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Join Bill and his guest Beau Sitzmann. Beau is the founder of Evolutionary Tools Inc. “After 15 years of doing construction work, I found myself in constant pain. The long hours of working on the ground in a hunched position had taken a toll on my shoulders, lower back, and knees. I realized I couldn’t continue working this way without doing serious damage to my body. That’s when I got the inspiration to create the BACK UP Tool. I developed this device so that people in all walks of life can avoid the pain and injury caused by working at ground level.” -Beau Sitzmann, inventor
Beau was born on July 4th in Le Mars, Iowa, and is the youngest of four children.  Beau’s father started his own sunroom company when he was in high school, giving him early exposure to work. Three days after graduation, he moved into his own apartment, starting his full-time career in construction.

By 29, Beau had spent over a decade in grueling construction, developing a severe drinking problem to cope with chronic back and knee pain. Three days after his 29th birthday, a vision of himself as a broken, alcoholic degenerate spurred him to quit drinking and seek hospital treatment. That was 18 years ago.

After leaving the hospital, he felt revitalized. He committed to mastering construction, working three times harder and longer, even through weekends, until he was 34. Despite achieving mastery, 15 years of 60-hour work weeks took a toll on his body; his lower back and knees became overused and often immobile. Facing another crossroads, Beau knew he needed to solve the problem that was creating all the pain or walk away from his family’s business.

One Christmas Eve, while tiling a floor late into the night, his wrist and fingertips went numb. It struck him: if he couldn't feel it, why not create a third arm centered on the torso to support his body, bringing him closer to his work and freeing both hands? Thus, the BACK UP was born. Beau built the first prototype the next day, and it worked perfectly. Five more units were built and distributed to tradesmen, who also found them incredible.

These early versions weren't retail-ready. He spent three years refining the design, realizing some users needed an arm lock, while others didn't, and that the arm needed to be detachable. He learned to weld to create detachable arms, then spent a year perfecting and testing them before seeking an engineer to create molds. This entire process, including engineering, testing, and securing the first patent, took six years.

His first show was 2.5 years ago, where Boeing discovered the BACK UP. They were so impressed that they granted him full access to their facilities, where he spent over a year working with their engineers to refine the product for 95% of their workforce. During this time, he gathered feedback that led to requests for various attachments, such as long arms for standing work and short arms for confined spaces. Beau started with one arm, and now offers five.

Six months ago, Beau transitioned from retail to distributor sales, now boasting four distributors: two in America, one in France, and one in Spain. They are also collaborating with the Navy to develop a foot for the BACK UP that can withstand 500 degrees for welding. The Navy has also provided him full badge access, resulting in three new solutions specific to their environments.

The product continues to be adopted across multiple industries and is constantly evolving. Next year, they plan to begin selling in select retail locations in Europe and America.
https://evolutionarytoolsinc.com/

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