Oooo, nice Chin-Up bar

Yeah, it’s just a Chin-Up bar, no moving parts, nothing real tricky.  BUT!  It snaps in and out of the Brute Rack, which allows athletes to adjust the height, which other chin-up bars don’t.  They force you to jump and catch the bar, or humiliate yourself by asking for a boost.  Since its height is adjustable, it also doubles as a dip station on the back side.  Enough to get a patent anyway…

Next:  The Jam Pad

The Brute Rack System

Now we’re starting to squeak a little Design into the equation.  In 2005 we decided to break into the strength training segment of the football market and brought a set of weight racks to the table.  What’s so special about weight racks when it seems like everyone else has them?  We designed “Monster Arms” that attach to the rack, and perform the function of several competitors’ machines.  This means more performance for less money and less space.  And it frees up floor space for more racks.  This has been well received by the industry and immediately positioned us as one of the major players.

What do I get credit for?  Mainly the look, the now signature “arch”, small finish details like the red anodized knobs that intuitively say “pull me, I’m important”, the matching grip end caps, and some “what if” ideas that got us to the final concept.

Next: A Chin-Up bar, oooooo!

The Three Read Machine

Technically this product already existed, but with the arrival of the Zone Reactor, we wanted to redesign the Three Read Machine to fit the same sled base, and clean up the look some.  It was pretty rough originally.

Next:  The Brute Rack System

My Products – Zone Reactor

To bring this blog up to date and to show the evolution of design at Rogers Athletic since I’ve worked here, we’ll go through the products I’ve had a part in and seen to production, somewhat chronologically.

1) The Zone Reactor:  This “sled” has a head that the coach can move back and forth to get players to react to their opponent as they drive.  It’s not the prettiest machine, but 4 years ago Design itself didn’t have much sway with the company.  That being said, it was an eye opener to the manufacturing process, and there were a lot of “looks great” comments, which I found surprising.  You might too, until you see what else there was to compare it to.

Next: The Three Read Machine

The Pendulum Line

The Designer’s Underground

This is just a random test post to see how things will look on the blog.  I plan to use this blog as my personal design journal, with thoughts on design, cool ideas, and probably some of my work as it comes about.