Hidden Gems: Meet Steve Hoover of HomeStrong Fitness, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Hoover.

Hi Steve, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story about my new business, HomeStrong Fitness! HomeStrong Fitness, our signature product, the HomeStrong Fitness System, was conceived during the pandemic. I have been on a personal improvement journey for about 15 years. I found myself in my late thirties, run down, out of shape, and not in a place where I wanted to be as a husband and father. I began a multi-faceted self-improvement strategy that included the three pillars of exercise, nutrition, and mindset. A handful of great thought leaders in this space include Mark Sisson for diet, Dave Asprey, and Ben Greenfield for nutrition, supplementation, and mental well-being practices. I also began to work with mentors and therapists to improve my work-life balance processes and interpersonal relationship practices. But at the heart of everything, my go-to was always a diligent exercise routine. When the pandemic came about, and the option of going to a gym was off the table, I got to work on something I could integrate into my home that wouldn’t cost a fortune or take up much space. A few years prior, I had an injury and worked with a physical therapist who introduced me to resistance band training, and I was surprised and impressed by what I once thought of as a bit “gimmicky” and not meant for muscle-building. My only issue with band training was the limitations of the exercises from the systems that were on the market. At the time, attachments were fixed on the wall, over or under a door. The movements were limited and somewhat awkward. I spent about 6 months developing and refining a prototype that evolved into the design for the HomeStrong Fitness System, for which I was ultimately awarded a utility patent for the device.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
There are always struggles when starting a new business, and I have encountered several of them. The first was how to take my vision and turn it into reality. Finding a fabricator who could take my drawings and rudimentary mockups and create something that was not only useable but safe and ultimately able to be produced on a large scale was tough. I worked with great talent who could construct my design but couldn’t scale. It is also imperative that this system be of the highest quality and, therefore, manufactured in America. I am very fortunate that I was introduced to a local fabricator right in my area who produces the quality I demand and can do it at scale. Next was obtaining a patent. I shared my product with a handful of people who raved about it and were excited to use it. This was when the business opportunity began to come into focus and when I realized that I should protect my invention with a patent. I tried to get the patent independently, but after about a year of not getting anywhere, I hired a wonderful patent team, Bold Patents, to help me across the finish line. The last challenge, and where we are at today, is taking something utterly new to the market. I have owned and managed a few contracting companies, so typical business processes are second nature. However, I am now immersed in building an e-commerce business, which is entirely new territory. Fortunately, I have found excellent partners to help me along this path and to our recent business launch in August.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
HomeStrong Fitness is currently in the initial launch phase of our e-commerce platform. Our target demographics are home gym fitness enthusiasts and physicians in the clinical / rehabilitation setting. We initially set out to provide an amazing alternative to current home gym products that commonly consist of big rack systems, barbells, dumbbells, weight plates, and big expensive machines. This has been met with rave reviews by our retail clientele, who have eliminated the need for all of those with one compact, affordable system. Customers also approached us in the medical and physical therapy field. The use of resistance bands is widespread in physical therapy because of the safe nature that resistance is developed through the range of motion. This resistance is called “Linear Variable Resistance” (LRV).

LRV-based training has been studied for years and has proven highly effective for everything from rehabilitating injuries to training professional athletes at the highest levels. HomeStrong is thrilled to bring this training modality to the masses. Our 15-layer, industrial-quality resistance bands range from just five pounds to over one hundred and twenty-five pounds (per side), and bands can be doubled up for really strong individuals. Lastly, we are proud to be an American-made product and love to support those who keep this country safe. We are working with local municipalities to install our units in firehouses and police stations and are donating units to our local Air Force Base fitness centers and therapy clinics.

How do you define success?
I define success as doing something that you love and which also positively contributes back to the community. Health and fitness are so important for our society. It is shocking to think that in a world with such amazing advances, the life expectancy of Americans has decreased every year for the past three years. Numerous factors contribute to this, but it is widely accepted that physically fit individuals possess more resiliency, live longer, and have a higher quality of life as they age. Success for me will be to bring fitness into the lives of more individuals while building an amazing American business that provides great jobs right here at home.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://HomeStrongFitness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homestrongfitness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homestrongfitness/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/homestrong-fitness-llc/?viewAsMember=true
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@homestrongfitness
• Other: https://www.alignable.com/phoenix-az/homestrong-fitness