Choreographer Anusha Swamy checks out the Sthenos health pole at a workshop in Chetpet EcoPark
The air at Mannurpet’s community of streets is punctuated by sounds of machining: of metal hitting metal, metallic drilling into slabs of concrete, and the sparks of welding.
On the periphery of Ambattur Industrial Property, these streets are lined with small-scale outlets concerned within the manufacturing of car parts for firms reminiscent of TVS, BharatBenz, Nissan and Hyundai.
Criss-crossing these lanes on their bikes, Mathew Fernandes and Prasanna Perumal say that this mecca of car manufacturing is the bottom for his or her health startup, Sthenos. Together with Muthu Veeran, the three Rajalakshmi Engineering Faculty graduates have based a make-in-Chennai firm, domestically manufacturing health tools reminiscent of poles, multibars, metallic parallets for push-ups, Swedish bars (for gymnastics) and resistance bands.
Sthenos is their pandemic child; they struck upon the concept when of their fourth yr, their faculty life hit pause because of the lockdowns.
“We realised that everybody on Instagram was both changing into a baker or a health influencer,” laughs Prasanna, who was drawn into the world of callisthenics and energy coaching by Mathew, a parkour fanatic. “Prasanna made a plastic parallet for himself utilizing instruments from faculty and posted a video. Quickly, pals started asking us if we might make it for them,” says Mathew.
Discovering a possible market, the three started experimenting with callisthenics and resistance tools at Mathew’s home. “However we finally realised that the manufacturing job can be of a greater high quality right here,” says Prasanna, gesturing on the 12×7 ft store the place he will get the poles made.
Standing subsequent to the lathe machine is the proprietor S Vijay Kumar. “Vijay
anna helped us perceive the manufacturing strategies, past the design a part of it,” says Prasanna, including evenly, “I feel we learnt extra engineering in these outlets than we did in 4 years of principle courses.”
Two streets throughout, 55-year-old welder Arumugam confirms that engineering college students typically come to him for assist with their initiatives. “All they should do is come to me with a design concept,” he says.
The Stenos workforce struck when the metaphorical iron was sizzling — their collaboration with these producers got here at a time final yr when the car business was on a dip and jobs have been dwindling, permitting them time to take up this small however regular aspect enterprise of health tools.
“This type of decentralised provide chain works for us too as a result of we don’t have a list or manufacturing unit,” says Mathew. Provides Prasanna, “Plus the benefit of producing domestically is best service: if any half breaks down or in case you lose any half, you may get it equipped inside 15 days.”
Up the success pole
The tools that Sthenos is hoping will give them elbow room in a crowded market is the health pole. The corporate is among the few in India to fabricate their very own, most pole-setups are imported.
The thought got here out of a dialogue with city-based choreographer and pole health coach Anusha Swamy. “Poles usually work on physique grip, which requires you to be minimally clothed. I needed a pole that was appropriate for the Indian subcontinent, which might permit extra ladies to strive pole health,” she says.
Sthenos’ answer was to introduce a silicone sleeve that provides grip. Anusha has been utilizing these poles for her newly launched pole camp at Tattva, ECR and workshops at Chetpet Ecopark.
The Sthenos workforce is counting on this blooming curiosity in pole health to dig their ft firmly out there. “Seeing all our classmates get good jobs provides us FOMO for positive, and gives from IT firms are tempting,” says Prasanna, “However with each sale we realise we’re doing one thing offbeat and that makes it value it.”
Go to sthenos.co.in