EHF Fellow: Bart de Vries

Moving, bending and shaking up traditional office spaces

Bart de Vries grew up in Hawkes Bay — a beautiful coastal town on New Zealand’s north island where surfing and other sun-soaked activities can be found in abundance.

It was the winter sport of field hockey, though, that brought Bart to the Netherlands where he played on a professional level for two years.

For Bart, it doesn’t matter what kind of activity he’s doing — he just likes to be active. And he believes it would benefit everyone to add a little more movement to their day.

“Not only is it a way to improve people’s health while they work, but at a deeper level, having people move more is setting up their physiological state to make better decisions. And in the developed world, particularly in corporate and tech environments, our decisions are having a huge impact on the environment.”

-Bart de Vries

Bart explains that if we are in a better physiological state throughout the day, we’re able to take in broader data sets and make more well-informed decisions. Because of this, adding activity to our days will positively impact both the individuals around us and also the environmental context that we’re working in.

“The number one problem I’m looking to solve is inactivity and or more broadly health and wellness in the workspace.”

-Bart de Vries

Now living in Wellington, Bart has also developed a way for people to keep moving once they get to the office.

His company, Limber, has developed a unique desk that maximizes workers’ movement, space, and collaboration.

“[This is] the first desk in the world that allows a full floor-to-standing range of motion at the speed of human movement.” -Limber Website

Bart says the Limber desk, which is currently available in two shapes, is just the first of many innovations that the company will undertake to combat inactivity in traditional office spaces and encourage physical well-being.

It is already being used by some of New Zealand’s leading tech companies like Xero and Power Shop — but Bart would like to see it adopted by workers around the globe.

“I plan to disrupt the physical environments we work in to get a step-change in peoples ability to move, feel and work well.”

-Bart de Vries

Bart’s expertise comes not only from his active past but from eight years working as a physiotherapist for high-performance athletes and people suffering from chronic pain.

“What I saw was this huge divide between what we understand about health and performance and how we implement [that knowledge] in professional sports environments in contrast to how we implement it in the workplace.”

-Bart de Vries

That divide is what really ignited Bart’s passionate to try to find preventative solutions for the workplace environment and focusing specifically on movement, range of motion, physical activity.

Limber, as a company, is dedicated to maintaining climate-positive operations. In 2018, they offset their operating emissions by 225%.

“We are passionate about making sure what we do at Limber is contributing positively to the planet and the people we work with.”

-Bart de Vries

Their desks are produced locally with sustainably grown Birch, which is a beautiful and sturdy wood that can stand the test of time.

And their wood-sourcing is not the only way Limber supports its local community.

“In 2017 we partnered with the Common Unity Project Aotearoa, a charity dedicated to feeding and improving the lives of vulnerable children.”

-Bart de Vries

They also create employment opportunities for mothers, refugees and incarcerated people through Common Unity’s Sew Good Cooperative.

“The bags used for the Limber counterweights are made out of premium denim which the Sew Good team have saved from going to a landfill and then handmade into weight bags.”

-Bart de Vries

Bart and his Limber team have shown that running a profitable business and taking care of the world are not mutually exclusive activities. Bart says that he’s excited to be joining a community of people who believe in those same ideals.

“Every time I go to one of the New Frontiers events and meet with the current fellows, it gives me a sense of belonging — a sense of place — that I don’t get anywhere else. And that is wonderful to be a part of.”

-Bart de Vries

Applications for Cohort 6 are now open! Apply online here — the early bird deadline with reduced application fees closes 4 August 2019, and final deadline is 1 September 2019.