Connected Fitness
Primal movement ushered into the 21st century in form and function.
For competitive athletes, the upright climbing machine is a training staple. But the existing equipment was outdated, intimidating, and lacking any of the digital connectivity that the broader community of gym-goers want.
Cactus set out with the Clmbr founders to reimagine the training facility staple with a focus on design, UX, technology, and sustainable quality.
The vertical sensation of climbing evokes a sense of joy in many and inspired all of Cactus' designs for Clmbr. This design ethos revolved around eliminating the intimidation factor associated with traditional climbing machines, making them more accessible and more social to appeal to a broader audience.
Collaborating closely with Clmbr founders, Cactus pinpointed and addressed the typical pain points of both fitness facility operators and in-home users. From the positioning of the brand within a crowded fitness landscape, to developing a unique onboard digital experience, to creating a hybrid showroom, retail lounge, and immersive studio for group fitness classes, our team crafted a holistic ecosystem to elevate this next-generation fitness product.
Climbing as fitness combines cardio, strength, and low-impact motion, offering a range of health benefits beyond more traditional modalities that crowd the gym landscape. The Cactus-designed brand identity, interface for the physical machine, and hybrid retail-studio space were key mediums to communicate those benefits, attracting a new generation of consumer to engage with Clmbr’s superior offering.
We collaborated with the Clmbr team throughout the development of the physical machine to optimize the user experience.
This began by understanding what data sets we could extract from the machine and how we could leverage them to calculate valuable metrics and feedback for the user.
Our team then developed user interface and data visualization approaches aimed at introducing users to these novel metrics while also surfacing real-time feedback to provide educational context and motivation.
The flagship showroom and studio space was designed to be an immersive and tangible brand touchpoint that showcases Clmbr’s commitment to leading a new era of connected fitness, focused on inclusivity, community, and fun.
The retail lounge features a series of 'Basecamp' rooms that allow visitors to demo the Clmbr experience in a private, interactive, and climate-controlled environment.
An interactive sculptural lightning system was custom designed and built for Clmbr studios. The system expands modularly to fit any new location. Strategically placed mirrors and bespoke content creates the illusion of a fully encircling ceiling, offering a immersive fitness experience with just 1/4 the space and hardware.
The light panels react to a variety of automated inputs and can be controlled by a tablet, allowing class instructors to have unparalleled control of the mood in the room.
