Business Opportunities Weblog

November 6, 2011 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments

The NordicTrack held a big place in 80′s exercise history, and it is all thanks to Ed Pauls, the inventor and avid skier. Ed passed on early last month. Star Tribune takes a look at the history of his NordicTrack.

In his basement, he invented NordicTrack, initially popular with skiers but quickly a hit with exercise enthusiasts on a much wider scale. By 1984, the family-run company became a major competitor in a growing fitness craze.

Pauls, 80, who skied until early last year, died Oct. 9 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Montrose, Colo.

His daughter, Terri Pauls of Anchorage, Alaska, recalled an early NordicTrack model that had real wooden skis and a living room sofa cushion for hip padding.

“Early on, when we would sell one, my father would gather the family in a circle in the dining room to sing and dance in celebration,” she said.

Taking the advice of a family friend to sell the NordicTrack to others, Pauls began to manufacture the machines in his garage, investing $10,000 of his own savings. As news of the device spread by word of mouth in the cross-country skiing community, the business was moved to Jonathan Industrial Park in Chaska.

Photo by Bill McChesney

In Inventions | 0 Comments
Tags: Death, Inventors