It appears Rogue Fitness is under fire (again) after the small husband and wife team at Kleva Built recently shared a video.
In what seemed like the perfect partnership for Kleva Built, Rogue reached out wanting to license their designs.
Confidential information was exchanged but 9 months passed and Kleva Built hadn’t heard anything back…
The Back Story
Table of Contents
Watch the video above where Steve from Kleva Built explains exactly what happened.
Rep Fitness To The Rescue
After discussions with Rogue stalled, Kleva Built and Rep Fitness teamed up in 2023 and the difference was night and day.
Kleva Built describes their Rep Fitness partnership as the “partner we should’ve had from the start”.
Steve says, “Rep has been everything we could have hoped for in a business partner, punctual, transparent, reliable, and trustworthy. Rep has been consistent since day one with weekly calls and proactively moving forward.”
“In contrast, our experience with Rogue involved delays and no clear path making it difficult to move forward with confidence”.
ALSO CHECKOUT: Rep Fitness Discounts
Timeline Of Events
- 2022 – Rogue reaches out to Kleva Built for licensing, Kleva sends CAD files and confidential info to Rogue
- 9 months pass and discussions stall between both companies
- 2023 – Rep Fitness and Kleva Built partner up
- 2024 – Rep launches Kleva Built products
- Shortly after, Rogue launches products (after NDA expired) that look very similar to those discussed between them and Kleva Built
Rogue Has Been Here Before
The reason this is making news, is because Rogue has been in a similar situation before…
It happened when Mutant Metals launched their Ultimate Dip Attachment (UDA).
Shortly after, Rogue had a similar product on their website but they got backlashed for it by the home gym community.
So Rogue eventually partnered with Mutant Metals and now carries their dip attachment on their website.
Rogue seemed to have redeemed themselves by supporting a small company…
READ NEXT: Is The Rogue Boneyard Worth It?
JumpNRope vs Rogue Comes Out
But apparently this goes further back then what’s happened recently.
In 2010, Molly Metz from JumpNRope patented a jump rope with a dual bearing system and articulating eye piece.
These features were innovating in the jump rope world making them one of a kind.
Then in 2012, Molly noticed Rogue was infringing on her patent and selling jump ropes with her technology.
When she reached out, all they said was “talk to our attorneys” so Molly made the tough choice to close her gym in order to afford attorneys.
Eventually, Molly lost the lawsuit as her patents were invalidated and Rogue came out on top.
Last I checked, the Supreme Court was considering the review of Molly’s case against Rogue.
What Happens Next?
Although Rogue didn’t break any laws (they waited til the NDA expired), this does seem a bit shady coming from a huge manufacturer that’s been through something similar before.
And stuff like this only discourages inventors from sharing great ideas that may benefit the fitness industry.
It’s much easier to give credit where credit is due and collaborate with another brand just like they did with Mutant Metals.
It helps both companies, customers get a quality product made in the U.S., and everyone wins.
I don’t know what happens next, but rest assure the home gym community and it’s inventors will be keeping a close eye on this situation.