GeoPalz pedometers entice kids off couches

BOULDER — With childhood obesity rates soaring and more kids perched on the couch thumbing controllers than packing playgrounds or playing ball, bewildered parents may wonder how to get children moving.

Boulder-based company GeoPalz believes it has developed a tool to spring kids into action. The business launched a fitness tracker in June aimed at hooking users into physical activity while keeping them motivated with elements of computer gaming.

The company offers kid-friendly pedometers equipped with a code that allows the owner to log onto the GeoPalz website and track their steps. Steps translate into “pedpoints” and are redeemable for prizes, thereby connecting real-world exercise to virtual rewards.

The company was started by Rich and Sheri Schmelzer — the duo who founded Jibbitz Inc. and designed the now Crocs Inc.-owned Jibbitz Charms for shoes — after noticing the couch time their own kids logged.

“TV is compelling. Video games are compelling. I could see why they wanted to stay on the couch all day,” said Rich Schmelzer, chief executive for GeoPalz. “So we came up with an idea to get them active and get them gaming at the same time,” he said.

The Schmelzers partnered with Alexandra O’Leary for the new business. She worked with Jibbitz and now functions as chief operating officer.

GeoPalz pedometers come in designs such as ladybugs, butterflies, footballs or Skelanimals — the popular white skeleton animals commonly seen on a black background. More designs are in the works, Schmelzer said, and will depend on what brands or logos GeoPalz partners with.

Each pedometer sells for $19.99.

Obesity rates among children tripled in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control, in part due to reduced physical activity. The CDC is encouraging schools to promote obesity prevention programs. GeoPalz donated 200 pedometers to Brighton 27J School District.

“This is an opportunity for students to start learning to be healthy and active at an early age,” said Joe Libby, district health and wellness coordinator. They’re using the GeoPalz at the elementary, middle and secondary level in connection with a Tri-County Health grant that was funded by $10.5 million from the CDC for health and fitness, Libby said.

Kids in Brighton schools said the GeoPalz helped them understand how their activity levels translate into calories burned, Libby said, but the devices have an academic application, too.

“The math that is involved, the number sense and distances … that was an unexpected outcome,” Libby said.

Libby sees room for GeoPalz application in other areas, such as social studies, and several district parent organizations are considering purchasing GeoPalz pedometers for additional classrooms.

The GeoPalz website makes users’ step counts concrete by showing how far a user traveled from his or her home ZIP code with the steps they’ve logged. The company recently partnered with Google Maps, so kids can have an accompanying map. The website also includes concrete nutrition information explaining the number of steps needed to burn off a fast food burger or sweet treats.

While the Schmelzer’s Jibbitz venture was driven by the Crocs craze, GeoPalz business model is a bit different.

“We’re actually creating a market instead of falling into one,” Rich Schmelzer said, and they have a long-term plan for GeoPalz. More products are in the works and expected to roll out in the next few months, including fitness trackers that measure speed and distance for use with bikes or scooters, he said.

GeoPalz isn’t formally advertising yet, but their goal of getting kids moving meshes with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move message, making it an ideal time forGeoPalz and childhood fitness, Schmelzer said.

Initially meant to reach children in the 5- to-12-year-old age bracket, the fitness trackers appeal to a wider range of folks, Schmelzer said.

“The moms are buying them now, too, for themselves since no one has the idea of cute pedometers out there,” Schmelzer said. Customers can also purchase a virtual GeoPalz for use with a pedometer they already own.

Rewards and prizes range from hacky sacks and Frisbees to water bottles and balls. The prizes are largely donated by businesses interested in getting kids moving. GeoPalz recently added Target gift card prizes to reach their expanding demographic of users.

Sheri Schmelzer, GeoPalz’s chief design officer and mom to the Schmelzer children, sees the pedometers creating healthy competition in her family when they check their steps at the end of the day.

“After comparing steps, they run out to the trampoline and jump like crazy,” she said.

For Sheri, it’s fun getting back to design and creation since finishing work with Jibbitz and Crocs, but the most rewarding part of GeoPalz is the feedback she gets from other mothers using GeoPalz and their “wow” reaction.

“They say, ‘I never knew how to get the kids out of the house and now we go out together,’” Sheri Schmelzer said. “We’re actually changing lives in a fairly dramatic that way.”

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