THE STORY SO FAR

Our journey began in late 2022 when I transitioned to a hybrid fitness routine after 16 years of pure weight-training. Adding running was tough, often fighting through severe DOMS from leg day and then lifting with sore joints from running. Eventually it was a recurring soleus tear that led me to experiment with heel elevation during workouts, to reduce muscle and joint strain whilst maintaining performance.

High-drop shoes helped the running, and balancing on 2.5kg plates while squatting, offered relief to my ankles and calves in the gym. But plates provided no support and were difficult to adjust under the bar, so I couldn’t shift much weight this way. In search of something better, I considered buying weightlifting shoes as they also have a raised heel to achieve the same effect. But at £160+ and since I only needed them for a few exercises a week, it was hard to justify yet another pair of sport-specific shoes.

Instead I looked for ways adapt my trusty Converse, expecting to find a suitable attachment online- like crampons for climbing boots. It seemed like an obvious idea at the time but as I found nothing in my search, I thought it would be fun to just design my own.

After some initial sketches and a trip to B&Q, I ultimately cobbled together some offcuts of wood, a few picture hooks, screws, two ratchet straps and a pair of rubber gloves, to create what is now affectionately known as the “Frankenstein Model” for just £8.73!

Despite its looks, I used this prototype for weeks at my local gym and went on to hit several lifetime PBs without a sniff of injury over the period. This was all the confirmation I needed to believe that Z-BLOX had the potential to help millions of other gym-goers just like me.

Fast forward to today and after countless prototypes, design drawings and patent filings, I’m excited to finally bring Z-BLOX to market, and I can’t wait to hear about the impact it has on your workouts.

But as a masterpiece is never finished, if you’ve managed to snag one of the first releases and you have any feedback for us, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can improve to deliver the best product possible.

Thank you for your support!