As the founders of PIVOT, we’ve had the luxury of having various prototypes and production versions of our product in our home for about four years now. We’ve grown so accustomed to it that it’s almost impossible to consider life without it. We have a walk-in gym almost every day of the year where everything we need is easily available, and yet when parents or friends come to stay, they sleep in a traditional bedroom on a very comfortable bed. There are no compromises and we’re getting maximum value from our home.

 

We regularly hear from our customers, whose feedback always mirrors our own feelings. They often share photos and videos of their setup, and that’s given us great insight into the typical way that PIVOT fits into a customer’s home, and life, and so I thought it would be good to share that.

 

It will surprise many to hear that PIVOT wasn’t designed as a solution for small homes. That’s the most common misconception that we hear time and again via comments on ads, when at trade shows, etc. Of course it works really well in this scenario and we have a great many customers who get out of bed every day, lift their PIVOT and workout, and return it to horizontal again that evening to sleep. However, that’s definitely not the most common scenario, though, nor is it the sweet spot – the guest bedroom is, by a long way. That’s the problem PIVOT was perfectly designed to solve.

 

The guest bedroom is a rarely used room – that's why many people refer to it as the "spare room". For most, the room is completely wasted for 99% of the time but once you have that guest bedroom, it’s not a luxury you can do without. We all buy or rent a home with the number of bedrooms we need, and we pay a hefty price for each additional room, so that unused guest bedroom becomes a waste of your hard-earned money. PIVOT is all about optimising and maximising your space. It’s about giving you the ability to reclaim complete use of your unused guest bedroom every day of the year. It’ll still be the same, comfortable bedroom when your guests come to stay, but for every other day of the year it’s your walk-in gym. While it’s a dual-use room, it’s still your dedicated workout zone – there’ll be no more having to move the coffee-table, smashing dumbbells into the TV cabinet, feeling awkward about exercising in front of your partner or family. It’s a space where you get stronger and healthier in your own home with no downsides, and it’s a tiny fraction of the price compared to extending your home or buying a larger home.

 

Let’s combine common things we hear from our customers into one, imaginary couple – because more often than not, our customers are a married couple, or an active family where the teenage children have started to play sports competitively. It doesn’t matter what that sport is, strength training will always improve performance and prevent injuries.

 

Our imaginary couple live in a reasonably large home, with a guest bedroom. They’re both successful, private and have a keen interest in fitness and keeping healthy in general. For many years, they had been frustrated by the lack of a home gym, believing they didn’t have the space – until they found PIVOT. Despite the need to keep fit and healthy being at the top of their list, they’re still not willing to give up their guest bedroom so that friends and family can stay with them, even if it’s only utilised a handful of times throughout the year 

 

PIVOT is in the guest room of their family home, and is kept in gym mode about 350 days every year. There's a rower split in two and stored upright in the corner. The weight plates are stored on our storage accessories, the barbell is attached to the underside of the bed in another storage accessory – or they’re racked for squats. Our adjustable, foldable bench is either folded flat and leant against the wall, or it's in use. There's a pair of adjustable dumbbells on the floor to each side, out of the way yet easily accessible. The pull-up bar is used almost daily – it's one of the fundamentals, after all. The dip bars are used too infrequently but they're stored so discreetly that it's largely irrelevant. There are half a dozen resistance bands attached to various points and a TRX™ is constantly attached to the explicitly-designed mount at the top. The PaviFlex™, natural latex flooring is grippy, wipe-clean, allows the family to train with confidence and gives a perfect space to clip the rower together and beat Dad’s PB!

 

Friends and family come to stay a few weekends during the year, and they enjoy sleeping on an incredibly comfortable bed in a room that – apart from the rower in the corner – is just like any other well-considered, natural-feeling bedroom. Everything else, including the bench, is completely out of sight under the bed. The guests always admire the idea, love the comfort, and it's a huge talking point – they demand to see PIVOT in gym mode and comment on the quality and engineering involved, and are amazed that it's been set up and taken down again in just a couple of minutes.

 

Whenever you find a fantastic product, you’ll find people who love talking about it. We love talking about our product so if you have questions, or you’d like a video demo – or perhaps we can find a local customer to show you theirs – get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Colin and Patricia Montgomery
Co-founders, PIVOT