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Meet Maurizio Tangari of Hydrocore in La Jolla

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Maurizio Tangari.

Maurizio, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to San Diego in 2013 after having been an owner of a bed and breakfast in my home town of Vieste in Italy. My wife whom I met in Italy, was American and after she became pregnant, we decided that we wanted to give birth in the USA. Our daughter had some heart problems and needed open heart surgery when she was born, it was at this moment that I realized that I needed to sell my bed and breakfast and move to San Diego permanently. As a foreigner in a new country with no job, I realized that being a personal trainer was the best thing I could do for myself and our family. My daughter is my hero and she inspires me every day, gives me strength and energy. She definitely gave me a more positive way to look in life. Amazing how in just 24 hours after surgery she asked to stand up and walk, she definitely taught me a big lesson. After few years in USA, I realized that being a personal trainer for the rest of my life was not really what I want to do and I started developing an idea for a new fitness piece of equipment, HydroCore https://www.hydrocore.world. 

I always believed my invention was a great idea and never for one moment I gave up on pursuing my dream of one day seeing my invention on the fitness market. It was a long way full of negative people telling me all the time that was a stupid idea and no one will invest on it. You will be surprised of how much negativity comes first from the people so close to you, family members and friends. When I started working on HydroCore, I had no idea what I was doing, I had no experience on product development or how to negotiate or get on touch with investors, but this never stopped me on educate myself and research how to do so. Finally in October 2019 right before the pandemic after almost three years on working on my project, I was able to put my invention on the market, thanks to ONNIT, a fitness company owned from famous ex MMA fighter Joe Rogan, he also run one of the most listened podcasts Joe Rogan Experience. Since October, we have been sold out for the 4th time in less than 48 hours and my product was awarded from Men’s Health Magazine, Best Strength Tool 2020. HydroCore is also connected to HydroReach Project, basically, we will use a slightly different model of HydroCore to help people in 3rd world countries to transport and filter water. https://www.hydrocore.world/hydroreachproject

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely understand more about the process of developing a good product was not simple, I had to design more than 15 prototypes in 3 years before I had finally the one I like it. At the begin I was very discouraged and frustrated when I was showing my idea to different companies, can’t count anymore how many times they told me that was a stupid idea, but probably cause of all this negativity I became more stubbier and I convinced myself that I had really nothing to lose.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Hydrocore story. Tell us more about the business.
At a young age, I started competing in professional windsurfing and then began to kite surf professionally as well. My friends and I started developing kite surfing videos and other educational programs, but a shoulder injury sidelined me and I had to stop competing. With doctors telling me I needed surgery and that my kite surfing days were over, I started looking for other possible rehabilitation methods in lieu of surgery. That is when I came across an old video with a Russian guy performing the Turkish Get-up with a kettlebell. The following day I ordered some kettlebells and started practicing. Using the Turkish Get-up I started noticing that my shoulder had improved dramatically, I was able to lift more weight and extend it upwards completely; within three months, the pain was completely gone! That is why I started doing research on more dynamic multi-plane exercises. I started using the Bulgarian Bag, Clubbell, Macebell, and that is when I also started to incorporate a full body calisthenics workout into my routine. Personal training was never something I intended to do, but eventually, I started this workout group called the “House of Pain” which was a fully organized unconventional workout on the beach Vieste, my hometown in south Italy. After ten years here, I’m in USA teaching people how to move better using very unconventional training tools, teaching on how to better move the body before loading the body. HydroCore is a very unique water-filled piece of equipment. Water dynamics provide a whole new training stimulus. It’s this water motion, a moving mass inside a mass, that’s the key. In fact, studies have demonstrated an increase in muscle fiber recruitment when compared with an equal amount of static weight performing the same number of repetitions. A dynamic, unstable training environment being manipulated by the upper extremities has real-life application. Instead of standing on an unstable surface and manipulating a stable object, by standing on a stable surface and manipulating an unstable object there is greater environmental similarity and thereby greater opportunity for transference into activities of daily living and sports performance. By utilizing HydroCore technology, it is possible to work instability throughout a full range of motion in routines that engage the entire body, mimicking real-life situations far more than static weights such as dumbbells. Moving HydroCore not only does it require a force to start it moving, but also an equal and opposite force to stop it from moving, or to change the direction of the movement. Most significantly, due to water dynamics, the inherent force of the water, which is also moving, stopping and starting at its own speed, creates a “double” eccentric deceleration. The first deceleration is used to stop the movement of the object itself, the second to keep the object in the desired position or path as the water keeps moving inside the object. One of the other advantages of HydroCore is the adjustability factor. One piece of equipment can be appropriate for many different strength and fitness levels. All that needs to be done is to increase or decrease the amount of water — so simple! Shipping costs are also significantly less — since the equipment is sold empty, it’s lighter to ship. Aside from biomechanics, costs and adjustability, HydroCore advantage lies in the fun-factor. The moment you get your hands on HydroCore, it feels more like play than work! The dynamic movement of water is engaging. HydroCore changes the game of functional training and puts the fun back in functional! HydroCore is a unique training system that is accessible to people of all fitness levels as well as experienced fitness enthusiasts. The HydroCore system is one of the most versatile and innovative pieces of training equipment around today. Despite being portable.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe in good vibes and positive energy, If you are good to someone eventually someone else will be good to you. You can call it good luck or karma, but at the end we all need to be positive and smile. Is so simple if you think about.. I started traveling around the world when I was age 16, I dropped school cause my parents had no money to send me to college and I could not see a future for me in a small town in south Italy. The first person that encouraged me to do so was my Grandfhater, he was an Italian American immigrant, he worked in Germany in a coil mine and after he moved to USA to work.. I remember he told me always to smile, be kind and learn how to speak new languages. Those advice really helped me, being kind most of the time helped me to get a free meal and a place to sleep. It was not to hard for me to translate all this lifetime experience into business, I believe in teamwork and good attitude and I can see how this totally help my business to be more successful.

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