Altitude simulation company eyes weight-loss market

BOULDER — Many serious endurance athletes are familiar with the competitive edge that altitude simulation systems made by Boulder-based Colorado Altitude Training can offer.

Yet, it is the opposite segment of the population — the obese — that Chief Executive Officer Larry Kutt believes may hold the greatest growth potential for his company. Pending Federal Drug Administration approval, Colorado Altitude Training could deliver an alternative weight-loss method that would make the long-held motto of “no pain, no gain” outdated.

“The athletic market is developing by leaps and bounds, but the medical market has the big upside,” Kutt said. “The majority of Americans are overweight. Fifty-one million Americans are clinically obese. More people need (our products) than don’t.”

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Last year, sales for Colorado Altitude systems reached $1.4 million. Yet, Kutt anticipates this number will grow substantially over the next several years with market projections of $20 million for products targeted to athletes and $177 million for systems related to weight loss.

For the multibillion-dollar weight-loss market, Colorado Altitude Training plans to introduce a system that could help users lose up to two pounds a week when they spend eight hours a day at a simulated altitude of 12,000 feet, even if their only activity is sleeping. Kutt expects to receive FDA approval for the weight-loss application by early to mid-2004.

“It’s known that altitude increases your metabolic rate, and when you’re over 10,000 to 11,000 feet, appetite suppression occurs,” Kutt explained.

More validation

Within the next 12 months, he predicts the release of several studies that will further validate the relationship with altitude and weight loss. Colorado Altitude Training is assisting California State University with such research, and Kutt is aware that similar studies are also under way at the University of Texas and the University of Colorado.

Kutt launched Colorado Altitude Training in January 2000 after leaving his position as a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Metropolitan State College. The idea to make high altitude-simulated rooms as well as tents that fit over beds came to him after a former student shared statistics from studies related to the benefits of “live high-train low” for athletes.

The high-low strategy proposes that athletes can improve sea level endurance performance by living high (6,500 to 9,000 feet) for a minimum of three weeks and training simultaneously at a low elevation (less than 3,300 feet). A study by the U.S. Olympic Committee cited by Colorado Altitude Training supports this and reports that athletes can improve their speed and endurance as much as 3 percent to 5 percent by incorporating altitude as part of their training.

Though the benefits for high-low training are documented, the reality is that most athletes cannot afford the time or money to live at a high altitude while training at sea level. Realizing this, Kutt created a series of systems that can transform regular spaces into high-altitude chambers.

“We created a device to simulate the altitude because, for most people, it is not practical to sleep at 9,000 feet and drive down somewhere to train at sea level,” Kutt explained.

Backed by $500,000 received from angel investors, Kutt introduced the company’s first product — an altitude-simulated room — three years ago. Colorado Altitude Training’s Colorado Mountain Room is an altitude system that regulates oxygen content via an intelligent altitude controller to simulate a range of 3,000 to 12,500 feet above sea level. Given the price rooms start at $18,000 the system is not intended to have mass appeal.

“There are about a million endurance athletes, and we’re targeting the serious, competitive athletes,” Kutt said. “For example, in the Bolder Boulder, there are about 30,000 athletes, and it is an endurance event. But 29,500 of those athletes are not our customer base.”

Colorado Altitude Training also offers a high-altitude-simulated tent that fits over a king-size bed for $8,000, a tent for a standard-size bed for $7,500, and a travel tent, originally built for five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, which weighs approximately 100 pounds and assembles in five minutes, for $6,000.

In addition to Armstrong, the company’s client list includes the Chicago Bears, Nike and the Olympic Training Center. The top male and female finishers, Peter Reid and Lori Bowden, in the Ironman Triathlon held in Hawaii this October were also Colorado Altitude Training customers.

With an eye on potential challengers, Kutt believes that Colorado Altitude Training maintains its competitive edge through its innovations and the quality of its systems. To protect Colorado Altitude Training’s place in the market, however, he said the company has obtained two patents and has several others pending.

“There is one other competitor that offers altitude tents, but it’s a garage operation,” Kutt added. “It’s like comparing a ’53 Chevy and a Lexus. Our systems are more comfortable, have better airflow and better altitude control.”

To continue to grow the business, Colorado Altitude Training closed another round of $500,000 from angel investors this October. In 2004, Kutt said, Colorado Altitude Training will look to partner with a medical device company to further expand the business.