ERGDESK - How It All Started

All good things start in the kitchen!

Would you believe that ERGDESK began by using Boos Block cutting board?

After years of battling the work-life balance and missing my workout one too many times, I decided to do something about it. I loved riding the Concept 2 BikeERG, but I was struggling. I decided to throw a cutting board across the handlebars of my bike and do some spinning while knocking out my morning routine.

I would ride for 20-30 minutes at an easy pace and burn 200-300 calories without even noticing. It was great! As things progressed, I would then check email and post to Instagram while spinning it out! I got to the point where I would be on the bike for 60 minutes and would hit 600 calories.

While the cutting board did the trick, it was rudimentary, I couldn't see the monitor and I had no access to the handlebars. I decided to take the next step and add some legs and make a cutout for the monitor. This was GEN ONE:

This worked for a bit, but I wanted access to the side, upright handlebars. I eventually made cutouts on each side and the unique ERGDESK shape was born.

This was how she stayed for nearly one year. I got good use out of it and it helped solve the problem of getting at least some movement in while knocking out my work tasks.

In walk my friend, Marcus Filly. He came to Reno for a Culinary Ninja Seminar and to shoot some cooking videos for Ice Age Meals. He stayed at our house and saw my contraption while working out in my garage gym. He didn't say much at the time, but eventually asked about it and said he'd be my first customer. I agreed and he Venmo'd me $99.00. 

I set to work and decided to upgrade the design a bit. I rounded off the edges and added a stain that we initially called FBB Gray. Here is Marcus's original desk, serial number 002. 

I'm not sure who got the better half of the deal, but Marcus was happy and the desk hasn't left his bike since!!! Still an elementary design, it  had visible screws on the desktop and no straps. 

I made some and sent them to friends as Christmas gifts. Word began to spread and I started to get requests to purchase. I set up Nick's Shape Shop in a 40' shipping container. I bought some plywood over the counter at Home Depot and sharpened up my carpenter's pencil. Before I knew it, I had turned out 50 of them!!! 

All of the originals have a serial number and are signed with my initials in carpenter's pencil on the underside. We added straps to secure all three legs to the handlebars and upgraded to concealed fasteners.

I always had the vision of being able to work in the upright position. Originally, I wanted to create a cantilever leg system where you could lift and pull the desk back to the upright position, but the design proved to complicated and I like simple things.

I decided to take a different approach and threw together a mock-up one afternoon at home. Instead of lifting and pulling back, this was a second piece that would slide onto the base ERGDESK. This is what it looked like:

I loved it! This allowed me to get on the BikeERG and then pull my computer into the perfect position to type and ride. I brought the idea to Nick's Shape Shop and the BUTTER BOARD was invented!

Here's the first model of the BUTTER BOARD:

From there, it was off to the races! I knew I had something special and we've been cranking ever since. It was the perfect invention for the pandemic as people were working and working out at home. 

We carried on the mission to help people GET MORE DONE and the movement to move more was in motion. 

It hasn't been easy. Plywood prices skyrocketed and then became scarce. We have had to work with what we could get for the past year and we appreciate all of our customers patience and understanding as desks have been in and out of stock over and over!

We ultimately ended up with a slick design and aside from desks being damaged in the mail, we have had a 100% Satisfaction rate. 

If you are considering purchasing and ERGDESK, I encourage you to do it! I have full confidence that you will love it. You will join a group of amazing humans who have an ERGDESK. I'd list their names, but it would be too overwhelming for your mind to comprehend!

We have shipped to Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Tons to CANADA, Iceland, Amsterdam, Finland, Norway, UK, France, Germany, Portugal, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, WOW!!! 

From a cutting board in my garage to all corners of the earth, this project has been a fun one!

Perhaps you have a dream today, you know, an idea you've been considering? I want to encourage you to take the first step, because you never know what will come of it. I'll leave you with a quote from legendary NFL Coach Don Shula:

"It's the start that stops most people."

Sometimes the hardest thing to get is going, but don't let that stop you!

Thanks for giving this a read and please stay tuned for new products that we have in development for the Assault AirRunner, Assault Bike and Echo Bike. 

We're help you to GET MORE DONE. 

Have a great day!

Your Pal,

Paleo Nick

PS. If you get a chance, please check out my other projects Ice Age Meals and Paleo Nick. Best!