We catch up with Boditrax co-founder, Nick Stillman, for an invaluable insight into the journey, development and future of the innovative body compoisition technology.
1. What is your background, Nick, and how did Boditrax come into fruition?
I am a designer by profession but historically worked in branding and commercial property development before co-founding Boditrax. I have always been passionate about health and fitness and as I saw the opportunity to gather medical, health and fitness data, Boditrax became a viable business model. By embracing cloud technology and web applications to store and track data, we can make this available to all. The market, whilst still emerging, is broadly now described as ‘digital health’ and with more than two million users, Boditrax is creating a niche within the sector.
2. BMI is often criticised as an inaccurate and overgeneralised method of categorising weight and health. Where does Boditrax step in?
Poor old BMI! It does gets bad press – and rightly so as it was designed decades ago as a very broad brush way of creating a scale using just height and weight. However, technology moves on and we now have the ability to quickly and accurately scan and measure down to 50g of change. Boditrax can tell an individual what they are made up of (so muscle, bone, fluid and of course fat). We collect and store this data so the user can set goals and track their progress. It sounds simple now but it took us five years to develop and we are still only at the start of where we can go with the product in terms of a comprehensive physical and mental wellbeing tracking solution, it’s a very exciting time of possibility and change.
3. How does the user monitor their progress/use the data to inform their actions going forward?
In reality Boditrax has two sets of customers, an organisation that leases our equipment and also the clients of that organisation that use our equipment. Typically the organisation wants to both provide this technology to their clients to really add value to their fitness journey and also be able to assess, create plans for change and monitor progress individually and in groups. The data sets also help them understand and influence behaviour so everybody benefits. The individual wants to understand their own body, set goals and track their progress. As the market matures we are collating more and more data within the product so alongside body composition, we store millions of records such as blood pressure, heart rates, fitness trackers, mental wellbeing and health and fitness surveys. Clients want to access this data when and where they choose so we have a range of free apps to ensure that if they are online (or offline) then so are their stats. It’s very secure and very simple to use.
4. Where are Boditrax units proving the most popular?
Great question – and it never ceases to surprise us. Our clients include huge organisations like the NHS, hospitals and universities, large private and public sector health club operators like Nuffield, David Lloyd, Virgin Active, Serco and GLL, prestigious hotels and spas such as Jumeriah, Stoke Park and Hurlingham Polo Club. We are also proud to include a number of elite sports teams from footballs premier league and formula one motor racing. Our clients are using our technology to monitor and manage really varied and innovative programs to help them drive sales, change physical and mental wellbeing and deliver measured outcomes.
5. You have partnered with Johnson Reed to offer your customers a lease option to purchase the technology if they wish. Why is this?
Johnson Reed are our only funding provider for the simple reason that they took the time to do two things. The first was to really learn our technology and product. We hand make Boditrax monitors in England to a very high standard and as such offer a five year warranty. This means that JR confidently underwrite five year funding profiles as they know how well made our kit is. Secondly, they know their own business and those of their clients to an uncanny degree, we get same day quoting and sometimes even approval in 24 hours. We operate in a competitive and dynamic market and you need an agile funder that gets things done.
6. Where do you see Boditrax in 5 years?
Boditrax in five years will be like Boditrax but more – more tech, more features, more accessibility and more connectivity. We measure, store and track and we always will do – but what we measure – well, we are just getting started!
