History of the bellicon® trampoline
Its ancestor was a rope sprung trampoline from Sweden
Over 25 years ago, Gert von Kunhardt – for years the personal coach and “spiritual father” of the Medi-Swing – brought a mini trampoline “Minihopper” with him from Sweden to Germany. Contrary to the conventional mini trampolines, this one had a rubber cord suspension instead of metal springs. It therefore clearly offered a more elasticized and enjoyable swing experience than any other trampoline known in Germany at the time.
It was therefore no surprise that this trampoline was very well received by visitors to his seminars (held under the motto “No time but still fit”), and seen as an efficient and time saving trainings device. Sales of this special trampoline started in Germany in 1987 and iIt didn’t take long for his company, which specialised in exercise seminars, to be more and more involved with the import and sales of this Swedish “Minihopper”.
Development of the Medi-Swing®
Gert von Kunhardt realized very quickly that this trampoline didn’t only enable efficient endurance training, but also had many positive effects on the body, the soul and the spirit. It also became clear to him that this great device could be further optimized and the effects even more improved if it would be possible to make the swing movement even more flexible and gentle. He therefore started looking for a company in Germany capable of producing a rope ring trampoline as he envisioned it, but the established companies were not interested.
Consequently, his former assistant Heiko Schmauck – now managing director of bellicon Germany GmbH – started developing their own rope strung mini trampoline in 1994 called “Medi-Swing®”. The first one appeared in 1995 with an improved, gentler swing movement and a very stable frame that optically still resembles the design that is sold today.
The clue; a new rope ring system
All trampoline suspensions – even those of high end models –are subject to natural wear and tear because of the continuous mechanical demands made on them. The same way jogging shoe soles or bike tires wear out, the springs on a metal sprung trampoline break and the ropes on a rope ring trampoline wear away as well.
Sooner or later, depending on the demands made on it, the suspension on the trampoline had to be replaced. Unfortunately this was a complicated and tiring matter which exasperated many clients, and consequently the worn out trampoline often wasn’t used any more.
Therefore, at the beginning of the new millennium, the development of a completely new, revolutionary suspension was started that was based on single rope rings single rope rings for which a patent had been requested in 2002 by Heiko Schmauck, together with Philipp von Kunhardt (Gert von Kunhardt’ son). This unique suspension system didn’t just make it possible to easily exchange the suspension ropes, it also once again improved the swing movement. In the end , twice as much rope length was used than before, which meant it also stretched better. For the first time, it was now possible to change and adjust the trampolines elasticity at any moment by exchanging the rope rings.
bellicon®: the best from two companies combined
In order to further improve the Medi-Swing, Heiko Schmauck and Philipp von Kunhardt met in 2003 with Charles Luginbuehl, director of the Swiss trampoline company Rebound Dynamics Europe. It soon became clear that the same purpose was being followed, namely the ultimate mini trampoline. And so both companies merged at the end of 2003 and founded “bellicon ag” in Switzerland and its subsidiary company “bellicon deutschland gmbh” in Germany.
All knowhow and the best components of their existing products were combined, resulting in 2005 in the “bellicon®”, first known as the “belli-Swing” or “bellicon-Swing”. This mini trampolines’gentle but still dynamic swing movement so positively affected intervertebral discs and back muscles that in 2008 it was the first and only existing mini trampoline to be awarded the AGR (Aktion Gesunder Rücken = campaign for healthier backs) seal of approval.
The best quality: “Made in Germany” in stainless steel
To improve the quality even further, bellicon decided in 2007 to also move the production of the frames to Germany. This was the only way to continuously ensure the incomparable product quality they aspired to. Compare the workmanship and components of the bellicon® trampoline with those of our competitors and you will immediately conclude that “Made in China” or even “Made in Europe” are not the same as “Made in Germany”.
It was only after this new level of workmanship was reached that our dream could finally be achieved in 2009: the stainless steel framed “bellicon® premium”, combining excellent health gains from the bellicon® with top aesthetic design.
The evolution of the trampoline doesn’t stop here. We are continuously working on further improvements. Watch this space...
