Satlas
2025 · November 5 · 2 minute read
For years I’ve been exploring and cataloguing remote benches I’d come across. It always seemed whenever I found myself in the most remote and surreal of places—there it would be: a lone park bench. Inviting me to take a moment, get comfortable, and enjoy the view.
About 5 years ago I started documenting them more deliberately. First in a photo album and then a Google map. Some friends took interest, and soon we were going on “bench trips”. Meandering through national parks, surveying coastlines, getting lost in cities, and scouring forums to find the next lovingly placed bench.
After a few years of casual exploration, I thought I had a pretty solid mental bench map. Then I stumbled upon the IG account Bay Area Benches. That account both humbled me and made me feel deeply seen. I was not alone! This man took benches to whole nother level.
Some favorite sits in the Bay Area
In February, with the inklings of a market underserved and equipped with the hubris that AI could turn any dream into reality, I decided the time was ripe for building an app for bench enthusiasts. My ambitions were expansive. It would work on any platform. It would work offline (for those off-the-grid bushwhacking excursions). It would gently alert you to a nearby bench (for that roadtrip or city flâneur). It would be the everything app—for benches. And I’d call it Satlas: an atlas of sits. In November I was ready to submit my over-engineered all-in-one bench app to the app stores.
I tried, and failed, to market Satlas. But in my attempts to reach out to fellow enthusiasts I discovered a thriving community I hadn’t known existed. There was Benches of Portland, Great Benches of Switzerland, Rate this Bench, World of Benches, More Than Just Benches (it’s just benches), Benches Be Crazy (they seem well-adjusted to me). On and on it went. Hundreds of accounts of exclusively bench content, and I reached out to them all. “Check out this dedicated app for your niche interest fellow compatriot!”
Though the marketing didn’t take off, I’ll still maintain Satlas for me and my friends. Maybe a person reading this will find a beautiful sit they wouldn’t have otherwise, or decide to share one of their own. I’ll forever hold out hope for some stranger to tell me: “I met my wife on Satlas!” Until then, if you want to find or share a beautiful place to sit, you can find Satlas here
