18 Years and Counting: The Path to Overnight Success. Part 2

If you’re just tuning in, this is part two of the story of how Isophit came to be. I’d suggest going back and reading the first part before diving in—it all started with a bathtub epiphany and a cardboard prototype. Read Part 1 Here

Once I came up with the original concept for Isophit, I was fortunate to be surrounded by the right people to push the project forward. One of my clients, Jackie, was a graphic design student. She sketched the very first two-dimensional images of the machine. Those drawings gave my idea shape. I then shared them with another client, Rubin—a senior partner at Fasken Martineau, one of Canada’s largest law firms. If you’ve ever watched the TV show Suits, that’s the same building the show was filmed in.

Rubin looked at the drawings, laughed, and said I should stop immediately. Honestly, it was the best advice I never followed. He then softened and said, “If you’re serious, I’ll introduce you to one of our patent lawyers. The first meeting’s free. After that, it’s $450 an hour.”

At that point in my life, I had about $25,000 in the bank and strong cash flow from my business. I figured—what the hell do I have to lose? So I booked a meeting with Armand Benitah, one of Fasken’s top patent lawyers.

I still remember hopping on the subway to head downtown, nerves rattling around in my chest. Walking into one of Toronto’s most prestigious law firms, surrounded by polished suits and high-powered conversations, was intimidating. But I knew I had to push forward. During that very first meeting, Armand looked me in the eye and said the cost to produce and file the patent would be between $10,000 and $15,000. For a young trainer with a dream, that was both terrifying and exhilarating. It was a number that could wipe me out—or change my life.

The journey quickly expanded beyond patents. Through the process, I was introduced to Eyal Geiger at Proto3000, a new industrial design firm. At the time, I had no idea what an industrial designer even did. But Eyal and his team were incredible. They transformed Jackie’s sketches into detailed design drawings, and soon after, into one of the first 3D-printed prototypes in Canada—possibly even the world. Seeing Isophit physically take shape in that way was surreal.

Meanwhile, life outside of Isophit was just as full. My fiancé was running a thriving aesthetics and skincare business in Toronto’s luxurious Yorkville neighborhood. I had just moved my personal training business from our 400-square-foot living room into a 2,000-square-foot, third-floor walk-up in the affluent Summerhill area in April 2008. On paper, things looked great.

But real life doesn’t pause for big dreams. Around the same time, my fiancée was diagnosed with three extraordinarily large fibroids. Doctors told us if we wanted to have a family, we needed to start immediately—and even then, the pregnancy would be high risk. They warned us it could take 18 months to two years to conceive, and even then, the likelihood of carrying the baby to term was slim.

Against all odds, we got pregnant in the very first month.

So there we were—patents, industrial design, expanding businesses, and now preparing for a baby. Five streams of life, all colliding at once. The stress was overwhelming, the optimism intoxicating, and the arrogance of confidence that we could juggle it all was palpable.

Next Sunday we will continue with part 3—the patent and design journey, and the pregnancy. All three hit roadblocks, at twenty weeks of pregnancy we were told our child was dead. Any sane individual would have stopped, or at least postponed the project.

Enjoy your Sunday,

Brad

At Isophit, we help the world’s strongest, fastest, and most dominant athletes—and everyday people—to win more, hurt less, and age stronger!

Buy your Isophit at wwwisophit.com and join Team Isophit today.