MINNEAPOLIS — Crutches have largely stayed the same over the last decade, but folks at Minneapolis-based Mobi believe it's time for the venerable walking aid to undergo a 21st century makeover. From a design standpoint, the company's Mobilegs and Mobilegs Ultra feature soft saddles, saddle pivots, hand grips and universal rocker feet.
"Our mission is to establish entirely new benchmarks in the world of assisted mobility technology," said Todd Nelson, director of retail sales and business development. "Let's call it the freedom of movement, movement."
The company's "Mobi Manifesto" declares its new line, set to launch in July, is "human-engineered for comfort, safety and usability, easily upgradable, sustainably conceived and manufactured" and "infinitely customizable by the individual."
Mobi is also employing some 21st century marketing techniques to attract a younger consumer. The website at www.mobilegs.com is positioned to provide a branded, connected experience via social networking sites such as Facebook, with tools for users to have their Mobilegs signed by family, friends and physicians. After the virtual "signing," message-laden MobiE-sign skins will ship the same day.
"Customizing Mobilegs with more than 50 upcoming skins that can be applied adds a further component of individuality and customization to what can be a not-so-fun experience," said Nelson, adding that "boomers and millenials alike have also become more design-oriented and demand more from the products out in the marketplace — in both function and aesthetic."
With broad-spectrum appeal to design enthusiasts, the upstart company is calling out to consumer magazines such as Details, GQ and Men's Health as primary targets for reaching younger men and women. "The skins offer a broad appeal to men and women alike," said Nelson. "We are also targeting the primary caregiver — mom — who will know about where to get upgrades and connect to the Internet to order Mobiskins."
Mobi's design guru Jeff Weber experienced a broken heel a few years ago that relegated him to crutches for an extended time. Weber described his search for a comfortable, well-designed product as futile to difficult at best, so he set out to do something about it.
"What he found was uncomfortable and not designed with the mechanics of the human body in mind," said Nelson. "The products he found were also unattractive and without the power of brand and design. Jeff became aware of an opportunity to brand where there was no brand — to design intuitively where there was little design — creating a new synergy of design and functionality for mobility."
Weber should know. He has designed some of the most successful products in the consumer marketplace, such as the Aeron and Embody Chairs by Herman Miller and PUR Water Filtration systems. He's also the one who dubbed his newest design Mobi.
Company officials envision Mobilegs as the first in a continuum of mobility products that will include the Mobiwalk (a walker), Mobistick (cane), Mobibone (cast) and Mobiroller (wheelchair).
Along with a "spectacular brand and design," Nelson said Mobi offers "a social experience and above all, comfort and support for patients." Mobi Universal "does fall within the realm of reimbursement for insurance," he said.
