It was going to be a standing interview, Technical.ly DC soon realized.
Kathleen Hale, the CEO and cofounder of Rebel Desk, makes chair-shaming a central part of her pitch. “Chairs, they seem so innocent,” she said at the 1776 DC Challenge Cup on Oct. 21.
There’s science to back that up, the former competitive figure skater told Technical.ly DC. Sitting every day for extended periods of time makes your body “kind of shut down,” she said.
As a former attorney, she once found herself glued to a chair every day. “I had been an active person before I became a professional,” she said. But, like others, “I never thought there was a choice.”
Then, she and her husband Jeff Hale decided to fiddle with a stationary Ikea desk and a cheap treadmill to produce the first Rebel Desk prototype. That was in 2012.
The following year, they both decided to commit to Rebel Desk full time. They have now sold at least one Rebel Desk in every state, she said —Â without a cent from outside investors.
The Rebel Desks are meant to be pleasing to the eye —Â “not like this weird piece of medical equipment in your office,” said Hale. They’re also relatively compact, lightweight and mobile. The two separate pieces —Â desk and treadmill —Â are mounted on wheels and can fit inside a cubicle. Together, they cost about $1,250.
https://twitter.com/eburfield/status/524730193140002816
Rebel Desk is currently developing a sensor technology to help users track their sitting and standing time.
This desk is the first step against 9-to-5 syndrome
Kathleen Hale could not stand the sedentary life of an attorney, so she up and created Rebel Desk with her husband Jeff.
