From a training problem to your own training mat – the story behind STIRO

Sometimes a business idea doesn't begin with a business plan. Sometimes it simply starts with a problem that gets on your nerves.

For STIRO, it was the uncomfortable pressure on the sacrum during certain exercises on the training mat.

As a physiotherapist, I train regularly myself and also work with movement every single day. I kept noticing the same thing: with many exercises, it isn't the exercise itself that is uncomfortable – but the pressure that occurs on the surface at certain points of the body.

Knees, hands, elbows, or even the sacrum can quickly become uncomfortable during floor exercises.

And at some point, I asked myself a fairly simple question:

Why is there no training mat that remains stable while still providing more cushioning exactly where you need it?

Thick and soft or thin and stable?

Anyone looking for a training mat is often faced with exactly this choice.

A thinner, firmer mat offers good contact with the floor and a stable training surface. A thick and soft mat, on the other hand, can be more comfortable, but it changes the feeling during exercises where stability is required.

Of course, you can use an additional pillow or pad underneath. But that also needs to be positioned correctly every time and can slip during training.

We therefore did not want to develop a mat that was simply thicker or softer.

We wanted to bring the cushioning to where it is actually needed.

This is how our Soft Impact Zones were created

Together with Stefanie Grabner, I began to develop this idea into a real product concept.

The basic idea was actually quite simple:

A stable training mat with specifically integrated cushioning areas.

Today, we call these areas our Soft Impact Zones.

They are integrated directly into the training mat. As a result, no additional pillow needs to be moved or repositioned during training.

The mat itself remains dimensionally stable, while the Soft Impact Zones provide extra cushioning in selected areas.

What sounds simple in theory, however, was anything but easy to manufacture.

If the right production solution doesn't exist, you have to develop it yourself

For the technical implementation, engineer Fritz Kronlachner came into play.

It quickly became clear: for what we had in mind, we couldn't just buy a ready-made production solution.

So we started tinkering.

We built prototypes, tried out different solutions, changed production steps, tested materials, and began to develop the technical solutions necessary for production ourselves.

Not everything worked on the first try. Quite the opposite.

But that is exactly how, step by step, an idea developed into a training mat that was constructed just as we had imagined.

And at some point, it was actually there in front of us:

our first STIRO training mat with an integrated Soft Impact Zone.

From an idea to STIRO

In January 2026, STIRO was founded.

And suddenly, it was no longer just about developing a good training mat.

We had to set up production, create an online shop, organize packaging, develop our brand, take product photos, shoot videos, find partners, and, above all, achieve one thing:

Explain to people why we believe that a training mat can be thought about differently.

In July 2026, the time had finally come: the official sale of our STIRO training mats began.

A moment that was special for us. Because a problem during our own training had actually become a product.

Our training mats are made in Upper Austria

One point was particularly important to us from the very beginning: we didn't just want to develop STIRO and then buy it somewhere as a finished product.

Our training mats are produced by us in Upper Austria.

The mats are processed, the Soft Impact Zones are integrated, and the individual work steps are checked before the finished product goes to our customers.

STIRO is therefore not just a brand on a training mat for us.

Behind every mat is our own development, a lot of tinkering, and our own manufacturing.

From the first mat to various STIRO models

The original idea has now turned into an entire product family.

Because not everyone trains the same way and the same stress points do not occur in every exercise.

That is why there are now different STIRO models for different requirements – from the all-rounder to more compact solutions to variants with differently arranged Soft Impact Zones.

We also developed our own STIRO Kids for children.

What all models share is the basic principle that started it all:

Stability where it matters during training. Cushioning where it is needed.

From Upper Austria into the fitness world

2026 was not only the year of our sales launch.

We also had the opportunity to present STIRO at various startup events and were present at SALZ and FIBO, among others.

For a young family business, such moments are something special.

Because only a short time before, we had been working on our first prototypes. Suddenly, we were standing with our own training mat in front of people from the fitness, health, and startup world, explaining an idea that originally came about during a completely normal training session.

And this is just the beginning

Today, we are still at the very beginning of our journey.

We want to continue developing STIRO, create new products, and establish our training mats in private training as well as in physiotherapy practices, gyms, and with trainers.

At the same time, we want to stick to what has defined STIRO from the very beginning:

developing it ourselves, testing it ourselves, and not just accepting solutions simply because things have always been done that way.

Perhaps that is exactly what describes STIRO best.

We weren't looking for a business idea.

We had a problem with our training – and wanted a better solution for it.

That is how STIRO was born.

Developed from physiotherapeutic practice. Produced in Upper Austria. With Soft Impact Zones for targeted cushioning during training.