Star Vizn

Jerry Rice
 

For those who like to be early adopters, keep an eye on a fitness company called Star Vizn, which has lined up sports stars such as Jerry Rice, Steve Nash and Roy Jones Jr. to be trainers and coaches.

Did we say it was a fitness company?

Well, it's also a technology company. In addition to offering the instructional services of great athletes, Star Vizn produces its own gear. It has Bluetooth wireless headphones that some of its athletes helped design to ensure they don't fall off during a workout. A smartwatch, which can be used to access the company's various audio and video training programs, is expected to be released next year.

Did we say it was a technology company?

Well, it's also an entertainment company. TV stars Melissa Gorga, Jonathan Cheban and Cameron Mathison are part of the lineup of trainers.

"It's an interesting classification," co-founder Adam Joosten says of trying to label his company. "But it's definitely lifestyle, fitness, activity and learning. Those are probably the keywords for us."

Another key is getting the credibility and star power that the likes of Rice, Nash, Jones and an Olympic gymnastics champion Jordyn Wieber can deliver.

"They have the work ethic and the personality that we wanted to connect with the audience," Joosten says.

Star Vizn plans to release its iOS and Android apps October 23. A week later, various 12-week training regimens, priced at $99, will launch. The hook is that if you want to train for football, Star Vizn offers someone like Rice. If you want basketball, then it could be Nash or Dominique Wilkins or Robert Horry or Myles Turner. And so forth.

The inspiration came a couple years ago from co-founder Scott Allen's son, who was 5 1/2 at the time. He had received a basketball hoop for Christmas and immediately began simulating game situations, like imagining there were five seconds on the clock and then narrating his own buzzer-beater.

"Whether it was baseball or basketball or football, if it was music or acting with somebody looking in the mirror, we've all done that as a child," Joosten says. "And we all still sort of play make-believe in our heads even as adults."

So they took it a step further.

"Why can't something like this exist for all children and adults who all want to get fit and moving with their favorite sport?" Allen says.