Described by Riccardo Luna as ‘the first and only Italian startup established in a garage,’ Technogym is well on its way to its first forty years, all of which were Made in Italy successes! The entrepreneurial story of Nerio Alessandri, president and founder of Technogym Wellness Company, a world leader in wellness, fitness and rehabilitation, could be the all-Italian version of Gabriele Muccino’s “The Pursuit of Happiness.”
Beginnings in the garage
Born in 1961 in Cesena to a family that didn’t even have a telephone at home, he achieved a high school diploma in engineering. After working for three years in a company, he quit to follow his entrepreneurial dream. He thought about opening an Emporio Armani, but in the meantime, together with two friends, he designed and built a piece of gym equipment in his garage. The prototype was successful, and he handled orders from a public phone booth.
At only 22 years old, he founded Technogym with his brother. Passionate about sports, he leveraged his knowledge and patented “Unica,” the first home fitness equipment and a line of gym equipment.
The 1980s: major collaborations
In the late 1980s, Technogym began a fruitful collaboration with the world of soccer and Formula 1. It became the official supplier of athletic training equipment to some of the leading soccer teams (including A.C. Milan), world-class athletes such as Formula 1 drivers Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, and some of the most prestigious international sporting events (such as the 1990 World Cup).
In 1990, he introduced the concept of “wellness” to the world of sports, thus linking sporting activity to physical well-being and promoting for the first time a mindful approach to training beyond mere activity done for hedonistic purposes. At the same time, he designed the unique CPR system, an algorithm that determines the intensity of training based on heart rate.
Official supplier of the Sydney Olympics
The 2000s began with an important acknowledgement for Technogym. The company was chosen as the Official Supplier for athletic training at the Sydney Olympics, where over 10,000 athletes used equipment Made in Italy for training. The same will happen with all subsequent editions of the Olympics.
The Wellness Foundation
In 2003, Alessandri founded the Wellness Foundation to spread the culture of the “wellness” lifestyle. Meanwhile, technology is becoming increasingly pervasive, and the fitness world is no exception. In 2010, the launch of the Technogym Ecosystem ushered in a new era for physical activity, offering everyone everywhere the opportunity to take the Wellness experience with them. In 2016, the company went public.
Nerio Alessandri has obtained several acknowledgements. In 2001, he was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor) by President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the youngest Knight of Labor in Italian history. He received two honorary degrees in 2004 and 2005, in Motor Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, respectively. Among numerous other awards he received throughout his career, the Sport Award in 2017 for his commitment to supporting the Olympic Movement by Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee, certainly stands out.
Nerio Alessandri’s decalogue
Recently, Nerio Alessandri, summarizing his participation in La Repubblica’s Italian Tech Week, published his decalogue of lessons he has learned in his professional and personal life. These lessons are learned through curiosity, commitment, and, above all, “doing better what we have to do. When you succeed, you start to be happy.”
Technogym, with headquarters in Cesena, 900 million in sales and 1900 employees, now holds world leadership in the Fitness and Wellness industry.
Kudos to those who bring Made in Italy technology and design to the world!