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GlideCycle on the air By Greg Stiles For the Tidings Jul 30, 2015 12:00 AM A A Without pursuing a coveted slot on a new CNBC series profiling inventors and their entrepreneurial efforts, GlideCycle developer David Vidmar found himself in select company. "Make Me a Millionaire Inventor" debuts Wednesday, Aug. 12, on the NBC Universal business network available on most cable and satellite systems. Vidmar said he was approached by show representatives in February, and Objective Productions/All3Media's crew began shooting in Ashland during April, finishing up in June. He doesn't know yet when his episode will air. CNBC said there were thousands of applicants for 12 half-hour slots on the six-episode series, where a team of mechanical engineers scours patent archives for inventions with money-making potential, then helps the inventors to perfect their products for new marketing opportunities. "I didn't apply, they came to us," said the 63-year-old Vidmar. "They will be asking about how I invented the GlideCycle and what it's doing for people. It's really an outside-the-human-experience paradigm when you see it." GlideCycle riders are suspended in a saddle under a spring arch frame without pedals. Riders push forward with their legs in a movement similar to running or gliding, without the impact pressure on hips, legs and lower joints. Vidmar built his first GlideCycle in 2008. Pushing directly into the headwinds of recession, GlideCycle began selling, primarily via the Internet, in 2010. So far, more than 300 units have sold. Before really getting off the ground with the GlideCycle, Vidmar came up with the GlideTrak to duplicate running workouts. He has sold 70 units, mostly to hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. "We've introduced two brand new products in two distinct fields, with patents, trademarks, a degree of acceptance and success," Vidmar said. "I have several hundred early adopters, but we're really still in the start-up phase." Thus far, the company has raised $700,000 and poured another $500,000 from sales of the GlideCycle, base priced at $1,650, and GlideTrak, priced at $5,700. "It's simple to understand," he said. "If you've ever tried to throw a baseball inside a phone booth, you can understand what it's like to learn to walk again. You need to get into the air to move freely in a corrected gait pattern to the point where the brain's neuroplastic response kicks in." Most of what Vidmar and his board have done so far falls into the research and development category, with models for 250-pound-plus riders and children ready to roll. Relatively little effort, however, has gone into marketing and distribution. "We've been biding our time until we get more bandwidth and financing," he said. To that end, Vidmar anticipates the CNBC show will help generate the $1.5 million needed to put the company on a successful trajectory. "We're gearing up and producing inventory now," he said. "This is not the kind of business where you can grow organically a little at a time. With the GlideCycle, you have to get out there with a certain number of units to create legitimacy in the field." That means concentrating sales in Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix, Ariz., markets in the near future. "We want to select the best techniques in entering a market," he said. "Our concept isn't transportation, it's fitness." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31, and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge