In the early 1980s, Louis Stack found himself on the wrong end of double foot and knee surgery, which left him hobbling on crutches. It was a long and tough recovery for

the broken athlete but through the process he recognized how things could be done differently to help people like him regain their former selves. His vision was a ski machine – the Pro Fitter 3D Cross Trainer – which he created to help himself bounce back from his injuries.

Then in 1985, Stack got a $3,000 loan from his mother. The dilemma: to buy a luge and qualify for the Olympic team or invest in his business idea of a fitness machine that improved stability, agility and strength. His decision was the genesis of Fitter International.

“Sports medicine was a new concept in 1985 and we were the only functional integrated balance training product out there,” says Stack.

Stack and his brother, Paul, built the company out of the basement and found a strong market with coaches and athletes as well as physical therapists. The Olympic teams in the 1980s and 1990s used the machines to prepare for competition and Fitter soon outgrew the basement and evolved into the multimillion-dollar company that it is today. Stack’s wife Margaret came on

board in 1997, using her engineering background to provide clear structure and process to the ever-growing company, while Stack took over product development, sales and marketing.

It has also broadened its scope to include other wellness product lines that paved the way in the industry.

“Four times we created new industries that didn’t exist from something that no one thought really mattered yet,” says Stack.

Fitter International graduated from rehab and injury products into athletic and training equipment, family fitness and most recently Active Office products.

Trailblazing Wellness Company Fitter International Turns 30

Photo top left: Louis Stack, founder, Fitter International

Photo bottom right: Arysta Bogner using Fitter’s flagship product, the Pro Fitter 3D Cross Trainer

Anniversary30th

Fitterfirst | 30th Anniversary

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93

Diamond Wood Products would like to celebrate 10 years of partnership with Fitter International and congratulate you on your 30th Anniversary.

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As was the case early on, Stack’s foray into office furniture was born from a need to address a problem in his own life. After he quit ski racing, he relocated from the slopes to a computer workstation and hated it. Human beings were not meant to sit in one spot for eight hours a day. He quickly recognized the risks associated with the sedentary lifestyle promoted by sitting and staring at a screen, and he set out to find a solution.

Stack also saw it as an opportunity to expand his business beyond the fitness industry – an industry vying for a spot in the mere three or four hours a week people spent at the gym or working out at home. Again, Stack set out to do something different.

“Instead of fighting everyone and trying to get a piece of the action in the fitness industry, why not just change the way we work?” he says.

That’s exactly what Fitter has done. The company has a line of balls, chairs and balance boards that allow an employee to shift their weight, keep their trunk moving and engage their core muscles as they work. What Stack really wanted was to introduce a quality stand-sit desk, a concept he explored for years before meeting the people who created a product called Varidesk. This company specialized in

Halloween and Christmas decorations and sought to redo their offices with stand-sit desks but found the available options overpriced, poorly constructed or too complicated. So they designed their own. They quickly discovered they were onto something so they hit the conference circuit with their product and there they met Stack.

The two groups joined forces. Varidesk was added to Fitter International’s catalogue and the Calgary company became the exclusive Canadian distributor of this revolutionary product.

It was just what Stack had been looking for. The product sits on top of an existing desk, requires no assembly or installation, and takes less than three minutes to set up. It allows employees to quickly and easily transition from sitting to standing and back again. Best of all, Varidesk is available for a fraction of the cost of other stand-sit units.

“This product is an instantaneous solution to the whole problem of a sedentary workday, and it solves it beautifully in a cost-effective and environmental way,” Stack says.

Fitter International’s Active Office pillar provides a better way of working while promoting good posture, a healthy core and better balance. Employers are starting to realize what Stack understood a decade ago – employees who are comfortable and taking care of their bodies feel better and are more productive. That paradigm shift is in full swing. The concept of an Active Office is catching fire across Canada and is changing the way office space is conceived around the world.

“It’s about making sure our workplaces are dynamic and that they involve subtle movement around good posture both sitting and standing,” he says.

Hundreds of thousands of Varidesk products have been set up in workplaces around the globe, and over the past year the

Fitterfirst | 30th Anniversary

Above photo: Varidesk Compact Series

KEEPING YOU ON THE BALL

HarvestVI.com/Fitterfirst

CONGRATULATIONSFITTERFIRST

30YEARS!

READ MORE!

HARVEST VENTURES AND EXACT MACOLA POWERFITTERFIRST WITHFLEXIBLE, SCALABLE BUSINESS ERP SOFTWARE.

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www.hahnco.com

Hahn & Houle LLP Chartered Accountants would like to thank Fitter International Inc. for 14 years of partnership and congratulations on your 30th Anniversary!Congratulations to Fitter International

for their continued success on their 30th anniversary.

1.800.565.8132 rogersinsurance.ca

403-243-6830

www.fitter1.com

Above left: Tynan Stack, Louis and Margaret’s son, using the Bongo Board.

Above right: Louis and Margaret at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards

Fitterfirst | 30th Anniversary

Stack was a top-four finalist in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in the business to consumer category.

Active Office pillar of Fitter International has grown to represent nearly 70 per cent of the company’s total business.

For decades, Fitter International has blazed a trail in the fitness and wellness industries, and recently that innovation and success was recognized. Stack was a top-four finalist in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in the business to consumer category.

The accolades were certainly deserved. Fitter evolved from a two-man operation into a successful international corporation with 25 staff and a prime location in Ramsay. Stack has built his ideas into a world-leading functional fitness brand and continues to deliver on his promise of balance and fitness for life.

Louis Stack and his company have always been about evoking a win-win-win situation: helping customers, helping distributors and helping themselves. With a catalogue of cutting-edge products and 30 years of giving customers the means to live healthier lives at home and at work, it’s clear to see that Fitter International is winning indeed.•