PLAE, the fitness equipment maker based in Canton, GA, hired Roy Simonson as director of product innovation. Simonson has more than four decades of experience designing fitness equipment and holds more than 30 patents.
“Roy is a uniquely gifted visionary, and we are honored to have him join the PLAE team,” said Brett Waits, president, PLAE. “His incredible ingenuity will inspire additional exceptional performance solutions that set new standards and evolve the industry.”
- Simonson started his career in 1979 when he launched Eagle Fitness with his brother. He sold it four years later to Cybex International, Inc. While at Cybex, he introduced 100 strength products, including the VR and VR2 selectorized lines, plate-loaded equipment and free weights. In 2000, Simonson launched Ground Zero (later renamed FreeMotion Fitness) and sold Ground Zero to ICON Health & Fitness in 2002. He then went to work for Eleiko in 2015.
“Most equipment in training facilities uses only a single plane, but we move in three dimensions in real life,” Simonson said. “My goal is to build different tools for various applications, including new types of equipment and new ways to build strength, balance, coordination, and proprioception.”
