Strength Safe’s Dumbbell Safety Rack was engineered to be a game-changer in the strength training routines of members since 2019.
Starting in high school, Stephen Donato, became passionate about weightlifting. However, he sustained minor neck injuries while playing rugby in college. Those injuries only worsened as he grew older, making working out much more difficult.
It was in 2013 when Donato’s friends first presented him with an idea to design a piece of strength training equipment that provided a functional platform for working out with dumbbells.
Several years later, Hurricane Irma struck Fort Myers, Florida, where Donato was living at the time. As with any hurricane, there was destruction and wood used to board up houses. The sight gave him the idea to use wood to make a model of a dumbbell stand that could be manually adjusted for every position.
The prototype evolved and in 2019, Donato had an engineer put his model into SolidWorks, a 3D parametric design software. This empowered him to start his new company, Strength Safe, which offers one niche product: the Dumbbell Safety Rack.
“Strength Safe’s mission is to bring strength training to the masses,” said Donato, the CEO of Strength Safe. “Science is quite clear that building and maintaining skeletal muscles has immense benefits including fat burning, stabilizing blood glucose levels and strengthening joints. Our vision is to make working out with dumbbells safe and accessible to anyone.”
The DSR2023 model rack is laser-cut, fabricated from American steel and engineered to hold up to two, 200-pound dumbbells. It’s adjustable from 18 to 60 inches and can be easily positioned for decline, flat bench, incline and even military press. The ergonomic shaped cradles are lined with high density memory foam and are designed to accommodate any dumbbell including round, hex, adjustable and even square. The Dumbbell Safety Rack can also be used without a bench and places dumbbells in the perfect position for lower and upper body work.
The rack functions as an ergogenic aid, allowing one to lift more weight and complete more reps unassisted. Because space is a premium for rec centers, the Dumbbell Safety Rack is designed to sit around existing benches, so it has virtually no footprint.
When researching what new equipment was needed in weight rooms, Donato spoke with dozens of health club owners and fitness directors. They all indicated serious problems existed with people tossing dumbbells on the floor in the weight room. Aside from the danger of tearing a muscle and the safety of fellow lifters, there was an actual cost in damaged equipment.
“At the Lake County YMCA, the fitness director showed me where the floor had to be replaced because it was shredded from heavy dumbbells,” said Donato. “I spoke with Rob Kauffman, a manager at Anytime Fitness, who showed me his $4,000 bill for six sets of dumbbells he had to replace because they had broken from repeatedly being dropped.”
Donato then did extensive research on the most up-to-date materials, coatings and fasteners to achieve the highest-quality product possible. During the process, he found Rodewald Manufacturing, a manufacturer that makes bottling equipment out of steel for the food and beverage industry.
“They took me on as a smaller client and maintain extremely high-quality tolerances on my lasered parts,” said Donato. “I found a retired NASA engineer, Phil Schmidt, to make the fixtures and an assembly line for my product. He ran a team of 160 engineers who made parts for space shuttles. He’s beyond overqualified for my team, but he loved the concept and his company is local to where we are located.”
Since Strength Safe’s inception, the company has become a proud sponsor for the NPC Natural Ohio Bodybuilding Championship and a vendor for YPurchasing, a group purchasing organization for all YMCAs.
“Jody Shaikun and Shane Lehto were instrumental in helping us get our service tile on the YPurchasing Marketplace,” said Donato. “Lake County YMCA also provided a ton of information regarding dangers in the weightlifting area. It gave me the impetus to pursue this product. Our goal is to make strength training more accessible to the masses, and nonprofit groups provide a more diverse range of users compared to a typical gym. These groups are also dedicated to education.”
For community recreation leaders, Strength Safe’s Dumbbell Safety Rack seeks to help mitigate equipment and facility damage especially at centers with high gym traffic. Also, the increased safety makes workout areas even more accessible for a continuously aging gym population.
Donato added if your center purchases one of Strength Safe’s products, he recommends using trainers and staff to educate weightlifting clients about the rack and to encourage members to stop dropping dumbbells on the floor.
“It’s important to measure the base of whatever bench you intend to use with the unit,” said Donato. “It’s designed to fit around most benches. However, benches can vary wildly. We can fabricate units to accommodate any size base up to 36 inches, upon request. We’re working on a series of YouTube instructional videos, which are available by scanning a QR code on our units.”
While the ever-growing success of the Dumbbell Safety Rack and the company are welcome developments for Donato, he insists what he enjoys most about leading Strength Safe is the response of the people who purchase his product.
“Many people enjoy working out with moderately heavy dumbbells, but struggle getting them into position,” said Donato. “My clients email and text me how much they enjoy using the rack. I sold my first unit in 2019 to a gentleman who still uses it twice a week over five years later. Most of my clients consider it a game-changer for their strength training routine.”
Produced in partnership with Strength Safe.
To learn more or request a demo, contact
stephen@strength-safe.com or visit strength-safe.com.
