{"id":21636,"date":"2021-06-09T16:26:03","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T16:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=21636&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-03-10T19:21:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T19:21:00","slug":"taking-shape","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/taking-shape\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Shape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2021\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a0By Laura J. Cole\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The trope of stationary bikes and\u00a0treadmills doubling as glorified\u00a0furniture for laundry has become a\u00a0thing of the past.<\/p>\n

Home exercise equipment has\u00a0found new popularity, beginning prior\u00a0to the pandemic but picking up speed\u00a0as people found themselves at home\u00a0and in desperate need of a physical\u00a0outlet.<\/p>\n

Lou Lentine \u201993<\/strong> was ahead of the\u00a0trend. In 2015, he launched Echelon,\u00a0which offers on-demand studio\u00a0fitness classes that users can follow\u00a0along with at home using their smart\u00a0bikes, treadmills, rowers and mirrors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the success of our first\u00a0fitness product, we wanted to bring a\u00a0more immersive fitness experience,\u00a0that\u2019s when we created our app\u00a0and started filming classes,\u201d says\u00a0Lentine, who majored in marketing\u00a0at UCF<\/a>. \u201cEchelon then grew from\u00a0selling $35,000 a minute on QVC, to\u00a0becoming a global brand at major\u00a0retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every month, users participate in\u00a05 million classes, Lentine says. That\u2019s\u00a0partially thanks to the big-name\u00a0celebrities \u2014 from Mario Lopez and\u00a0Joey Fatone to Lady Gaga and Pitbull\u00a0\u2014 who partner with the brand and\u00a0co-host classes. And it\u2019s also thanks\u00a0to a range of pricing options aimed\u00a0at making the equipment and classes\u00a0more accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n

Before the celebrities and record-breaking\u00a0sales, Lentine was\u00a0already a successful entrepreneur.\u00a0By the age of 30, he had built a $30\u00a0million consumer products business.\u00a0Those products include items such\u00a0as Christmas laser lights, which he\u00a0became involved with after his father\u00a0almost died hanging the decorative\u00a0strings. According to Lentine, the\u00a0year they were released, the lights\u00a0outsold bananas at Walmart \u2014 the\u00a0top-selling product at the megastore\u00a0year after year.<\/p>\n

The idea for Echelon, like the\u00a0laser lights, was largely inspired\u00a0by personal experiences. Lentine\u2019s\u00a0doctor told him he needed to lose\u00a0weight and change his lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Let\u2019s create a fitness\u00a0product,\u2019 and it really transformed\u00a0from there,\u201d Lentine says. \u201cEchelon\u00a0has become a global brand\u00a0and an amazing\u00a0success story. We couldn\u2019t be more\u00a0blessed, but I really give a lot of credit\u00a0to UCF for the help they\u2019ve provided\u00a0us in building this global brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his team decided to create\u00a0Echelon, he turned to UCF\u2019s Business\u00a0Incubation Program<\/a> to help refine\u00a0what the company would become\u00a0and to develop the platform\u2019s app.\u00a0He also turned to his alma mater\u00a0to rent space in Central Florida\u00a0Research Park for the tech center\u00a0and to recruit employees.<\/p>\n

What started as a small space in\u00a0Research Park has grown sevenfold,\u00a0and on July 1, the company will\u00a0open its 9,000-square-foot tech\u00a0development center in Orlando,\u00a0adding to studios in Miami, Colombia,\u00a0France, Germany and the United\u00a0Kingdom \u2014 and the company\u2019s home\u00a0base in Chattanooga, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\u201cEchelon is changing people\u2019s\u00a0lives, like it changed mine,\u201d says\u00a0Lentine. \u201cEvery day I read the social\u00a0stories from our members about\u00a0how Echelon trainers inspired them\u00a0to not only workout, but to bring\u00a0positivity into their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

\n
[photo id=”21904″ title=”Lunchpad-Lou-800×1200″ alt=”headshot of lou lentine” position=”left” width=”320px”][\/photo]<\/div>\n
\n

WHO<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lou Lentine \u201993<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE PITCH<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Affordable, connected fitness products that inspire and empower people from all walks of life to live happier, healthier lives<\/p>\n

THE INSPIRATION<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lentine\u2019s doctor telling him he needed to lose weight and lower his cholesterol<\/p>\n

BACKERS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

UCF\u2019s Business Incubation Program, Goldman Sachs, North Castle Partners and United Talent Agency<\/p>\n

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Online and at more than 4,000 retailers, including Best Buy, Costco, Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods, Kohl\u2019s, Sam\u2019s Club, Target and Walmart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21778,"template":"","categories":[1408],"tags":[324,1559,1452],"class_list":["post-21636","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-launchpad","tag-college-of-business","tag-lou-lentine","tag-ucf-alumni","issues-1541","issues-summer-2021"],"yoast_head":"\nTaking Shape: How a UCF Alum Launched Echelon Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF marketing alum Lou Lentine's global exercise brand, Echelon Fitness, is topping the home-fitness industry leaderboard.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/taking-shape\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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