Fitness: Innovative and exciting Digi-Smart Bench, made in South Africa

Fitness: Innovative and exciting Digi-Smart Bench, fitness work-out bench, made in South Africa –user-friendly – positions are voice activated by an app

Figuring out to use a gym equipment such as benches can leave one flummoxed- which lever to push to make the dinghus move up or down.  Pietermaritzburg based Joash Perumal was inspired to innovate the gym bench when he broke his wrist and was battling with manually changing the settings on his gym equipment, at home. Chatting to others, he found that others were also frustrated with using gym benches. Coupled with that, many were working out at home; wary of venturing into gyms, during the pandemic. Working out at home, who can you call to show you how to adjust a bench? Perumal also realised that people with disabilities and those who are elderly may grapple with adjusting bench positions. He was motivated to make gym benches easier to operate and the result was the Digi-Smart Bench, which works in tandem with an electronically voice activated app and takes the schlep out of fitness benches.  You tell it want to do and it does what you ask: Forward, back and stop. The bench was launched in August 2020- in the pandemic. The entrepreneurial Perumal has a background in entertainment and music. He is tuned into the thrill of live event and has brought that into making fitness fun – rather than a chore- and stressful. In year two of the pandemic, with lockdown in place and an uncertain and unpredictable future, the Dig-Smart Bench is a great fit for home work outs, for the office and for communal facilities in hotels and residences. I know that when I eventually venture back into a gym (they are open again as of July 11, 2021), I would definitely choose to work out on a Digi-Smart Bench so I don’t have to constantly call and ask an instructor to calibrate the bench: “Excuse me, excuse me, can you show me again… can you lift it up a bit- no lower – a bit higher….”  It would be great if I could also place my order for a smoothie, via the bench app and that it would then be ready for collection, after my work-out. Hmm, watch this space.

TheCapeRobyn: The product looks amazing but the name gives the impression that it is digital but there is a physical bench and the digital side is that one can connect to an app. Is that correct?

Joash Perumal: Yes that is correct. The name Digi-Smart was given to this bench because the bench works electronically and via mobile app. We have also recently launched voice activation allowing the bench to also have a voice recognition system with three commands. ”Forward”, “”Back” and “Stop”.

TheCapeRobyn: Is there an extra charge to access the app (monthly cost) or is the app free with purchase of the bench?

Joash Perumal: The use of the mobile app right now is free to all users who purchase the bench as a promotional offering.

TheCapeRobyn:  How long did it take you to develop and what inspired you to develop this bench?

Joash Perumal: The inspiration came after I had broken my wrist. I was speaking about it to a few friends and family and when the pandemic arrived gyms had been closed and a lot of people were still reluctant to go to the gym. I found this the perfect opportunity to launch this bench. I had an exercise bench at home which had to be adjusted manually and I did further research to find out that there has not been a single electronic bench manufactured. I thought about people who cannot walk that it would be convenient to just do your exercises on this bench without having to wake up. Most elderly folk usually suffer with their back and those who are fitness enthusiasts would appreciate this without having to strain their back on the regular fitness bench by manually adjusting the steel structure used to bring the bench to different angles.

TheCapeRobyn:  How did you go about taking your idea/invention to the market place? Did you build a prototype yourself?

Joash Perumal: I physically made a drawing and then had to find an engineering and IT company that would be able to build this bench. The prototype was built by the company

TheCapeRobyn: How much does the product weigh and what is it made from? Can it pack flat for transport purposes?

Joash Perumal: The bench weighs 120kg. We also have a strong actuator which can hold the body weight of a dead person. The product is made from bench material, bench fabrication, linear actuator, power supply, toggle switch, upholstery, upright material, base plate material, upright fabrication end caps and fasteners

TheCapeRobyn: It looks smaller than the average bench and that means less space required?

Joash Perumal: It’s just a little smaller our idea was to make it convenient for people to move around
TheCapeRobyn: What other fitness applications and products is your company developing?

Joash Perumal: We are currently looking at other fitness equipment to add technology on, example counting the number of reps you have completed.

TheCapeRobyn: You have a background in the arts (music etc) and you have “re-invented” yourself in the pandemic – with live performance, on pause?

Joash Perumal: During the pandemic we were forced to reinvent ourselves with a lot of restrictions that were put into place and find new creative ways in the market to make a living.

TheCapeRobyn: Can you tell us about the dating app that your company is working on?

Joash Perumal: We are currently fine tuning our dating app for professionals called Executive Dating which will have strict control registrations to ensure safety for all users.

Digi-Smart Bench -social media and links and info of this innovative bench– made in South Africa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdpcorp/ Instagram and twitter: @jdpcorp Hashtags: #digismartbench #jdpcorp #Bringingvisiontolife #technology #technologynews #business WHAT IS THE DIGI SMART BENCH? Manufactured and fitted with command buttons and a voice activation system for easy movements to the back rest such as Backwards, Forwards and Stop.  With weight racks at either side of the bench, you can now reduce any back strains because there’s no need to continuously be picking up weights off the floor. The Digi-Smart Fitness bench is App enabled (completely free to download and is user friendly).  The App is available on Google Play and the App store. Connect via bluetooth to the Fitness Bench to access complete control.   JDP CORP CEO, Joash Perumal, says he is proud to see this bench being enjoyed by people who are disabled after their recent visit to Wheelin Wheels – a school for people with disabilities, based in KZN Durban, which represents our national team in basketball.

✳This interview has been marginally edited for length and clarity. Images of Joash Perumal, supplied. Sponsored content.