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10 23 24 Freedom Trax VP Dan Livingston on their all terrain wheelchair attachment
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. At Sprouts Farmers Market, we're all about fresh, healthy, and delicious. Step into our bulk department to discover a world of options with hundreds of scoopable bulk bins and grab-and-go favorites. From wholesome grains and spices to limited-time goodies like pumpkin apple cashews and butter toffee peanuts. Plus buying in bulk means you can get as much or as little as you like for your next recipe or snack attack. Visit your neighborhood Sprouts Farmers Market today, or fly for fills every scoop. In every year, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce hosts their coolest things made in Colorado. It's a contest highlighting a number of products and inventions that help drive the vibrant and diverse manufacturing industry across the state. Ten finalists were announced earlier in the month, and last week the chamber named the winner. Freedom Tracks by Tor Engineering based in Golden was given the title for their motorized off-road attachment designed for manual wheelchairs. Helping to make all types of terrain accessible for everyone. Joining us now to talk more about it is the Vice President of Operations at Tor Engineering. It's Dan Livingston. Dan, thank you so much for joining us this morning, and congratulations. Oh, good morning. Thank you so much for having me on. What was your initial reaction when you were given this title the coolest thing made in Colorado? Well, to be quite honest, I originally when somebody called and said, "You're nominated for the 10 coolest things. And I thought it was a scam, just being a business owner. You get so many different scam calls like, "Yeah, sure, I'm really one of the coolest things made in Colorado." And after talking for a few minutes, realized it was actually true and couldn't believe it. We're a small company, so any kind of recognition we get is so valued and appreciated. And finally, last week when we went to the awards show and won, it was crazy. It was a dream come true, still in shock. Your invention is called Freedom Tracks. Before we talk about it specifically, since I understand a little bit about it and you'll explain it in greater detail, Dan, what was the inspiration for your invention? I just always loved the outdoors. And this was a decade ago, realizing that, you know, there's a lot of people out there. There are wheelchairs that just want to go places that their chair doesn't allow them to go. And there's so many different options for people that allow them to go off-road, but staying in your own chair, having something that was small and portable really wasn't available. So, you know, after a lot of R&D and trial and error and prototyping, we finally came up with something that actually helped you get to the beach. And really, it started as a beach device, and then we branched off and made a few different models that allow you to do more aggressive off-road terrain. And again, while staying in your own chair. Dan, describe what this looks like to listeners because it's unique. It's not wheels. It's not a set of wheels that we're talking about here. When you describe that it works on sand and all terrain, you almost think more like a tank set of wheels. And that's pretty much what it looks like to me. You know, I would say everybody that initially sees it says it looks like a battle botch, which is, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but it looks like two-foot tank tracks that you roll on with your manual chair and then lock yourself down and it allows you to go to all the places that your wheel won't let you, which is a lot of places, especially at the beach, because there's so many different beaches out there that have different sands and, you know, some wheels work, some don't, and there's obviously beach wheelchairs that are popular, but they're not powered, so you have to have somebody push you. And really freedom tracks are the only one, you know, that keeps your whole entire chair off the ground that is true attachment for your chair. And those that you've given the ability to enjoy things that we take for granted if we're maybe more able-bodied or young enough to be able to do it, what has been their reaction to using your freedom tracks? I mean, I wouldn't be doing this for this long, and if I didn't truly have a passion for it. And so, you know, we're still very small and we make everything in-house here, and every time I start to get stressed out just by the chair having small business, I get that one email that's, "Hey, really appreciate it. I was able to go to the beach today and go to my beach wedding and do things that I couldn't do before and definitely give me the motivation to keep on going and, you know, come up with new ideas and new models and just keep on going forward." Dan, tell us a little bit more about tour engineering and what it's like being a small business in Colorado, is this a place that you believe that businesses should be able to live and thrive and develop and make more inventions like yours? Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think the 10 Coolest Things Award was a great example of that. Having a Chamber of Commerce that supports you and does things like that, that's not even about money or anything like that. It's about recognition, and people have reached out to me since that show and trying to help us in any way they can just with different, you know, even taxes and things like that. It's a great place to live and work, that's for sure. And what's next for Freedom Tracks and Tour Engineering? Is there more products or more improvements in the works? Well, definitely more improvements. We came out with a new model last month that positions your tracks on the outside of your wheelchair. Our normal flagship product has tracks on the inside and underneath your chair. And so this one's geared towards more of a aggressive off-road terrain, so people looking to go on some more deeper trails, more off-road trails, this one will be your ticket. And Dan, if people want to purchase some Freedom Tracks, get access to it or learn more about you and your company, where can they go? If anybody in Colorado could come visit our shop in Golden. And even if they're not in Colorado, anybody can if they just want to see how we make them and dental models here. And we do have a handful of dealers throughout the country. Our big ones are Florida and California. Vice President of Operations at Tour Engineering, creator of Freedom Tracks, and now the coolest thing made in Colorado for 2024. It's Dan Livingston. Dan, thank you so much for your time this morning. Congratulations, and thank you for making cool things in our state. We appreciate it. Wow, thank you guys. Have a great day. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC.