A
s each new year comes
around, a January 1
hangover is not complete
without deciding upon
a resolution to start getting
back in shape. The first
step – getting some new kit to kick-start
the process, quickly raising the phrase,
‘all the gear no idea’.
But with the rise of fitness technology,
everyone from the gym novice to the tech geek
has access to cutting-edge guidance at their
fingertips. In this, Fitbit has led the way,
owning upwards of 80 per cent of the wearable
fitness trackers’ market. They’re everywhere,
achieving that rare status of having a whole
market synonymous with a single brand.
What started as a company selling bands
to track daily step counts, now offers a wide
range of health and fitness-related products
from wi-fi scales to smartwatches.
But are they actually any good? Or simply
another accessory; a reflection of our consumer
society where there’s an app for everything?
Maybe. But, in speaking to Fitbit’s CEO,
James Park, about the new ‘Ionic’ smartwatch,
we find out the future of fitness isn’t about
fitness at all. Not really anyway. Fitness was just
the start – the brand has its sights set on bolder
challenges. The real game changer, according
to Park, will be entering the healthcare market.INTERVIEWWORDS: CHRISTOPHER RILEY. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.
AS IN, TO ITS FULL CAPACITY? WE
MEET FITBIT’S CEO TO TALK ABOUT
THE NEW ‘IONIC’ SMARTWATCH
AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW
IT CAN ENHANCE A WORKOUT.WHO
ACTUALLY
USES FITNESS
TECH?
GQ: There’s a difference
between having great access
to data and actually using it –
what is Fitbit doing to help
users get the best from
its devices?
James Park: We have a feature
called ‘SmartTrack’, which
automatically recognises
different activities using
machine learning and AI. For
instance, with our sleep feature
there’s tips and observations,
like maybe we’ve noticed
Mondays are your best day for
sleep – so our users can then
ask what it was they were doing
on Monday to achieve that.
GQ: Can you chart a typical
day’s interaction with the
‘Ionic’ in order to help a user
get the most out of it?
JP: They wear it to bed, and
they wake up in the morning,
having used our sleep
consistency feature, which
helps guide them as to when to
go to bed/wake up in order to
get the most rest. They may
then go on a morning run –they’ll have their ‘Ionic’ on and
will launch the exercise app.
They don’t need to have their
phone because with the ‘Ionic’
they can load their favourite
music and it has GPS, so they
just press start and begin their
run. During the run the app
will automatically pause and
resume when you take a break.
Along the way they may use
their watch to pay for a bottle of
water. Throughout the day we
have our ‘reminder-to-move’
feature, which prompts them to
walk a number of steps per hour.
GQ: What aspect of Fitbit
devices has been most
instrumental in helping to
boost a user’s fitness?
JP: One of the more important
ones has been our social
network capability and the
competition associated with it.
Having people on a leaderboard
competing with friends and
family on steps has been one of
the things to really get people
moving. People with one friend
walk at least 700 more stepsper day and every friend who
joins adds a few more hundred
steps, up to a limit. So the
social aspect has definitely
been a big feature for us.
GQ: You’ve changed the
company’s mission statement
from consumer electronics
to a digital healthcare company- why the shift?
JP: Part of what we have tried
to do with Fitbit is to turn
a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ - the ‘must have’ comes from
healthcare. We started getting
emails about how Fitbit is
literally saving people’s lives.
This happened when we
launched our heart-rate
tracking technology and people
could observe if their heart rate
spikes dramatically. This would
prompt them to see a doctor
who would often diagnose a
serious cardiac condition.
The introduction of more
advanced technologies like
this has given us the insight
that these devices are more
valuable than just consumer
fitness; there’s actually a big
need in the medical community.
GQ: Broadly speaking, where
are we headed with fitness tech
in the next five years?
JP: There’s going to be a shift
in integrating more deeply with
the healthcare ecosystem and
not only helping people with
their fitness goals but their
health goals, whether that’s
helping manage diabetes or
sleep disorders, or lowering
the cost of care.
Fitbit ‘Ionic’ smartwatch,
$449.95; fitbit.com/au
STAND UP STRAIGHT
The real secret to looking like a Greek God lies in building a strong core – the collection of muscles in your midsection from abs and obliques to lower
back. Our learned friends at Harvard Medical School agree, with a recent article stating “a strong, flexible core underpins almost everything you do”.
And to achieve this, you need decent posture – back straight, core engaged. That’s the thinking behind new product Upright Go. Stick the small
sensor on your upper back as you go about your daily business and a hint of droopy shoulders triggers a vibration. Wear for 15-60 minutes a day to
build a stronger core and ease that lower back pain that comes with sitting slouched at a desk all day. UPRIGHT GO, $149.95; UPRIGHTPOSE.COMMEN OF THE YEAR 2017 GQ.COM.AU 223