Holistic, not hedonistic: Technogym’s Nerio Alessandri lands in Australia

To mark 40 years of design excellence, founder and CEO Nerio Alessandri recently came to Sydney. We spoke to the Italian design icon at a bustling event at Technogym’s Ruschutters Bay showroom.

‘Let’s Move For A Better World’ is both the name and spirit of Technogym’s refreshing campaign to inspire people to get moving and promote stronger physical and mental health. It goes to the core of Nerio Alessandri’s vision, one that has grown over four decades to become a global leader in wellbeing equipment design.

The initiative will engage more than 200,00 participants across 32 countries, with all ‘Moves’ tracked and leading to donations via Technogym equipment to an Australian charity. For Alessandri, who started Technogym at the age of 22 from his garage in Italy, the same fundamental philosophy that launched it back then continues to guide the work today.

Wellness, or at least fitness, culture can sometimes be “too hedonistic and not holistic,” according to Alessandri. “With Technogym, we have the possibility to evolve the industry in Australia to be more focused on a holistic approach of lifestyle and wellness.”

This approach, crucially, is not limited in terms of traditional design settings. Technogym equipment is not made for the gym and only the gym; it is ready for use in hotels, hospitality, medical and residential settings to name a few. Above all – and in-keeping with the holistic approach to wellness – the products are versatile, moving across the restrictive boundaries that say stylish design and fitness equipment are separate domains.

“Anytime, anywhere – different solutions for different locations because wellness is a lifestyle,” explains Alessandri in relation to the Technogym philosophy.

“We are proud to support Australia and Technogym is the enabler – we design the space, the journey and the experience,” says Alessandri. What Technogym is specifically aiming to enable in this latest campaign is healthy physical activation alongside education and of course good design.

“Technogym is about value for humanity because we believe in healthy people and healthy lives – we believe that health is wealth.” This broad understanding of wellness is what sets the approach apart from standard fitness-orientated product design, and it’s what means a piece of equipment can make for a stylish domestic addition.

The founder and CEO sees a direct line not only between this mentality and his garage-bound designs of 40 years ago, but also reaching deep into the roots of the Italian, or Mediterranean, way of life. It is this coherent strand of fundamentally unchanging foundations that has allowed the company to grow with such global impact without losing touch of its origins.

“Today, after 40 years, it’s still the same because the balance between body, mind and spirit, as well as personal wellness, is the same. Healthy mind, healthy body – Technogym promotes wellness because of the Italian quality of life,” says Alessandri as he threads a narrative reaching all the way from Ancient Rome to Rushcutters Bay.

With this bedrock of belief in place, the Technogym founder sees plenty of room to bring it to life in ever new ways. “The future is to realise and execute it,” he says. In pursuing just that, Alessandri is conscious of the need to confront a certain paradox – to reach globally while remaining locally grounded. The Technogym Wellness Valley in Cesena is one way that those Italian design roots remain strong.

“Our philosophy is to live the same quality of experience at home and in the gym or club because, anytime and anywhere, Technogym provides the same level,” says Alessandri. From the home gym to the hotel and everywhere in between, it’s time to move for a better world.