The WalkTop™ Story
Sitting is a universal problem in this modern world. The WalkTop™ Treadmill Desk is a product that solves the problem of sitting.
It started with a tragic accident involving one of the company’s founders
In recovery from spinal surgery
From a broken neck to a treadmill desk
In 2011, Ron and his son were on a “guys road trip” when they decided to stop at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Centre to rent ATV’s for an hour. Tragically, Ron ended up in an accident that resulted in a broken neck and arms. Fortunately, his son, the rescue team, EMS, and medical staff did all the right things to get Ron to the hospital in time. That evening he had a complicated spinal surgery that resulted in five vertebrae being permanently fused and surgery on his arm.
The road to recovery changed everything for Ron. While recovering, Ron found that he could not sit for long hours, so he decided to re-purpose a treadmill he owned into a walking desk. From this idea, the WalkTop treadmill desk was born.
Hey, everyone else is sitting all the time too!
For anyone who has completed graduate studies while holding down a full-time job, you would know that a healthy work-life balance is seriously disrupted. When Ron was discussing this situation with his Queen’s Executive MBA Program classmates, they all agreed that they were sitting all the time too!
One evening Ron was telling Laurel and Devon about how he had made a desk that attaches to his treadmill. With boards clamped to a “barely used” treadmill, he had created a way to “walk through his MBA”! From this idea, the WalkTop™ was born.
The original WalkTop™ prototype.
Laurel testing the improved WalkTop™ design
From design to market
The whirlwind began for Fitneff when Ron, Laurel & Devon decided to turn Ron’s treadmill desk into a business. Within a year, the WalkTop™ went from conception to market.
Devon being interviewed about the WalkTop™
Bring on the WalkTop™ movement
The WalkTop™ treadmill desk has now been sold in almost every US state and province in Canada. With an understanding of how important it is for busy people to make healthy choices by integrating additional healthy solutions into their daily lives, hundreds of people are enjoying the benefits of the WalkTop™ Treadmill Desk.