Rogue Fitness Acquires OSO Barbell

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Rogue

Columbus, Ohio — Rogue Fitness has formally announced the acquisition of OSO Barbell, a leading designer and manufacturer of barbell collars and other specialty weightlifting products. As part of the agreement, Rogue will carry all OSO products into its line-up in 2018.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Rogue is among the single largest producers of American-made strength and conditioning equipment, including its own line of original power racks, barbells, and bumper plates. The company has had a working relationship with OSO Barbell for years, highlighted by the production of exclusive Rogue-branded OSO collars.

“We are very excited to bring OSO into the Rogue family of American made products,” says Rogue owner Bill Henniger. “I have always admired Tyler’s designs and ingenuity, so we are excited to continue working with him on new products, as well.”

Founded in Frederick, Colorado, by Tyler Stilson, OSO Barbell’s central focus has been its billet-grade aluminum collars, available in a range of brand names (Pro, Titan, Elite, Mighty) and colors. These distinctive, gear-shaped clamps, designed by industrial engineers, have gained favor for their durability, ease-of-use, style, and performance. The company has also produced a line of “Mini Bars” for beginners, along with False Grips, Safety Blocks, and more.

Rogue plans on continuing to service current distribution channels and keep the product lines moving. They will move OSO’s production to Columbus and work with Tyler Stilson to create new products.

More About Rogue Fitness
Rogue Fitness is the leading US-based manufacturer of strength and conditioning equipment and a major distributor of top brand fitness gear and accessories from around the country. The company started in a garage in 2006 and has grown to more than 500 team members at its new 600,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Rogue is the official equipment supplier of the CrossFit Games, USA Weightlifting, the Arnold Strongman Classic, and the World’s Strongest Man competition. The company remains dedicated to serving the needs of serious strength athletes at every level, from the garage to the arena.
www.roguefitness.com

Contact info:
Rogue Fitness HQ
545 E 5th Ave
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 358-6190
Fax: (614) 340-7206
team@roguefitness.com

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November 2015 Newsletter – Matte Black Friday

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Rogue

We thought about Black Friday this year and decided to kick things off a little early. Starting now we are kicking off 5 items ship for $5. Here are some examples:

So now you can get in early and get the things you need or just want!  

Next up will be hot deals on our most popular gear and new Matte Black Friday Exclusive items. These will all be on our Hot Deals & MBF Exclusives page.

Then you’ll be able to combine 5/$5 + Hot Deals + MBF Exclusives + Hundo Pricing



 

Proud Owner

Bill Henniger
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October 2015 Rogue Fitness Newsletter

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Rogue

Big Month at Rogue!!!

1We just broke ground on the new Rogue Campus that will house approximately 500 employees across our manufacturing, distribution and HQ team. The Industrial Revolution 2.0 is alive and well.

2We just launched our new 2015 Roguefitness.com redesign and it is really nice!  As an added benefit, it has a shared cart option so you can add items from Rogue Supply and Rogue Fitness for cool shipping deals etc!

3The Rogue Design Team has been cranking!

 

3.1 Monster Racks – We are slated to launch these in early November. Putting the finishing touches on these.

3.2 Stall Bars – We went back to the drawing board and created a modular system that works with the racks out there. There are two versions:

3.21 Metal – This is going to be a more econ version of the stall bars but definitely gets the job done.
3.22 Wood – This version has maple rungs that are held into sockets with custom hardware. A Bit more expensive but they look and perform at the top of their class.

3.3 Thompson Fat Bells – These are slated to launch by November 1st.  Donnie designed these and we took them to the finish line. Good pricing and great tool.


3.4 Peg Board – We did a quick circle back and made an Echo version of the peg board so that it could be be easier on the budget. Check it out:
3.5 Desk Riser – If you want a quick fix to having a stand up desk, here it is!

3.6 Wall Organization – Want to organize the small items in your gym or garage? Here you go, all laser cut and built at Rogue.
3.6 New Training Bumpers – Checkout the slick new stripe on these plates!!

4

The CrossFit Liftoff Powered by Rogue.

In the background we are working on some cool deals for everyone during Black Friday and Cyber Monday!!  

Back to the grind!

Proud Owner

Bill Henniger

Read Full Newsletter Here
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The Rogue Way

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Rogue

George Selden's patent for the automobile

No one on the Rogue team is Henry Ford, but we did build our business around a very similar principle. For Ford, it was the idea of providing a quality automobile that the average person could afford– a goal he famously achieved through innovations in design and manufacturing. It wasn’t an easy road, though. As seen in the photo above, George Selden and the Association of Licensed Automobiles owned a patent that basically held other manufacturers hostage for years. It took the determination of Ford to fight and finally defeat that monopoly, opening the door to the modern auto industry.

I think this drive toward delivering a “quality product the average person can afford” is what makes Rogue Fitness unique, as well.  Like Ford, we did not invent racks, squat stands, yokes, barbells or bumper plates. What we’ve done is work tirelessly to give our customers the best possible value in our industry. It’s what we think you deserve.

The Rogue Way

1) We design, build and warehouse at Rogue.  We own our manual MIG/TIG welders, robotic welders, CNC machines and presses.   Our footprint spans 400,000 square feet between manufacturing and warehousing.

2) We ship orders, big or small, in one business day.  The only thing that would keep us from doing this is stock levels. Lucky for us, we manufacture our own equipment.  The industry norm is 6-8 weeks for racks and full gym outfitting. We cut this down by 98%.  This was done by stocking everything we make– hence the need for a 170,000 Sq Ft distribution center.

3) Build equipment with options.  Our Infinity Rig has exactly what its name describes– an infinite amount of options.  We have built small garage gyms to 300’ CrossFit Games pull-up rigs.  And for extra convenience, everything is built in families.  Our latest family of items is the Monster family: big 3X3 steel tubes with 1” hardware.

Most other manufacturers build racks with large welded frames that are hard to paint, ship and/or setup.  We chose a different path

4) Unique in Construction Design.  Our design process starts and ends with the items described above in mind.  We take a rack or squat stand and build them so we can ship them to a customer efficiently. Parts can be used in multiple products and will stand up to any abuse that can be thrown at them.

This is achieved by laser cutting, robotic welding, and CNC machines—all highly repeatable processes that allow us to streamline our operations.  These are the things we patent.  We cannot patent a rack, but we can and do patent how we make it.

Rogue JCup

5) Listen to the Customer.  Our equipment is crafted from the culmination of years of valued customer feedback.  From the beginning, our pull-up rigs were built for CrossFit affiliates and other high volume gyms.  We didn’t build some multi-station piece of equipment that only one person can use effectively.  We designed for symmetry and volume.  Our patented Infinity rig design is a repeatable rectangle that alternates from 4’ to 6’ spans.  This enables the coach or trainer to look down a line and see any discrepancy in movement, allowing for clear, uniform coaching cues.

Rogue Facebook Conversation

6) Safety in Design.  The best example I can give you is that, almost every day, someone asks us to put something on the bottom of our pull-up rigs.  There are many manufacturers that do this– add structural support at the base, etc.  When someone falls from a pull-up bar and hits that piece of steel, however, it tends to result in disaster.  This is why we have chosen not to abide such requests, choosing instead to address these concerns in every step of our design process.  From the rubber padding on the ring hanger to the Dollamur matting at the CrossFit Games, we lead with Safety First.

Rogue Safety Mat

 

And so, from Henry Ford to Louie Simmons, we remain “Often imitated but never duplicated.”

Henry Ford & Louie Simmons

Not a day goes by that we are not trying to make everything we do better, and that includes building up our team that makes it all happen.  We stand now at 160 Rogue team members, and our goal of 500 is within reach by the year 2015.

Thanks,

Bill Henniger

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Pullup Solution for a Renter

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Rogue

I got a recent question about what would be the best pull-up rig for someone who was going to be using it on a cement floor where they couldn’t anchor the rig. This person wanted a rig that would not move when doing butterfly pull-ups and would have a high enough anchor point for rings. He and his wife would both be using the rig.

My answer was an S3 with a Dirty South Bar cross member and side storage or base storage.

The height of the S3 would allow him to hang rings, while also having a lower pull-up bar that both he and his wife could use. loading his plates on the base storage, would keep the rig stable when kipping or doing butterfly pull-ups without having to anchor the rig to the ground. The video above shows how stable the S3 can be, even when not anchored to the ground.

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Origins

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Rogue

People often ask about how we got into manufacturing and selling athletic equipment. For some it started with CrossFit and gearheads on the CrossFit message board.

In November of 2007 I came across this post. I responded with two product ideas: One was a sturdy glute ham developer that shipped unassembled to save on cost. The second was a wood plyo box with tapered sides that also shipped unassembled. Kris told me later that he had no idea about how to get a GHD made, but had a wood shop in the garage. He went to the store, bought some plywood, made a jig and built his first 20″ plyo box complete with predrilled screw holes and labeled sides to make assembly easy. He shipped that box to me and I put them on my website.

Here is a picture of the original box, that is still in use at my gym.

His boxes were a hit and I introduced him to Bill Henniger who started carrying his boxes as well. Eventually he ended up providing all of the Made in the U.S.A, CNC cut wood products manufactured by Rogue Fitness including, the Rogue Games Boxes, our extremely popular Rogue Wood Rings and of course, his original product, the Rogue Wood Plyo Boxes.

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Rogue Fitness Acquires Nebula Fitness

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Rogue

Rogue Fitness has recently taken the great opportunity of acquiring Nebula Fitness.

We have purchased twenty-plus years worth of engineering by Tom Eilerman that spans the entire professional fitness industry. Nebula has had a great reputation for designing and building the highest quality, heavy-duty, low maintenance equipment. This reputation aptly resembles the Rogue Fitness philosophy of providing high grade equipment that will stand up to any abuse you can throw at it.

Rogue Fitness will gradually incorporate Nebula designs into our catalog and begin building many with the approach to quality manufacturing, durability and simplicity that everyone is accustomed to. We are starting that process with items that have been requested by The Ohio State University and that fit best with our existing product lines.

As we fold the Nebula brand into Rogue Fitness, any equipment designs we manufacture will resemble Rogue caliber craftsmanship. This catalog addition is a big step for our team and we are excited to expand our American-Made lineup. As a result, this will mean more jobs for Columbus, Ohio and there’s nothing more exciting for us than that!

Learning all of the details necessary to fabricate these new products with the same signature quality and precision Rogue Fitness has always valued will take time. There may be some products that are not mission critical initially, but we assure you we will be reviewing all opportunities over the coming months.

All warranties, replacement parts and issues with equipment purchased previous to this acquisition will not be handled by Rogue Fitness.  For all equipment purchased or ordered prior to May 31, 2012, please contact Rae Crowther Co. at www.raecrowther.com or 1-800-841-5050. Any and all items manufactured by Rogue Fitness will carry a Rogue Fitness warranty.

Existing Nebula customer FAQ’s:

Who do I contact for parts or service requests on my Nebula Fitness gear?

For all equipment purchased or ordered prior to May 31, 2012, please contact Rae Crowther Co. at www.raecrowther.com or 1-800-841-5050.

How do I order Nebula Fitness gear?

Rogue Fitness will be incorporating and rolling out Nebula Fitness design variants as it folds Nebula Fitness into its operations. Please check www.roguefitness.com often for updates, and subscribe to Rogue’s email newsletter.

I ordered Nebula Fitness equipment, is my order still in process?

Rae Crowther Co., the former owner of Nebula Fitness and maker of quality fitness equipment since 1932, will fulfill all pending Nebula Fitness orders submitted prior to May 31, 2012. Please contact Rae Crowther Co. at www.raecrowther.com or 1-800-841-5050.

Will you be making the Nebula ____________?

Rogue Fitness will be rolling out various items and variants as it folds Nebula Fitness into its operations, but can not guarantee if or when specific items will be available. Please check www.roguefitness.com often for updates, and subscribe to Rogue’s email newsletter.

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Glute Ham Developers

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Rogue

We offer several U.S.A Made Glute Ham Developers made by Rogue as well as Sorinex and Legend.

Legend Fitness makes all of their Glute Ham Developers to order, which allows you to customize the color of the frame and pads.

They offer 3 different levels.

The Legend Econ GHD ships unassembled to save on shipping cost, but is still rock solid. It comes standard with a split pad.

The Legend Standard GHD is made from 11 gauge 3×3″ tubing and is a fully welded design, for maximum stability. It adds band pegs and also comes standard with a split pad.

The Legend Pro Series GHD, incorporates larger, 32″ wide, foot pads and a footplate of the same width. It is even heavier for more stability. It has 8 linear adjustments on 4 linear bearings. It has 2 band pegs per side to further increase functionality.

Sorinex is one of the most respected and most experienced GHD manufacturers in the market and they now offer a GHD specifically aimed at the CrossFit market.

The Sorinex GHD-M2 is the new version of the FN-GHD that was used at the 2010 CrossFit Games. It is an incredibly stable GHD that ships unassembled to save on shipping cost. It incorporates a unique footplate adjustment mechanism. While it does not have the ability to move the foot pads up or down, the shorter upright makes it easier to move the foot pads forward and backward.

The GH-1 Rogue Abram GHD is the product of years of research and planning. It is rock solid piece of machinery made from 2×3 steel tubing.  It ships unassembled to save on shipping cost, but is as solid as any welded design out there. The frame is made from 2×3″ steel, making it inherently stable and it has 2 set screws on the adjustment for the upright, set at 90-degree angles to completely eliminate motion when using the GHD. It has wheels for portability as well as holes for our band pegs.

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Benches

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Rogue

Rogue offers 4 different Rogue Brand Made in the U.S.A. benches. All have a pads made from high density foam to give you a firm place for your shoulder blades to rest so that you are able to transfer the maximum amount of force to the bar. Here are some of the features and differences to help you decide on the bench that is right for your needs:

1. Rogue Flat Utility Bench: The base is a single welded piece for maximum stability. 

2. Rogue Bolt Together Utility Bench: ships disassembled to save on shipping cost. However, this is not the typical bench that you will find at the sporting goods store, that will become wobbly over time. It is rock solid once assembled. The bolt together construction also comes in handy when it is being used on uneven ground. You can loosen the bolt, let it settle and then tighten them up again.

3. Rogue Adjustable Bench: fully adjustable back in with 4 positions from 0 to 90 degrees, with wheels and a handle for portability. 

4. Rogue Westside Bench: Based on our patented Infinity Rigs. It combines the stability and safety of a 4×4 foot rack with our rock solid bench and adds the functionality of the Westside hole pattern with 1 inch hole spacing throughout. Includes pin/pipe safeties that can support over 1000 pounds. 

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Squat Stands, Racks and Rigs 4

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Rogue

One of the most important parts of any apparatus used for supporting weight is the J-cup. All of our stands, racks and rigs with the exception of the ES-1 and the upcoming Monster Racks, use the same J-cups. The ES-1 uses a J-cup that is a similar design that fits on its 2×2″ uprights, and the Monster racks have a larger more substantial version.

With any J-cup, there are three points that are crucial to safety and longevity.

1. It must be able to support the weight. Our J-cups will support over 1000 pounds, due to 5/8″ pins and heavy gauge steel construction. The pin goes all the way through the upright and then the whole J-cup swings into place with contact points on the front, sides and back.

2. It must be easy to get the weight into the J-cup. Our J-cups have a back that is 6″ high allowing you to properly rack the weight, by walking the weight into the upright, leaning into the upright and sliding the weight down into the support. We experimented with the depth of the J-cups over time and came up with a 4″ depth that allows the ability to get the weight in safely while not sticking out so far that they will get in your way during a lift.

3.  It must be durable. With many other companies’ designs, the mechanism of changing the height of the J-cups can be the first place to fail. This happens when they use things like threaded pins or springs that will wear over time. Our J-cups have no moving parts to wear out. They will outlast your lifting career.

In addition to the points above: Our J-cups are laser cut with round corners so there are no sharp points to catch your fingers and are lined with UHMW plastic to protect the knurling and finish of your bar. They are also powder coated for a long lasting durable finish.  Finally, in order for the J-cups to be completely stable without set screws that can wear out, they are precision bent to our exacting specifications so that they fit perfectly on the uprights.

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