Blog

Welcome to The Flywheel, the official blog of the Original ROM Machine. In this space, you'll find the latest news and information about the ROM Machine, the science behind it, and related health tips.

Date: 3/16/12. Author: Alf Temme

IHRSA - 31st Annual International Convention & Trade Show And Factory Tour

From March 15th to 16th, we exhibited at the IHRSA's annual trade show. IHRSA, the 'International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association' is the trade association serving the health and fitness club industry and exhibiting at the show is a great way to allow club owners and other health and fitness industry professionals to get hands on experience with our product. The show was an absolute success for us and it was great meeting so many people who were excited about seeing and trying out the machine.



A day prior to the show's opening, we also hosted a delegation of about 30 health club owners from the Netherlands, who were in town for the IHRSA convention, but also made time for a tour of our factory in North Hollywood before the show started. We always enjoy showing people the manufacturing process, from the raw materials being laser cut into the shapes of the frame, to the final assembly area. If you are ever in the area and interested in seeing the facility, please call us, and we can arrange a tour for you as well.



- Alf Temme, owner/founder ROMfab, ROM Machine User and Evangelist

Date: 2/23/12. Author: Alf Temme

When I was first introduced to the ROM Machine back in 1990, I thought it was an elaborate hoax. Sure, it was a designing marvel and work of art, but I seriously doubted the inventor´s claims that the machine could give you a complete workout in exactly 4 minutes a day. But it didn´t take me long to become a convert and devote everything to making and selling the Machine.

The ROM Machine was originally manufactured in a rented corner space of a small factory in Goleta, CA. My youngest son and I would trek up there every Monday, spend the week in the factory, and come home for the weekend. We didn´t have a retail location, and the machine was just distributed out of the showroom of the family sauna-making business.

After a few years, we were able to purchase our own manufacturing equipment and started making the ROM Machine locally. Many people thought I was crazy and thought attempting to manufacture and sell the ROM was a fools´ errand. But I believed in the product and knew that one day, there would be a tipping point. I didn´t think that it would take 12 years to reach that point. Finally, in 2002, something clicked, and slowly the orders started coming in. The process snowballed, and referral sales became our single largest source of sales, accounting for nearly a quarter of all ROM Machines going out.

Twenty years after those first weekly drives up to Goleta, all our hard work has paid off. When I walk through our sprawling 56,000 square foot factory in North Hollywood, CA, today and watch machines being readied for shipment all over the U.S. and internationally, I´m glad I took that risk in 1990. I look forward to another 20 years making, promoting and sharing the ROM Machine with others. And since I usethe ROM Machine daily, I expect to still be around here at age 91 as well.
- Alf Temme, owner/founder ROMfab, ROM Machine User and Evangelist