The American dream - made in Italy: The company "Technogym" comes from Cesena and has also enjoyed great global success with its fitness equipment. But that's still not enough for founder Nerio Alessandri
Let's be honest - when you're running on a treadmill in the gym or wellness center in a hotel, your mind wanders to Manhattan or Los Angeles, to America, where gymnastics was reinvented when continuous running and gymnastics on the mat went out of fashion. Especially when it says "Technogym" and the cockpit of the device features a multifunctional touchscreen that you can use to dock into the virtual cloud of the same name for a personal workout around the globe.
Far from it if you're thinking: these things look good, are as efficient as an iPhone and your data is stored in Silicon Valley. Instead, your best form is determined in the small northern Italian town of Cesena and the Steve Jobs of fitness equipment is an Italian: Nerio Alessandri.
Equipment for the Olympic Games
Today, the 53-year-old entrepreneur is involved in more than just fitness equipment, a sector in which he has long been the global market leader, equipping Olympic Games, luxury hotels, spas, cruise giants and private households. He has erected a monument to his small empire in Cesena. The factory and company building are a futuristic eco-building made of glass, steel and wood, harmoniously integrated into the hilly landscape. A place where people sit on exercise balls in the office and conference room, where elevators are frowned upon, where the staff pedal in the gym at lunchtime or jog along paths in the park with music playing: Benvenuti in "Technogym Village".
Alessandri has been working for years to create a better world so that people can be released after work into a real world that at least resembles their workplace. He has set up a foundation that supports social institutions, art and environmental projects. And his fitness equipment now also produces energy instead of just consuming it.
First machine looks like an instrument of torture
The landlord in the Village is proud of his "American" career, which began when he built his first fitness machine in a garage as a 21-year-old engineer. But his inspiration was anything but American: ancient Greek athletes. He was fascinated by their methods, discipline, endurance and the Socratic motto "If you want to move the world, first move yourself". That was precisely what Americans didn't do, or did wrong, he thought, because they "first go to the gym and then straight to McDonalds". With the advent of computers, mankind was facing even worse things: machines would take away their thoughts, work and exercise.
And although the first fitness machine looked more like a medieval torture machine - today the original is in the showroom - it fulfilled the most important purpose: in just one square meter, you could tone a wide variety of muscles while avoiding what otherwise happened in the emerging fitness age: muscle tears and tendon strains, knee and disc damage of all kinds. Here, the movement was controlled by the operation of the machine. Nowadays, Technogym machines are like little technological wonders that scientists and technicians have spent years developing, where heart rhythms and calorie consumption are measured and personal programs are developed.
Homo sapiens is built for 30 kilometers a day
But that was not enough for Alessandri. He invented the wellness philosophy: a lifestyle that focuses on plenty of exercise: "Homo sapiens is designed to walk 30 kilometers a day," says Alessandri. But the body must also be in harmony with the mind and soul, ideally with a job, family and intellect, and a healthy diet based on the Mediterranean diet. Alessandri has even presented his wellness theory at the United Nations. He hopes that the whole world will become a "Technogym Village" like the one in Cesena.
His homeland has certainly helped Nero Alessandri with everything: Cesena is not far from the Adriatic Sea in a region characterized by rolling hills and long beaches, where toned bodies on the beach and southern sun are revered like in California and Florida, but the way of life is also characterized by Mediterranean indulgence and an exuberant mentality: tortellini, tagliatelle and good wine are as much a part of everyday life as Roman ruins and magnificent Renaissance art in the picturesque little towns. And today, Technogym too.
Source: Welt.de
Picture: dpa
You can also find a large number of high-quality Technogym fitness machines at fitnessmarkt.de.
Published on: 22 October 2014