Mauro Frota

I have been involved in various martial arts since I was a child. I was an apprentice, a practitioner, and then a teacher. Throughout my professional career, I realized how difficult it is to retain clients in the fitness industry, which led me to explore different ways of keeping people motivated to exercise.

And that's where BHOUT came from, which literally started as a dream. I dreamed of a boxing bag that, while serving its most common purpose, provided an experience in return. I started looking for more information and creating a solution using the areas of psychology and nudging, and understanding what makes people want to stay active. And I realized that if we add games to fitness, the challenge is seen in a different light, because it adds a new ingredient to the recipe — fun.

Creating a smart punching bag has been our drive since day one. We set out to develop a product that would be able to read and provide feedback on the user’s performance, while at the same time delivering a fun and immersive experience.

The BHOUT Bag is a smart bag because it has the ability to understand everything that is done and analyze the number of hits, speed, technique, power, accuracy and fatigue, in order to motivate players to do more and better in each session.

We created the first BHOUT Club from scratch. From the construction, to the development of the product and the acquisition of our first customers, everything was a terrain that we explored together, as a team.

However, the main challenge is undoubtedly the development of a product that requires very sophisticated solutions in terms of both software and hardware. We went through hundreds of versions of our components until we reached a level that allowed us to move on to our next big challenge: opening next-generation BHOUT Clubs around the world.

When we created the first BHOUT Club on Av. de Roma, which served as a pilot project for what is now BHOUT, we tested the entire experience with a simplified prototype of our smart punching bag, while developing the current BHOUT Bag behind the scenes.

In addition to the foundations in psychology and nudging, BHOUT was developed based on the Theory of Self-Determination, that is, we want our customers to be 100% autonomous in managing their visits to our Clubs, which is why we also do not have receptions.

PARTTEAM & OEMKIOSKS self-service kiosks are the ideal complement, because in addition to allowing us to provide the necessary information about how the Clubs operate — from the entrance itself, to the use of the lockers, to pairing with the BHOUT Bag — they are a crucial element in maintaining the BHOUT DNA throughout the space, starting right at the entrance.

BHOUT wants to make technology an ally in the development of human behavior, not only in terms of physical exercise itself, but also in more mundane behaviors.

Therefore, the strategy of keeping our customers motivated and involved in the entire BHOUT experience also involves creating a comfortable environment, where there is a strong community spirit and where autonomy is the watchword in building self-confidence and physical and psychological balance. This self-service solution is another step in the right direction.