, he dropped the free, ad-supported plan and charges $24.99 a year upfront.
He posts five to ten videos a day, studies hold and skip rates, and runs the best ones as paid ads.
Customer Acquisition & Distribution
Limitations, Risks & Failure Modes
What may not apply to you, and what could go wrong:
- The figures are self-reported and were not independently checked
- Revenue is before ad spend of around $250 a day, so profit is not disclosed
- Fitness and lifting apps are a crowded category
- The business is about six months old
Key Takeaways
- AI coding tools let a non-developer ship a paid app in months
- A simple upfront yearly price can work instead of relying on forgotten subscriptions
- Filming your own content is a low-cost way to find ad angles that work
Sources
Starter Story: I make $13K/month from this simple app
Note: Video interview with transcript. States the nearly $14,000 over 28 days and $14,000 to $15,000 a month figures, the $24.99 yearly price, 1,000 active subscribers, the Claude build, the AI coach and the marketing approach.
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