Standing is the New Sitting: Fluidstance Level
Sitting all day while working…hundreds of years ago, the laborer in the field would have shaken her head in disbelief at such a dreamy notion. These days, too much sitting, in the office, car and on the couch, is making us sick. The cure? Keep moving!
Fluidstance has created an incredible standing office “workout” piece that is poised to set off a “cultural revolution,” making us less sedentary, more active, and thus healthier. The Level is a platform that allows (forces) you to exercise your legs while you work at your desk and beyond. Security guards, call center employees – the possibilities in the workplace are endless. The inventors even envision it in meetings, with people standing and balancing rather than crossing and re-crossing their legs, yawning into their coffee cups.
As Guggenheim curator of architecture and digital initiatives, Troy Conrad Therrien, said: “I’ve long felt that all meetings should be standing. People should have to earn one another’s time.” This was on the occasion of the product’s 2015 Best in Class Design Award. Among the panel of distinguished judges, including Therrien, was fashion icon Cynthia Rowley. Her take on the Level: “I get really excited about anything new. If it hasn’t been done, if there are new frontiers and opportunities -those are the kinds of things that I thrive on.”
So what exactly is the Level? It’s a patent-pending platform that allows motion in three dimensions at your workstation. Tests at the Heeluxe Testing Lab, “a private science center for footwear research,” as per the Fluidstance website, yielded that with the Level heart rate increases by 15 percent. In addition, the product limits “the dorsiflexion (when your toes are above your heels) and plantarflexion (when your heels are above your toes) to levels that are comparable to walking,” all while not distracting you from your tasks. The lab found “no statistical difference in the amount of typing errors” as compared to working seated. The Original Handmade Level in Bamboo ($429) is sand-cast by hand with military-grade aluminum in a special zero-waste-generating process. The top deck is bamboo. It’s 26.5″ long, 12.2″ wide, 2.5″ tall and weighs circa 7.5 lbs. It can carry a person weighing up to 300 pounds. For $339, there’s The American-Made Level (Maple with Walnut Finish), and for $289 The American-Made Level (Natural Maple). Extra accessories include a holster, base mat and more.
The Fluidstance team is led by Joel Heath, whose resume includes: Teva footwear, Brand President for Deckers Brands, and creator of the [GoPro] Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado. Also: David Malina, who has created products for PepsiCo, Panasonic, Samsung and Johnson&Johnson.
For more information, visit www.fluidstance.com
