After suffering years of injuries, Robert Peritz decided to take his health and fitness into his own hands. The Carmel Valley resident is the man behind the Flex Disc, a piece of exercise equipment that has gained popularity in the fitness world after being unveiled this year.
The Flex Disc, which is also available in a “Mini Disc” form, is a tool that allows for functional movement to build strength, mobility, flexibility, stability, balance, and core strength. The company said “one single move performed with the Flex Disc fires up the entire body, challenging it to stay balanced and in control.”
Peritz, a New York native, started Flex Disc after founding three other companies.
“The previous three companies were in the apparel business, including one where I designed and manufactured men’s and ladies sportswear for big box retailers like Eddie Bauer and GAP,” Peritz said. “I started Flex Disc without any experience in the fitness world other than having a gym membership, but I’ve always loved fitness so I merged the two.”
Peritz first began developing the concept of Flex Disc in 2012, running tests for six years before bringing it to market. The product came after the avid athlete said he suffered multiple injuries.
“I grew up a competitive athlete and have always been a fitness enthusiast,” Peritz said. “I have incurred multiple injuries over the years, which have required surgery and the concomitant rehab. Rehab taught me how important movement was to our bodies functioning properly.”
Peritz, an alum of Wharton School of Business, said the idea of Flex Disc came while he was using his stability ball for working out.
“I wanted to develop a product as simple as a ball but with more versatility and portability,” said Peritz, who lives in Carmel Valley with his girlfriend and dogs. “I have developed several more fitness products that can either be integrated with the discs or used independently. The goal is to continue to develop a modular training system where products can be used independently or with each other for functional training.”
So far, Peritz’s training system has proven to be a hit. He’s gained fans among professional athletes as well as fitness enthusiasts.
“My goal was to develop a training product that could be utilized by any gender, age, or fitness level,” Peritz said. “It has been very gratifying to see the product being used by an incredible broad spectrum of people.”
Amid the stay-at-home order, Peritz said he’ll continue to devise equipment to help encourage more people to exercise and ultimately, live healthier lives.
“I plan to continue to develop training products that integrate with the existing platform to continually challenge and incentivize people to stay fit,” Peritz said. “Boredom is one of the main reasons people stop exercising.”
For more information about the Flex Disc, go to flexdiscfit.com/.
