The mobileXware Story:
How mobiDECKS Came to Be
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Some would say it was an idea born out of convenience and others might tell you it was all about entrepreneurial spirit. Either way, it took two tech-savvy friends and their travels around the world to bring the idea of mobile, on-the-go content to fruition as mobileXware, the makers of mobiDECKS.
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Jason Ryer started his journey in Bolivia as a member of the Peace Corps. In a remote village, where there were no gyms or traditional exercise facilities, Jason and the other volunteers used a clever system to create a motivating workout program to keep fit. Nicknamed “The Deck,” they used a simple deck of playing cards to add a bit of structure and infinite variety to their routine, with each card corresponding to a given exercise (Ace = abs, 2 = push-ups, e.g.). This method was improved when Jason’s brother, Jeff, mailed him a special deck that he found in the U.S. which had cards made specifically for fitness, complete with images and descriptions of a variety of exercises.
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During a trip home in early 2006, Jason introduced the exercise cards to longtime-friend Joel Lenorovitz, who was also back in the country after extensive travels. Joel recognized that the exercise system, which required no weights or equipment, would also serve him well while working in the spartan conditions of a research icebreaker as he sailed the Southern Ocean on scientific missions with the U.S. Antarctic Program. Both Joel and Jason quickly became avid users of the fitness deck.
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Always looking for ways to innovate, Joel scanned his set of fitness cards into a digital format and loaded them into a prototype application on his PDA smartphone that emulated the experience of the physical card deck. The next time the world travelers crossed paths and Jason saw this improvement in convenience, the wheels instantly began turning in his head. Over the next several months the two traded e-mails from different points around the globe and decided to regroup in their home state of Colorado to turn the vision of mobile applications into reality.
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In July of 2007, mobileXware, LLC, was founded and shortly thereafter a partnership was struck with the exercise card company FitDeck to distribute this fitness concept to mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs, mp3 players, etc.) everywhere as FitDeck Mobile. At its core, mobileXware is still a two man operation, but as the mobile markets continue to grow rapidly – along with the new content offerings from potential partners – this pair of entrepreneurs is set to make their way around the world yet again, spreading the mobileXware and mobiDECKS names and putting quality content in the palm of everyone’s hand.
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The mobileXware Timeline
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August 2010 – mobiDECKS brand unveiled at www.mobileXware.com/mobidecks/ to showcase the quality content from mobileXware’s growing list of content partners.
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January 2008 – FitDeck Mobile launched. Available online at www.fitdeckmobile.com.
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July 2007 – mobileXware founded in Boulder, CO, by Joel Lenorovitz and Jason Ryer. Inspired by “the Deck” workout and exercise cards, along with the co-founders’ passion for healthy lifestyles and technological conveniences, the goal is set to create a fitness application for mobile devices. FitDeck Mobile is born and will go on to give people the freedom to exercise anywhere, anytime – putting fitness in the palm of their hand.
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January 2006 – Jason introduced the exercise cards to friend, Joel Lenorovitz. Joel bought a set of the cards and took them with him to his job in Antarctica, where he digitized them to create an early prototype of the FitDeck Mobile application.
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October 2004 – Jason’s brother, learning of “the Deck” workout, discovered a set of exercise cards that accomplished a similar workout without the need for special equipment, so he gave them to Jason.
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December 2003 – Jason Ryer went to Bolivia as a Peace Corps volunteer and was introduced to “the Deck” workout routine. Other volunteers had developed a system involving playing cards. Each card would be designated an exercise, such as Ace equals sit ups, and when you flipped that card, one would do the corresponding exercise.
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Joel Lenorovitz, Co-Founder
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Joel is one of the co-founders of mobileXware, makers of the mobiDECKS content publishing platform. With his diverse collection of skills and experience and an avid interest in fitness and travel, the entrepreneurial opportunity with mobileXware was a natural fit. As demonstrated in this photo, Joel puts the mobiDECKS “anywhere, anytime” mantra to the test as he performs a FitDeck Mobile exercise on the frozen waters of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
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Before co-founding mobileXware, Joel worked as a marine instrument and computer specialist aboard the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research ships with the U.S. Antarctic Program. Prior to that, he has been involved in all phases of software development on a wide variety of projects including the Visible Human Project, a pioneering digital repository of human anatomy that is part of the NSF’s National Library of Medicine.
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Joel has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Kinesiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a minor in Computer Science. He has been closely involved with the medical, scientific, and fitness communities throughout his career and is certified as a Wilderness EMT.
In addition to global adventure, Joel’s other interests include sports and outdoor activities, music, foreign languages, and – lately – homebuilding.
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Jason Ryer, Co-Founder
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Jason is one of the co-founders of mobileXware, makers of the mobiDECKS content publishing platform. As a world traveler, humanitarian, and athlete, Jason saw the opportunity with mobileXware to create a business and a software utility that people could use anywhere. He is shown here alongside his brother going through a FitDeck Mobile workout at a “gym” in Bolivia.
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Before co-founding mobileXware, Jason was a software developer for IBM in Boulder, Boston and New York. After completing graduate school, he traveled to Bolivia as a member of the Peace Corps to teach information technology, improve educational resources, and increase economic opportunity for impoverished communities. While there, he started an NGO that distributed more than 200 computers to schools and libraries and helped launch Save the Children’s technology program.
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Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Fort Lewis College and a master’s in Business from the University of Colorado, Denver. His other interests include snowboarding, exercising, playing basketball and volleyball as well as mountain biking.
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He has a passion for travel and getting to know new places and cultures. To date, he has been to more than 40 countries!