Whatever Happened To MAXPRO Fitness After Shark Tank?
When entrepreneur Nezar Akeel went on "Shark Tank" in December of 2021 to pitch his company MAXPRO Fitness, the sharks initially balked at his request for $500,000 in exchange for 2.5% equity. But his numbers changed their minds. In 2020, MAXPRO did $4 million in sales, and at the time of filming in 2021, the company had netted $8 million — numbers made possible, Mark Cuban correctly guessed, by the surge of at-home gym sales during the pandemic.
Unlike other at-home workout devices, however, MAXPRO is streamlined, weighs only ten pounds, and folds up to fit inside a backpack. Daymond John was interested and offered $500,000, with the stipulation that he add a $25 per unit, in exchange for 4% ownership. Akeel was so busy fielding questions, however, that he didn't properly acknowledge John's bid, much to the shark's chagrin. By the time Cuban offered his own deal — $500,000 for 3% plus advisory shares — John was out.
Akeel ultimately penned a deal with Cuban, making him the second high-profile name to invest in MAXPRO Fitness after NBA star Shaquille O'Neal. But how has MAXPRO fared since 2021? Although Kevin O'Leary was wary of the product's reliance on an app, MAXPRO appears to be doing well.
MAXPRO Fitness is doing well, with some minor critiques
Fitness products tend to do well on "Shark Tank," with companies like Terra-Core and the Simply Fit Board continuing to thrive following their television appearances. MAXPRO Fitness is no exception. It helped that MAXPRO had good numbers going in, despite a meager marketing budget. "We are actually the highest first-year revenue company to ever be on the show!" Nezar Akeel proudly told SimpliFaster.
MAXPRO sells their full suite of products on their website, where the original Portable Cable Machine retails for $1,199 (as of this writing, it is on sale for $797). It's a hefty price — in fact, it's more expensive than the $849 model that Akeel brought to "Shark Tank" — but it is still a lower price point than comparable at-home gyms like NordicTrack or Tonal.
MAXPRO is still $849 on Amazon, where it has a respectable 4.1 star rating. Some customers critiqued the resistance, which can stick while supporting more weight, as well as the price tag on auxiliary products like the foldable bench and wall track.
Still, MAXPRO is largely on the up and up, with an active Instagram presence that features fitness influencers, military personnel, and even celebrities like Chris Daughtry. The company also hopes to integrate more tech in the future, with their LinkedIn teasing immersive VR workouts that are still in development.