WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN 2001? DO YOU REMEMBER???
We conceived the Jumping® programme! We were 17 (Jana) and 21 years old (Tomas).
Quite often, we are asked: “How did you get that idea? Why a trampoline?” Our story is ordinary. We both come from regular families from the South Bohemian city of Tabor. We led a completely normal life you can imagine with a high school girl and a fresh university student. Every day, we were going to a part-time job in the fitness centre after school. We worked at the reception, as personal trainers and instructors. Every day, every weekend, the same thing again: school, work, learning for the school-leaving exam, examinations, admission exams for the university. However, one day was different. Our friend at the time came to us, dragging a horrible, creaky little trampoline and had a request: “Please, I need to lose weight, conceive something on that trampoline for me.” As always, we nodded passionately. At home, we immediately tried what could or could not be done. The poor trampoline squeaked under us as if it was about to die. Probably the biggest breakthrough was that we moved the trampoline to the wall bars that were fastened to the wall. We jumped and held the bar as a handle. Precisely at that moment, that was it. It was a feeling like when you fall in love.
We had supporting handlebars welded to the trampoline in an amateur way, sprayed them with paint and the FIRST FORM OF A JUMPING® TRAMPOLINE WAS BORN.Since that time, we lived through “jumping”. We bought further 6 creaky trampolines with a diameter of 100 cm and also decorated with amateurishly welded handlebars. We thought about Jumping® day and night. Conceived exercises. Then names for them. “Side jumps”, “scissors”, “jumping jack”, “scales”, and many other exercises you know well were created. Yes, “Jumping®’. It is jumping, so simply Jumping®. We did not think about it more. No business thoughts. Nothing. We just want to jump and we have to call “it” somehow. We had our first seven trampolines and the first Jumping® lessons started in the fitness centre where we had a part-time job. These lessons were firstly for our family and friends. It was an instrument for doing something we like and also making a little money. Loud music, UV lights, shouts and whoops did not take long to attract people walking by. We added further lessons. And more and more and more. We bought 19 more trampolines and moved the Jumping® lessons a floor above into the canteen!
Our day looked like this: school all day, clear the canteen after the school, pull 26 trampolines upstairs, train 4-6 lessons, carry the trampolines a floor down, put the canteen into the original state. It is about half past ten at night and the time for learning comes. We drop off near the morning and another demanding but beautiful day starts for us again. It may sound unbelievable but we were happy! Jumping® began to conquer Tabor! Our hometown of 40,000 inhabitants. That was our goal - that the whole city knows Jumping®. We did up to 21 lessons a week! One day, a fitness centre from the other end of the country approached us. The request was clear: “We want Jumping® trampolines and to train instructors.” It was unbelievable, somebody wants to buy our idea!This continued for entire 5 years until 2006. In that year, we joined a tour around the country and show Jumping® to the general public. Success came very soon and Jumping® conquered the Czech Republic. We had a feeling there can be nothing more, ever. Gradually, we admitted that the small trampolines we used for Jumping® were insufficient and low quality. Round spring trampolines that cannot withstand the impact of our programme. The springs corrode, creak, break, shoot at people… The impact strings crack. The legs of the trampolines break. In 2010, we decided to make another crucial step.
We were standing on a dusty road near a garage and talking about Jumping®, how else. We draw various shapes into the dusty road with the foot and there is a breakthrough idea: “A CIRCLE IS UNNECESSARY. WHAT ABOUT A HEXAGON?!” Most exercises are sideways. Side jumps. We need the most room here. And again, the feeling of euphoria comes. Love. Victory. You know the feeling inside when you know that the thought, the idea is just IT. The winning feeling is exchanged with the feelings of hopelessness, pain. We seek suitable materials. Try everything possible and impossible. We think we already have the right stuff. The trampolines look gorgeous.
In 2011, we take all the money we have and order a small booth in the corner at the FIBO Fair in Germany. We present not only the Jumping® programme there but also the breakthrough design of the hexagonal trampoline.The world market opens up for us. Jumping® is demanded in Germany, Kuwait, Israel, Italy, and other countries. Since 2011, we keep the same design. We keep working on the technical capabilities of the materials used. We covered a huge distance. We still test what Mat will spring best, what threads to use, what style of stitch to choose, how long rubber rope will be the best. It is an endless game that entertains us endlessly and is our life.
The first 13 years of Jumping® were very difficult. We invested all the time and money back. We did not have money for almost anything but the development was worth it. And we can write this story only thanks to that! Our Jumping® life was enriched by Jumping® “Master” trainers, to whom we handed over all of our long-term know-how. It is right them who now leads the training titled “Jumping® Basic diploma” and “Jumping® Advanced diploma”. These boys: Jakub Marik, Jakub Novotny, Enrique Navarro, Samuel Piskura, Ondro Brunčák and Nailton Heringer are our alter ego. They spend entire days on the plane on their way to you in order to help you fulfil your dreams…
Currently, there are many companies in the world that make hexagonal trampolines with supporting handlebars. However, none of them knows that the trampoline they make somewhere was originally created by drawing on a dusty road near a garage with a toe tip. We do not abandon our ideas and values. We still make all Jumping® products here, in the Czech Republic, where we are able to check the quality and react to possible imperfections. It could seem our dream is fulfilled: Jumping® is in 54 countries in the world. Every year, we participate in world fairs, we alternate on the stages with top world fitness people, we gain success, make over 1,000 trampolines a month.
But that is not the case. We live our dream. We live it through Jumping®.
Share our story about making the dreams come true.
The values remain.
With love, Jana and Tomas
