Manufacturing Update #2
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 06:06:32 PM

Hi,

I hope you are having a great summer, enjoying time with family and friends! Dustin has been full throttle making the stretch goal design modifications and monitoring the Backmate manufacturing process in Asia. Southern China was experiencing a heat wave this past week, which made for some pretty sweaty trips to the factory, but aside from the temperatures, everything is moving along really well.

Before I share the details of his trip, I have an important announcement to make: We will be charging credit cards this week for the add-ons placed in your BackerKit surveys. This only applies to you if you added a hot/cold roller, and extra Backmate, or a Power Roller AFTER the Kickstarter campaign ended. There is no action needed on your part, just an FYI that, if this does apply to you, you will see a charge on your next credit card statement under "BACKMATE".  The product discounts offered on BackerKit were our way of saying thank you for your support.  

Manufacturing Update #2

We finalized the order quantities and placed the production order with our manufacturer! This was a big milestone and I am proud to have reached it. This means production is in full swing.

As I mentioned in our previous manufacturing update, most of the tooling was finished at the end of our Kickstarter campaign, but we still had some tooling to make for the stretch goals and we had a few design tweaks to a couple of the other parts based on user feedback and testing. The design for those parts are now finalized and the molds are being built.

Here is the mold for the end cap inserts that we updated to make easier to insert and remove.

Here is part of the mold for the newly designed ball bushing that we updated to accommodate the adjustable roller width. 

Here is Josef, the owner of our factory, showing off his new camera system for the production floor.

And here is Dustin and Josef in the factory conference room going over the design and having tea!

I'll be back in a few weeks with more updates on manufacturing and fulfillment. Stay tuned!

Talk soon,

Eric

Backmate at Laguna Seca, Give us your ideas for videos for our YouTube Channel
almost 7 years ago – Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 09:22:38 PM

Hi!
While full throttle in production, we managed to sneak away for an action-packed World Superbike and MotoAmerica weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterrey, CA. Thanks to all those who stopped by to say hello, share old race stories, check out the ZX7-RR I won this race on in 2002 (see photo) and sign up for my weekend helmet giveaway. A bittersweet reunion, this event has a special meaning to me. The Backmate came to be as a result of my 2003 World Superbike crash here that left me with pain, spasms, and headaches for a decade.

Special thanks to Brian K. for a good laugh and the quote of the weekend after using the Backmate: "I thought this thing was a gimmick, but it's no joke!". We need your comments too! We are building out a video library on various ways to use the Backmate. If you have pain or a chronic issue that you would like us to address, please leave us a note in the comments. Keep an eye on our Backmate YouTube  channel for ways to use The Backmate as we build out the channel, based on our suggestions. For weekly wellness tips, you can also follow our Facebook or Instagram page.
 

The Backmate vision is to raise awareness for natural pain solutions and long term health. By addressing the nervous system we can alleviate pain and relax the spasms, and with deep tissue massage, we can increases circulation and reduce chronic inflammation, setting the body on the path of healing and lasting health. If you have a friend or loved one suffering from back pain or headaches, please let them know the best solution to a chronic problem is in your daily habits and refer them to our Backmate home page. 

We will be locking orders this week on BackerKit, so please make sure your survey is filled out and your order is accurate. If you can't find your survey link in your inbox, you can use this link here to access it.

Best wishes,
Eric

Instructions on how to redeem your 30-day subscription to The Waking Up app
almost 7 years ago – Wed, Jul 10, 2019 at 02:33:20 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Manufacturing Update #1
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 21, 2019 at 09:48:50 PM

Hi,

Now that Dustin and I have had a chance to come up for air after the Kickstarter campaign, we are back to working with our factory on manufacturing and supply chain development  - and we've made some great progress I want to share with you! 

But before I dive into the details, I have an important announcement to make: We will be sending out the backer surveys this coming Tuesday, June 25th. These surveys are important and we need you to fill them out so we can get your reward to you. Please keep on eye out on Tuesday for an email from BackerKit with instruction on how to fill out the survey. We can't send out your reward until you fill out the survey confirming your address and order details. If you don't see it in your inbox on Tuesday, look in your spam folder. And if it's not in there either, let us know.

Manufacturing!

Between doing a lot of work before our campaign started and having our campaign fund so quickly, we have been able to make a lot of progress setting up production. We want to make sure we deliver on time by getting production set up as soon as possible - and we are well on our way!

The Backmate is a simple device to use; however, it's not so simple to make! There are 56 total (46 unique) parts required to build it. Below is a list of all the tooling required:

• 13 plastic injection molds
• 5 custom spring mandrels
• 3 sets of CNC machining fixtures
• 2 sets of foam cutting dies
• 2 sets of welding fixtures
• 1 metal injection mold
• 1 sheet metal mold
• 1 sheet metal punch
• 1 thermoforming mold

Fortunately, most of this tooling is finished (just the tools for the stretch goal parts still need to be made and we have already started on them). 

Here is the mold for the standard ball rollers (can you see the Backmate logo in there?!):

And here is the mold for the button that releases the rollers (if you look closely you can see the word "PRESS" in the center of the mold):

And here is our assembly line building a pilot run of Backmates!

I promise to send at least one update per month with our progress on manufacturing and fulfillment. So stay tuned!

Talk soon,

Eric

Gratitude.
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Jun 13, 2019 at 02:26:59 AM

Hi,

Our gratitude can not be expressed in words. Thank you for helping us launch our dream. 1265 Backmates are headed to backers whom we believe will become the first wave of people to free themselves from medication and despair and find a steady path towards lasting health. 

As lifelong friends having both suffered from spine injuries, the release of The Backmate and the excitement and support we have received has been the biggest honor of our lives. We will show our gratitude by delivering the most versatile and effective back health product to ever hit the market. Additionally, we will host a variety of easy to implement exercises and suggestions for back health incorporating recovery, strengthening, diet, and wellness. 

For any of your friends and family that may have missed the launch, The Backmate is now available on Indiegogo here.

Please keep an eye out for an email from us in about a week asking you to fill out a survey to confirm your shipping address and reward.

Sincerely, 

Eric and Dustin