BGSU grads’ treadmill desk brings working out to work

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Jeff and Kathleen Hale pose with their Rebel treadmill desk. (Photo provided)

Forget the gym, walking to work or other strenuous exercise
programs, two Bowling Green State University graduates are marketing a way to exercise while working.Jeff
and Kathleen Hale, are the owners and promoters of the Rebel Desk. The desk is sold individually or as a set
consisting of both a treadmill and a flat desk top surface which is situated over the treadmill. The idea is
to do other work during your work out.The Hales founded the company in March and launched their sales early
in October. The first shipments will be made this December.Kathleen was a practicing attorney; while her
husband used his master’s in business administration to work in finance.“We’re healthy and active people and
we read about how bad sitting can be for you even if you are healthy and active,” Kathleen said of the
impetus for their venture into the treadmill desk business. “It was frustrating. I spend a lot of time in a
chair and we started to looking for alternatives.”She said they had used a variety of products including
yoga balls as chairs. “Nothing seemed to work until we found the treadmill desks,” Kathleen said. “We fell
in love with the idea of walking while working.”She added the couple each felt invigorated when using the
desks.“It was really life-changing and made you feel better every single day, Jeff said.Because of their
being sold on the product, they looked at the market and decided to launch their own.“We both always had an
entrepreneurial bend to ourselves,” she said. “We weren’t going to wait for someone else to do it.”They
worked closely with the manufacturer and refined the style to be more sleek and appropriate for an office
setting.“We knew we could bring a product to market at a lower price point without sacrificing the quality,”
Kathleen said.She describes their design as being coordinated rather than looking like two separate pieces
just put together.Kathleen noted their desks use the same components as competitors’ counterparts, However
she says the others cost several thousand dollars more.The treadmill used for Rebel Desk sells for $749; as
does the glass-top desk. A teak-finished desk sells for $699.They also sell accessories including the
optional chair for $199.Kathleen said the ability to use the desk with a chair is something special for
their product not offered by others. A crank on the desk allows it to be lowered from the standing or
walking level to the sitting height with just a couple turns of the crank.The treadmill is designed to be
used solely for walking, with a top speed of two miles per hour.They say it is also designed to be extremely
quiet to be functional in any office or home setting.Jeff noted how treadmill desks have existed as an idea
for a long time but recently started surging in popularity.Rebel Desks offer free shipping on all its
products in the continental United States.When they decided to enter the market they went “all in” forsaking
their prior careers.“We are fully head over heels into the Rebel Desk,” Kathleen said. “We committed to do
this full time and that’s what we are doing.”Jeff added, “We are very optimistic, the industry is growing
pretty rapidly,” adding they are focusing on both the home and office market for the desks.“More and more,
we are seeing that home is becoming office-like and the office becoming home-like,” he summarized.The couple
were married a few weeks after they both graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2001. Jeff was
raised in Bowling Green, and met his bride at the university, before moving to Arizona. They now reside in
the nation’s capital, where the Rebel Desk is based. He is the son of Ruth and Dale Schroeder, who still
live in Bowling Green; while she is the daughter of Bob and Mary Lee Maloy of Pittsburgh. The Hales have two
children.He summarized that like their own experience, “It’s rare for people to buy a product like this that
they are so very passionate about.”Online:www.rebeldesk.com

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