EvolutionVN is the home of a proprietary piece of exercise equipment, the Evolution Training System. As their flagship product, the Evolution is a compact, versatile, and functional piece of equipment that makes exercise and rehabilitation more practical, effective, and sustainable. It was designed to fit any space and to have unique applications for every user. And with CEO and Lead Innovator, Vu Nguyen, leading the way, EvolutionVN develops products with functionality, universality, and user experience in mind.
Ever since he was a young child, Vu has been an innovator; he loved applying his mind to create and build. Oftentimes, this involved complex and structurally-sound forts. Other times, this required the complete destruction and reconstruction of household electronics such as CD players, VCRs, and cassette rewinders. He would completely take them apart and most of the time was able to put them back together. So, for Vu, innovation came naturally and was the product of curiosity and creativity. This led to an early career as an engineer.
Although he is an adamant believer that it is important that we use our imaginations to create new things, he does not believe in innovating for the sake of innovating. He believes that innovation must be driven by need and solve problems. Fortunately, through the unique combination of a curious mind and an empathetic lens, he is able to identify areas of need and to create practical and usable products around this need.
The Evolution Training System is an example of this.
Why the Evolution Training System? Vu spent many of his teenage and early adult years struggling with debilitatingly low self-confidence. With time he came to understand that his lack of confidence was a product of poor body image. But even though he knew what the remedy was, in his mental state, he could not bear the thought of going to the gym. So rather than exercise in public, he decided that he would exercise from the privacy and safety of his basement.
Eventually, through exercise, he found his confidence. This newfound confidence changed his life in ways that words alone cannot explain. It helped his career and allowed him to restore old relationships as well as build new ones. Now, understanding the importance of self-confidence, he made it his life mission to help others extract their own. But he was not going to achieve that as an engineer. Because of his experience with gym insecurity, he acknowledged that while the gym and other fitness facilities are great for some, they are not for many others.
He understood that there needed to be a better alternative.
Hence the birth of the Evolution, a product that is not only convenient, versatile, and compact but also one that was specifically designed so that anyone of any experience, skill, and ability can use it. The Evolution comes at the intersection of ingenuity and a desire to instill change.
Today, the Evolution is a tool that promotes further innovation. Vu often refers to it as a “Practitioner’s Playground”. When placed in the hands of professionals, new applications are always being discovered. There is simply no limit to how you can use it. And now, EvolutionVN is exploring the most exciting application to date by introducing the Evolution to the adaptive exercise space to serve those who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.
This is particularly exciting as, over the latter half of 2021, Vu has gone headfirst into this space and was shocked to discover the massive disparity in products and services for the disabled community. He learned that this community is unjustifiably underserved, and their needs overlooked. The gap is large, and the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this. Given the simple structure and versatility of the Evolution, it can bridge this gap and be an inclusive solution this community needs.
He has worked with and learned from professionals, athletes, and others in the space and found that the Evolution has many applications here. Successful integration of the Evolution into the adaptive exercise space will fulfill the company’s mission of making exercise convenient, inclusive, and accessible regardless of experience, skill, and ability. Offering the disabled community a piece of equipment that they can use only fills a small void, but it’s a start. And while there is a significant road ahead, Vu believes this is a cause worth pursuing.