Today we’d like to introduce you to David Newman.
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Rx Smart Gear started as a hobby out of my garage in late 2008. After I got involved with CrossFit, I quickly learned I needed to become proficient jumping ropes and more specifically learning double unders. I was having a horrible time developing any consistency learning that skill. I tried to solve it by buying different jump ropes without a clue of what I was really looking for. It wasn’t until I used my background coaching high-level gymnastics that I took a step back to analyze all of the variables involved with performing double unders that I started tinkering with making jump ropes. That’s when I realized there were some identifiable metrics of the jump rope that if customized to suit me personally could improve my learning curve. I also examined the biomechanics of a double under and focused on the most efficient points of performance to enhance mastery of that movement.
After much trial and error making jump ropes in my garage then trying them out in the gym with my training partners I eventually came up with the concept of the Rx Jump Rope. Which was the first custom-tailored jump rope to fit the person’s height and skill level. Those were the key components to starting someone off with the best possible jump rope to ensure success. Along with that, I also developed the Rx Method which focused on the most fundamental movements to create a foundation and philosophy to jump rope properly and efficiently.
Fast forward over a decade later and Rx Smart Gear has three patented speed ropes one of which is award-winning. We are the Official Jump Rope partner to 5 Olympic teams including USA Boxing, USA Wrestling, USA Judo, USA Kickboxing and USA Functional Fitness. Rx Speed Ropes are used by the three winningest Champions of the CrossFit Games in all three divisions of Mens, Womens and Team. In fact, over the past decade 54 out of the 72 Podium finishers at the CrossFit Games use Rx Ropes. Rx jump ropes are favored by multiple celebrity fitness trainers, professional athletes, members of military special warfare, police, fire and first responders as well as everyday fitness enthusiasts. We even invented the first adaptive jump rope for people missing an upper limb and used by Professional Surfer Bethany Hamilton.
Rx Smart Gear continues to develop new and creative ways to help people elevate their fitness whether it’s through training tools that help people jump rope more efficiently or with their inflatable plyo box or inflatable jump rope mat. Both of which protects joints from high volume impacts and reduces injury due to mishaps. You can bet there are more fun products coming.
Rx Smart Gear is a small company owned and operated by David and Susan Newman. We have approximately 20 employees whose positions include admin, customer service, marketing, social media, warehouse production team, shipping, and product assembly. All jump rope products are manufactured locally and sold globally primarily through our online store. However, we do have a physical store where people can come in and get personally fit with a custom jump rope and receive some jump rope training in our dedicated gym facility attached to the store.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The beginning of our journey was a little chaotic as this was never intended to be a commercial business. This was simply a personal passion project to try and resolve my own issues. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would make a living selling jump ropes. But luck and timing prevailed and the market pulled us to the front line demanding more of what I invented in my little garage.
The biggest challenges in the beginning was learning how to scale up production, improve systems and processes to manufacture the jump ropes, find capable bodies to help keep up with the growing demand. These were all great problems to have and forced us to think fast and be creative keep the machine going. We operated out of our home and garage for the first 2 1/2 years with 10 employees coming in daily to help get orders built and shipped out. We eventually moved into a 4000 square foot warehouse near Gillespie field that grew to 7500 square feet within six months. Within a year and a half, we were occupying 15,000 square feet, housed a small fleet of Sprinter Vans and Box trucks, employed 25 employees. We were traveling the globe attending Fitness Expos and CrossFit events training customers and selling jump ropes.
Eventually, the market flattened out and the competition grew with new manufacturers and knock offs from China coming out of the woodworks. We then found ourselves spending tens of thousands of dollars a year in legal fees trying to keep all of the copycats at bay. We also had to start learning how to use digital marketing which was new for us. We were very involved with social media but never had to market in the early days. We only had to fill orders. Word of mouth was our best resource for marketing back then. As well as the top athletes in the world using our gear. We eventually got up to speed on these tasks and managed to remain the top manufacturer of premium speed ropes.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Rx Smart Gear started as a garage hobby and grew into a world-renowned Fitness equipment manufacturer and training educator. The root of our mission has always been to create solutions that will allow everyone to fully express their fitness potential and enjoy a healthy active lifestyle. The products we develop are always of the highest quality materials and craftsmanship. However it’s the idea that results rule that sets us apart from all other companies. If our products do not produce the best results then we will keep at it until they do or never release it to the marketplace.
Contact Info:
- Email: dnewman@rxsmartgear.com
- Website: www.rxsmartgear.com
- Instagram: @rxsmartgear
- Facebook: @rxsmartgear
- Twitter: @rxsmartgear
- Youtube: Rx Smart Gear
Image Credits:
Richwell Correa Studios @richwellcorrea
