Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Sites.
Jeremy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I always played sports when I was a kid and through high school, I played varsity football and ran track. Strength training and weightlifting were a huge part of maintaining my physique as an athlete. When I went to college, I no longer played organized sports but I could still weight train and push myself. Unfortunately, the equipment at my college gym, as well as, the equipment at LA fitness after college, did not have weights sufficient for the types of exercises I wanted to do. This is more about the product than myself, but HexBumper was born from a need to solve a frequently encountered problem in the gym. The weight plates in many commercial gyms these days are 12 sided “hex plates.” The non-round shape causes problems when deadlifting or power cleaning as the barbell will move unpredictably when it makes contact with the ground.
After years of either avoiding my favorite lifts or just suffering through the annoying problem with hex plates, I finally decided to do something about it. I had a prototype created of something that would essentially convert the 12 sided shape into a completely round bumper style plate. After a few months of tweaking the engineering design, the latest version of HexBumper was born. Now, powerlifters don’t have to avoid lifting or go out of their way/spend a ton of money tracking down a powerlifting gym. My Kickstarter project turned out to be a success even though I was unsure of the market or if other people recognized the problem like I did. I figured if nobody wanted it, I would have a pretty cool product I can use myself. But now, more 200 people have purchased a set/backed the project. I just completed my pilot production run so the units are hitting the market for the first time right now.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a road full of ups and downs. Of course, I was excited when people started supporting the project whether it was financially or by sharing it on social media. Got a ton of great support from people all over the country and even people abroad that they would love to use this product. However, the reality of the timetables at the manufacturing level is something I was unprepared for. Creating the tool/mold for HexBumpers took longer than expected as well as production. I related my best guesses to customers based on estimates given to me, and they always seem to take much longer. If I would do it again I would make sure to give conservative time estimates for pre-orders and backers so they have a more realistic expectation of when to see the product. You learn from experience!
HexBumper – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I think what sets HexBumper apart from others is the fact that this is a noble product and there is absolutely nothing like it on the market. People have gotten creative dealing with this problem over the years. We have tried using yoga mats, 5 lbs. weight to create a platform, twisting the weights so the points are not lined up straight, etc. however there was no professional solution for the problem. I think this can serve every single person who powerlifts in commercial gyms. I am most proud of finally fulfilling the orders that early supports pledged to all the way back in September! I hope that this solves the problem that so many people have dealt with for so many years.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Fulfilling the order. They are actually being shipped out this week so technically not fulfilled yet. But everything is packaged and labeled and ready to go. I cannot wait to hear people’s first reactions to seeing what they get. How it works for them, what they like and what they don’t like. Customer feedback will be huge for the next steps in the company!
Pricing:
- One set of HexBumpers is $75
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.hexbumper.com
- Email: jeremy_sites@hexbumper.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/hexbumper
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