I actually created the Gripole out of necessity. Sometime in 2009, I was at the gym working out. I had my towel draped over the vertical chest machine. I finished my set exhausted and sat back, breathing heavily. A drip of sweat teetered on my hairline. I could feel it about to fall into my eye. I laughed inside and said, oh no you don’t.
I reached back without looking to grab my towel. One swipe, nothing. I thought maybe it had shifted a little and took another swipe, nothing. Panic started to set in as I felt the drip slide down my forehead. I turned around and there was my towel, on the floor. Then came an eye full of sweat.
I said to myself, it’s 2009 and this should not be happening. I was tired of my towel always falling on the dirty gym floor, and I saw so many other people struggling with the same thing. There had to be a better way. From there my mind went to work, and years of tinkering and prototyping resulted in the Gripole.
Gripole = Grip + Dipole. Grip means the obvious. Dipole is the magnetic moment when two magnets come together.
The great ice breaker
“What is that?” Most people say it with a look of curiosity the first time they see a Gripole. That curiosity has a magnetic effect, and it can bring two strangers together. Here, hold it. It’s magnets on an elastic cord. See, pull them apart. A look up, a “wow, that’s strong,” and a smile.
That isn’t fiction. It’s how I met my future wife and business partner, the beautiful Irini Rapi, in August 2011 at Bru’s Room in Deerfield Beach. Two strangers passing each other in a hallway. An arm grab, a stare and a Gripole. No amount of sales will ever top that Gripole Moment.
Bigger than a towel
Gripole has grown into a much larger role than a tool for hanging your towel on gym equipment. Many people have called it SillyBandz on steroids. It has novelty appeal and real utility, from holding chargers off the floor to dozens of other cool applications. It’s all about your imagination.
Grip and Rip!
Paul Montone, creator of Gripole
