Imitation is the highest form of flattery!

I have recently started coaching at a new facility in Queensland's capital, Brisvegas (that's Brisbane for the uninitiated). The place (Total Fusion) is a stunning studio with five group training rooms designed to give members an outstanding experience. If you're in Brisbane and want to take a class with me, hit this link. One of the rooms is dedicated to what most facilities would call ‘functional' training, I like to call it the ‘moving with a purpose room,' and as part of the experience for members they bought (they were told are original) TRX Suspension Trainers. So, 25 shiny and new Suspension Trainers were delivered, and I got to unwrapping and hanging them up. As I was doing so, I was noticing tiny anomalies in what I was used to unpacking (we get a lot of practice at conferences) and what I was dealing with here. The differences were subtle but very real. Little things like the stitching wasn’t as neat or strong. The material itself felt way thinner and rougher and a couple of other things to do with the main carabineer and handle rubber. So I sent the product code that comes on each TRX Suspension Trainer to the Boffins at TRX and sure enough, was informed that they were indeed FAKE! I now had the ‘wonderful' task of telling my new working buddies that, "hey, you know those 25 TRX’s you bought, well they're all fake." I was met with the five stages of grieving! At first, there was denial. "No way Chaddy they can't be we were told that they're original!" Then a little bit of anger, “Why is this such a big deal to you?” Then came bargaining, “Does it really matter if they’re fake? They still say TRX.” The depression part was mainly felt by me, having to explain that as a TRX Senior Master Instructor I cannot (nor do I want to) use fake Suspension Trainers. Then after some investigating, finally, acceptance. To the team’s credit, once the ‘fakeness’ was confirmed, the guys obtained Original TRX Suspension Trainers. How do I know they’re not fake again? I hear you ask. These had all the little specificities I am used to. They felt heaps different, and direct comparison showed the difference in quality. If someone has offered you a ‘special cheap price' it's probably a fake! If you've bought a TRX product and you want to know if it's original, you can go to the website, click on ‘product registration' and follow the prompts from there. Oh, by the way, TRX doesn't replace the product under warranty if it's FAKE! You didn't buy it from TRX; it's not a TRX product so..... Where do I purchase original products from Chaddy? Great question. Internationally, I would check with TRXTraining.com. In Australia and NZ I know of two places. PT Academy has a small amount of stock that we mainly use for conducting courses (link here) and can handle some minor quantity sales. For larger sales down under, fellow TRX Instructor Brendan Tuck has just taken up a role with SUMMIT Fitness Equipment (link here) who are now the official distributors of TRX products in Australia.

So, buyer beware! If it's cheap, no matter what they tell you, it's highly likely (like 99.9%) that it's a fake. If you're ok with that, that's your decision. But, don't go to TRX asking for it to be replaced when it breaks! Here is the video of me DESTROYING the fakes!