How Freemotion from iFIT is pushing the limits of ‘what’s next?’ and revolutionizing new and better ways to move.
In 1999, Freemotion Fitness — formerly known as Ground Zero Designs — introduced the concept and application of functional training to the masses.
The company was founded by Roy Simonson, and sold to ICON Health & Fitness in 2000. Simonson’s goal was to create cable-based weight stack machines, which made it possible to train in multiple planes.
Following the introduction of cable-based strength training, Freemotion continued to lead in the industry as they presented the incline trainer, the world’s first road-simulating bike and began integrating touch-screen technology into cardio equipment.
Today, Freemotion is powered as a subsidiary of iFIT Health & Fitness, a world leader in integrated fitness technology, whose family of industry-leading brands also includes NordicTrack, ProForm, Weider and Sweat. iFIT provides unrivaled coverage across brand, price and product, meeting over 8 million members whenever and wherever to help them explore the world, elevate their fitness and change their lives.
Mark Watterson, the CEO of iFIT Commercial, has always had a passion for health, fitness and changing lives. Ever since he was a collegiate athlete, he knew he wanted to turn it into a career. He did just that when he joined iFIT — formerly known as ICON Health and Fitness — as a procurement manager in 2008.
“My role in procurement laid a solid foundation as I focused on working with overseas suppliers to source products and build vendor relationships,” said Watterson. “It also allowed me to utilize my other passion — a love of tech and fitness — by being able to think about what the future of the fitness industry looked like in a more digitally-integrated era.”
Watterson put this love for fitness to practice by sourcing the first Android tablet used in fitness equipment, setting the concept of fitness technology into motion.
“That passion for technology led to me playing a central role in launching iFIT, our integrated fitness platform, that creates a seamless connection between software, interactive hardware and experiential content,” said Watterson.
Today, the vision of Freemotion and iFIT is to be the world’s most effective fitness platform, with a mission to help athletes live a longer, healthier life through habit-forming fitness.
“We execute our vision and mission by doing what others aren’t doing — innovating in every category. We create hardware and software solutions that support acquisition, engagement and retention of members,” said Watterson. “Our strategy is to help our partners pivot from a traditional brick-and-mortar approach to fitness. We want them breaking down the four walls of a facility and engaging with members anytime — in the club, at home or on-the-go — through our interactive digital platform.”
The digital ecosystem created through iFIT is unique in the commercial fitness space, empowering exercisers with more choices, greater flexibility and an elevated fitness experience.
Its comprehensive selection of on-demand content ranges from studio-based classes to global content, which allows users to explore the pyramids of Egypt, ride through the breathtaking islands of French Polynesia and summit Mount Everest.
“iFIT-powered equipment provides a multi-layered, immersive experience that elevates engagement and retention for facility owners and operators,” said Watterson. “Once a member experiences the auto-adjusting technology that matches the terrain they see displayed on-screen, they’re hooked. And with tens of thousands of immersive, interactive and on-demand workouts available at the touch of a button on the iFIT platform, they will stay hooked.”
Additionally, iFIT is keeping members coming back for more by ensuring the best people are behind making the best product.
Watterson said iFIT Health & Fitness has placed significant focus on strengthening Freemotion as the commercial arm of its family of brands. With a continued focus on building its best-in-class product, quality and service, Freemotion has made several key leadership appointments as they have set big goals for the upcoming fiscal year.
These appointments include:
Chuck Fedorka, Vice President of Operation: With extensive experience in the fitness industry, and over 30 years in sales and operations management, Fedorka has been an important addition to the Freemotion business, focusing on building world-class products and customer experiences.
Adam Guier, Vice President of Sales for North America: With over 20 collective years spent in various sales leadership and business development positions, Guier’s experience will be valuable as they focus on expanding current, and building new, club and vertical partnerships.
Tom Sweigart, Director of Member Care: Sweigart brings to Freemotion experience building world-class service and operations teams, having worked with iFIT for more than three years prior. His focus is to engage with stakeholders and drive results, providing best-in-class product and service experiences for partners.
Other appointments include Teresa Glauser, the new eastern region sales manager, Terry Davenport as the vice president of quality for the larger iFIT organization and Erik Richardson as the head of quality for Freemotion. These additions join a world-class sales and operations team and will continue to drive a commitment to unmatched product quality and customer experiences.
“The opportunity for continued growth and expansion is incredibly encouraging for the Freemotion brand,” said Watterson. “We’re seeing strong growth in all market segments including club facilities, YMCAs/JCCs, corporate, education, hospitality and multi-family markets as well as our expansion into our unique digital content partnership, offerings with many secured partnerships, showing great initial success.”
Overall, what started as a pursuit to solve a problem has grown into an ever-evolving force to provide people with the freedom of movement. Since its inception, the brand has been fueled by a passion for innovation, growth and providing solutions to elevate every fitness journey.
“Freemotion is focused on innovation,” said Watterson. “And it’s inspiring to be part of a team that’s constantly pushing the limits of ‘what’s next?’ and revolutionizing new and better ways to move. The opportunity to be part of Freemotion at such an exciting period of growth is certainly a highlight of my career thus far. I am optimistic about the future of the brand and the team driving results.”
