All of my products that I developed were out of necessity. So I would either be issued something or see something, and just knew a better way. And I just modified it for myself. And then that led to becoming a product line, and then through sales, from US sales to international sales. The transfer board, I mean it's a simple product. It bridges the gap between a wheelchair and a bed, a wheelchair and a seat. A very simple product, but yet very important product. And in a lot of cases, the transfer boards, when you go to transfer on them and slide over, they slip out of place with you. So the key factor on that was adding the non-slip material to the bottom which allows a board to stay in place. And it made a big difference in my ability to transfer. And so, I mean, my business kind of started out of accident. I had made one for myself. And then in rehab, somebody asked me if I'd like, if I can make them one. One transfer board led to another. And then somebody, at one point, asked me to make two of them for me. So I did. And then I got the idea of, hey, let's kind of make a business out of this, and started sending products out to rehab centers, Craig Hospital being one of the first. And probably a few months later, I received a call from Sharon Blackburn, who was the head PT at that time. And she wanted to order ten. And I happily took the order. I hang up the phone, and was like, how in the world am I going to make ten transfer boards? But by the time I sold my business a few years ago, we were making over 400 a month. So it was just how the progression of one thing leads to another. Most of my products were developed out of necessity for myself, having a desire to want to either travel someplace or have a lighter weight chair. Transfers were a big thing for me. As a C5-6 quadriplegic, I don't really have the strength to lift like a paraplegic would on transfers. So a lot of my transfers are sliding, and not always pretty. But I usually get from A to B. So the transfer board was a big key for my ability to transfer, as well as having a chair that had a good, solid braking system. And being a guy that raced motorcycles, I saw disc brake systems go from motorcycles to bicycles. And then I brought the disc brake systems from the bicycles to the wheelchair industry. Having a chair that locked well, that stayed in place, and then having the transfer board in place, is what allowed me to start being able to transfer independently. And it honestly took me over a year of just transferring daily in and out of my van, to get to the point where I could transfer independently and safely. I fell on my butt many a times through those transfers. But fortunately, somebody would walk by. I had to yell at somebody, hey come help me. And they'd lift me back in my chair and start back over. So most of my designs have addressed my needs. And then I've also addressed many others' needs as well. Early on, I played sports. So I was with a big group of guys and gals that were in chairs. And a lot was learned from wheelchair sports, because you're with other folks your same level or similar levels. So you feed off of each other and learn off of each other. And just being involved in my wheelchair community at the time just helped me see other folks in need. And I figured if it helped me, it can certainly help others. And so I built that network of rehab centers throughout the country. As my company grew, again, built that network of rehab centers throughout the country and sent out a lot of demo products to different individuals. And that just kind of helped the snowball effect of being able to reach more folks. One of my tag lines throughout my business years were, user inspired designs. So again, everything is just inspired by users. Whether it fulfilled my needs, and And as I met more and more people, then I would hear their issues and their concerns, and be able to help them and design for them as well. We were the first ones to ever do a carbon fiber in the wheelchair world. And by addressing a good back support but making it super lightweight, that opened up back supports for many individuals who wouldn't normally use a back support, because they were so heavy. So by using the lighter weight material, the carbon fiber for the back support itself, and then designing cleaner and lighter weight hardware allowed us to reach a lot more of the user groups. Because people, the more active folks would now desire having a lightweight back rest on their wheelchairs. I've never been one to design for codes, design around codes, or for codes that are for reimbursement. I've always been one to want to fulfill a need of an individual, myself or others, in wheelchairs. So user inspired designs allow me to to see a need, and then design a product for that. I mean, I've done many different products, really none that have gone to market, but for just my specific need, wanting to sit on the the front of a sailboat. So I've taken wheelchairs and chopped the bottom off, and made it where I could sit on the deck of a boat. That was something that allowed me to do something that that I personally wanted to do. But is there a market for that? No, but it certainly fulfilled a need of mine, or a desire of mine. For instance, like the disc brakes, I mean we developed those. And there was no funding for those early on. We had to apply for a Medicare code for the disc brakes. And we were initially denied a code for the disc brakes and put into a wheel lock category. Which a wheel lock is a simple over center bar that locks the tire, and reimbursement was around $30. So that didn't cover our expenses. But we applied for a code through Medicare, and went and gave a presentation to Medicare, and then successfully received a code for it. So you don't always have to design for a code set. You can design the best product that you can, and then go after coding down the road as well. Not always the most economical way of doing it, a little bit more risky, but it allows you to fulfill the need, and then hopefully get the reimbursement for it down the road. Designing specifically for codes, then you're more pigeon-holed, or you might not 100% fulfill the need of the individuals. I've never really designed for codes. I prefer to just fulfill a need, fulfill a requirement, and then go from there.
