Research on the harm of sitting all day at work is consistent and shocking. Sitting six-eight hours a day reduces your lifespan by two years, even if you exercise regularly. After I had a minor car accident, I started to have back pain after sitting all day at work. Research on the internet led me to want to try a standing desk. I created a mock-up. Colleagues asked about the desk and acknowledged that they too had back pain!

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My guest today is Stand Steady founder and CEO, Day Martin. Welcome to OpEdNews, Day. Please tell us a bit about your company.

DM: Stand Steady is a leader in the standing desk market. The research on the harm of sitting all day at work is consistent and shocking. Sitting six-eight hours a day reduces your lifespan by two years, even if you exercise regularly.

JB: Even if you exercise regularly? Yikes! Many of us were depending on that daily exercise to somehow mitigate all that sitting.

DM: We know a lot of people want to start standing, either for the long-term benefits or because of back pain, but they don't have the option to switch out their existing desk or cubicle. The inventiveness of our American-made desks is that they are designed to go on top of your existing desk. After a simple five-minute assembly, you are ready to work standing up. Stand Steady desks are inexpensive, easy to assemble, and there is no need to retrofit the office or call in the facilities department.

We were founded two years ago after I had a minor car accident. I thought I was fine. After the police report was filed, I even proceeded on to the gym where I had been heading. However, I started to have back pain after sitting all day at work. Research on the internet led me to want to try a standing desk, but I couldn't find anything under $800, plus it had to be compatible with my cubicle desk. After some time, I created my first mock-up of the Stand Steady desk. My colleagues were very interested in my standing desk. I couldn't believe how many of them stopped by to ask about the desk and then acknowledged that they too had back pain!

JB: So your own health issues spurred the creation of the Stand Steady. That's cool. Were you intimidated by the whole process of getting the idea out from inside your head and to market? You'd never done it before. You made it happen. Did you hit any speed bumps along the way? After all, you were a novice at this.

DM: I believed in this product and figured out how to make it happen, including finding vendors to manufacture it here in America, applying for the patents, and getting it up for sale online.

It was definitely intimidating. There were so many times I just thought "I don't know how to do this". My family was there for me in getting this done. My father-in-law built the prototype and my brother, Aaron, had also recently started a company (storyboardthat.com for business and educational storyboarding). Aaron helped me focus on small steps and not worry about the big picture all at once. I also kept at it for my kids. There have been a lot of articles in the past few years about women being underrepresented in the STEM fields. As a mom with a daughter, I wanted to be an example of what women can do.

I was encouraged to do a Kickstarter campaign and they rejected us. A definite speed bump! I can't figure out why since they've let in other standing desks since our attempt. Well, Kickstarter, you missed the boat on this one because we are very successful!

JB: It truly takes a village, in so many senses. Your family was behind you and you persevered. You mention "the STEM fields". What are you referring to?

DM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math =STEM. Check out this url

"Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Research has shown this is due to several factors including stereotypes and also lack of mentors and role models."

and this URL*

JB: Interesting! I was delighted that Stand Steady is 100% American-made. In fact, that was a major factor for me to purchase one. Was that a hard decision? How did you go about finding a good manufacturer?

DM: I found American partners great to work with. I can get product in weeks instead of months, and I can easily pick up the phone and call with questions.

JB: That's good to know. So few things are made here anymore. Your design is masterful in its simplicity. How did you come up with a prototype? What were you looking for? How many designs did you go through before you found "the one"?

DM: My father-in- law, Paul Martin, a homebuilder, is very skilled with tools. He was able to get the supplies and make me prototypes for my top two designs.

JB: I can attest that the set-up is a breeze. Reading about what Mayo Clinic terms "the sitting disease," really threw me for a loop. I took those findings very seriously, immediately researched and had already ordered the Stand Steady when I contacted you about this interview a few days ago. It arrived on my doorstep this morning and I spotted it as I was heading out to work. Of course, I couldn't resist opening the box and putting it together. It definitely took under ten minutes, maybe even closer to five. The biggest delay came when I tried to locate a scissors to open the box. Now, I can't wait to get home!

Generally, what kind of adjustment is there for people who begin using a standing desks? What did you find for yourself? Admittedly, your situation, having been injured, may be quite different. This is a whole new realm for me and, as you can see, I have lots of questions about how it works.

DM: When standing, be sure to protect your feet. Wear comfortable shoes and get an anti-fatigue mat. It may take a few weeks to build up to standing all day. Your legs aren't used to the work. After you've stood for a few months, you'll find sitting all day at a meeting or conference awful! You'll naturally want to stand and move more, even on the weekends. Plus, standing burns an extra 20-50 calories an hour, adding up to at least 10 pounds a year!

JB: I promise not to complain about dropping 10 pounds a year! And I did get a good mat. I can already feel how much it helps. [I was practicing standing even before the Stand Steady arrived.] How did the transition go for you, Day? What did you find?

DM: I was having back pain from sitting, and switching to a standing desk stopped the pain. So, standing at work was a pretty clear-cut win for me, even without the research on sitting disease and the extra calorie burning. I've since upgraded to adding a treadmill to my standing desk and aim to walk for at least two hours a day. It's actually not distracting at all (I'm walking on it right now) and it's great for keeping the fidgets away during the day!

JB: Two hours a day! Really? I would be so busy concentrating on not falling off the treadmill, I wouldn't be good for anything else. Did it come naturally or does it take a while to figure it out?

DM: Everyone thinks it will be hard, but it's actually mindless. I go about 1.4 miles an hour. Basically, the treadmill slides your foot back and then you pick it up and put it back under your body. You don't even notice it; your body just keeps picking up the feet when they move too far away.

JB: Let's talk about customers and product. You've been in business two years. Have you gotten a sense of who your customers are? You've expanded your repertoire to include more than the original Stand Steady model. What have you got?

DM: Our customers tend to be knowledge workers; highly educated employees who spend all day sitting at their desk like managers, lawyers, computer programs, and professors. Stand Steady desks come in different sizes to meet different needs. The Original is perfect for smaller spaces, the Executive holds two monitors, and the Mega covers your complete desktop.

JB: How have people learned about Stand Steady? What kind of advertising do you do?

Mostly, people hear about us from word of mouth, or seeing someone using it in their office. We frequently see one order delivered to a company and then lots of new orders to that same company over the following weeks and months.

JB: Word of mouth is incredibly effective. You also got some good reviews and comments which ultimately persuaded me to try Stand Steady. Do you want to tell our readers about that?

DM: This is an example of one of our many five-star reviews on Amazon.com, where the customer is so surprised that her back and neck pain go away. "This table enables me to stand up and I love it! I am a writer and independent filmmaker, so I spend a lot of time on the computer. I also have degenerative disc disease, and it worsens when sitting. So after reading numerous positive reviews about this particular stand I decided to purchase one to see if it made a difference with my back and neck. It's truly amazing as it is like day and night. I feel better, I'm burning a few more calories in the process, my typing is even faster due to having good carriage compared to slouching in a chair. Better yet, my neck no longer aches so badly that I have to get up and walk away from my projects.

Honestly, if you have posture problems then this concept is perfect for you. Also, if my feet do tire, I can still sit in my chair and continue working as I have a wireless keyboard and mouse and I can simply drop them down to a lower level. This also has a very user friendly easy to raise up system with pop nobs for raising the stand higher or lower. I would absolutely recommend this item to anyone who spends a lot of time on the computer! It's been the answer to all of my spine and neck problems and I have yet to walk away from any of my projects since I've had it, which has been over two months now. This stand rocks!" (from our Original Stand Steady Standing Desk listing)

JB: By the way, how's your back now that you're not sitting so much, Day?

DM: Great! I sometimes get aches in the location of the injury if I do a lot carrying of heavy stuff, but in a normal week, I have no pain in my back.

JB: I'm so glad to hear that. Standing desks may yet save us from the serious pitfalls of our sedentary lifestyles and Stand Steady is definitely out there doing its job. Thanks for talking with me, Day. It's been a pleasure and an education.

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*second cited URL: Here's an excerpt from that page:

"There's been a concerted effort in recent years to improve diversity in the growing and lucrative STEM careers. Today, young women receive just 18 percent of bachelor's degrees in computer sciences and 43 percent of degrees in mathematics and statistics."

Stand Steady website

The Perfect First Standing Desk: A Review of the Executive Stand Steady Stand Up Desk, Deskhacks.com, 3.3.2014

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.