CxO-as-a-service for a maker of handcrafted gym equipment.

Fysik makes handcrafted gym equipment in Thailand. It began with dumbbells and kettlebells and now makes a full range.

The equipment started as prototypes in the founders’ own personal training gym. Clients asked to buy them. When the pandemic closed the gym, the founders turned the business over to making equipment.

Both founders came from personal training. Industrial design, production at higher volume and planning factory space were new to them.

As orders grew, the founders asked ddx for help running the business. Production was split across several sites, none big enough for all of it.

The founders wanted experienced partners to advise on every part of the business, while they kept doing the work themselves. They called it a personal trainer for the business.

ddx supplied that as CxO-as-a-service: senior executive advice from ddx’s partners, rather than leaders hired in-house.

The first work was on the products. ddx worked with an industrial designer to refine Fysik’s kettlebell, a working prototype from the gym, for higher-volume production. The designer went on to make display stands for the dumbbells and kettlebells.

The advisory work began in 2022 with a workshop with the founders and a plan of action covering every area of the business: where each stood, and where it should get to.

From September 2022 ddx held a weekly call with the founders and met them in person once a month, at their office above a production site. Every week covered the numbers, sales and HR. Each month added a review of finance, HR, sales and marketing, production or product development in turn.

Large purchases went on a list. Each was weighed against the cash available and its payback period, then scheduled. ddx advised on whether to buy or rent premises for a factory, and on how to split production between sites.

ddx reviewed software and recommended Odoo, one system for accounting, HR, project management, manufacturing and inventory, all on a single database. It gave Fysik working tools in every area at once, without assuming it would be the final choice.

ddx helped Fysik put together simple HR procedures and workflows, and set down each person’s part in production, so that what one person knew sat in a document anyone could work from.

When Fysik negotiated agreements with distributors in Spain and the UK, ddx reviewed them and recommended what to accept and what to push back on.

From January 2025 ddx advised on a new factory to bring all production and packing under one roof. The plan combined existing and new machinery, and set the production flow so finished components stay clear of machining, sawdust, oil and other processes that could damage them. Fysik’s own team led the design and the build.

Fysik has grown and is reinvesting its profits in the business.

It has signed distribution agreements in Spain and the UK. Its US distributor placed Fysik equipment in a video with well-known actors, for which Fysik made special hollow plates.

The written procedures helped Fysik hire new production staff, and made each person’s part in production clear.

All production and packing is planned for a single factory, which Fysik is building.

The work had to fit around a workshop with live orders. Sessions were short and followed a fixed agenda: half an hour each week, and an hour a month for each area of the business.

A small business has the same roles as a large one, often held by one or two people. Writing each role down separately showed where the gaps were, and gave the founders a basis for job descriptions and hiring.

Putting a payback period on every large purchase meant nothing was missed, and there was always a reason not to spend money that didn’t need spending.