We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Newman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.

Hi David, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

When I started my company 15 years ago the industry standard for jump ropes was either a 9 foot long or 10 foot long cable or cord. The flexible cords were able to be trimmed down and the excess cord material cut off. The cable ropes were not always adjustable. However, some brands did offer a sliding cable lock that allowed for adjustability. Where my approach diverged from industry norm was to offer custom cable jump ropes. We offered a fully custom experience where the customer could choose their cable length, cable weight, cable color as well as handle color. The biggest hurdle was educating our customers as to what size rope they needed. Everyone uses different technique which is the biggest determinant of your rope size. That became the driving force for our globally recognized educational content and workshops.

David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My fascination with jump ropes arose after I became involved with CrossFit training in early 2008. Jump rope is very integral part of this style of training. There are a few core skills that are required for people to learn. Recognizing that I was having a very difficult time learning some of these skills motivated me to analyze all of the working components of a jump rope and use my years as a gymnastics coach to break down the biomechanics of these skills. I then began cross-referencing the variables that either helped or hindered the learning process to developed a standardization of movement and jump rope sizing. Surprisingly, for as long as jump rope has been in existence nobody has ever thoroughly accomplished what I created in my garage.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

We decided from the beginning that we wanted to position our company as a high quality offering in the fitness space. With that we knew we were catering to consumers who valued high quality gear and were willing to spend more on a worthwhile product versus pursuing customers who were bargain value driven. That is why every single jump rope product is designed and assembled in house. We carry out extensive quality control to ensure our customers are receiving the product that lives up to the standard and legacy that our products carry in the market place. We also provide a pseudo concierge service of teaching customers proper form and technique so they can get the most use out of their new purchase.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My wife is the co-founder and co-owner of our company. When the company first operated out of our house/garage for the first 2.5 years my wife worked for the local university full time. Once the company grew to a level that required more organization and oversight my wife left her position and came to work full time at Rx. She runs the operational/administrative side of the business while I deal more with product development, marketing and strategic partnerships. We are very fortunate to have a successful marriage as well as operate a successful business together. The key is we both understand and respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses in the business and support each other fully.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rxsmartgear.com
• Instagram: @rxsmartgear
• Facebook: @rxsmartgear
• Twitter: @rxsmartgear
• Youtube: @rxsmartgear