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ANTHROS WAS BORN OUT OF A DESIRE FOR CHANGE.

A team of wheelchair seating experts—clinicians, product designers, and marketing executives—heard the same comment over and over at industry trade shows:

“I wish my office chair felt like this!”

These physical and occupational therapists, seating technicians, gamers, and assistive technology professionals, all people who take care of the most vulnerable sitting population—wheelchair users—got us thinking:

“What about the rest of the world?”

What about the millions of people sitting at desks all day, suffering with aches, discomfort, headaches, and pain? What about gamers grinding for hours on end, constantly shifting positions due to discomfort?

Don’t they deserve an evidence-based sitting solution?

WHO WE ARE

MEET THE “ANTHROS 14”

THE WILD INVENTOR

STEVEN DUFRESNE

CEO
Passionate about serving and inspiring others and loves hosting, hot sauces, wake surfing, and dad jokes.” 

Steve worked at an executive level for many years, most recently as VP of Product Development for a wheelchair seating manufacturer. He is a creative genius who has designed wheelchair seats, backs, postural supports – you name it, he’s designed it! In an industry lacking variety, Steve is an expert at inventing new solutions.

Steve is passionate about helping people. He also understands the human body and its need for support. After continuously hearing how unhappy the general population is with office chairs options, he researched the market to confirm his hunch: no office chair existed that supported the human body in the right places. On top of that, there’d been little to no innovation for over 40 years. Steve set out to right this wrong, launching the inception of the Anthros chair, a solution designed with two intentions in mind: quality human experience and unmatched beauty.

THE VISIONARY

ERIC MURPHY

CMO

“Lover of golf, Shark Tank, Bitcoin, Yacht Rock, and taco-rating across the world.”

Eric worked almost 20 years as an executive level marketer,  and most recently as VP of Marketing for the same wheelchair seating manufacturer as our CEO, Steve DuFresne.

Using his Marketing background and Entrepreneurial spirit, Eric realized that there was a massive hole in the market, and that no company had yet designed a chair using basic seating principles. People who sit were starving for a better solution for not only basic comfort, but to also improve their posture, reduce pain and maximize their performance. Current chair companies are full of wild marketing claims and empty promises, and Eric believes that consumers deserve better!

Eric’s knack for building passionate teams and casting a vision for a strong business plan brought Anthros to the market, ready to change the status quo.

THE CHAIR GUY

DAVE VEENEMAN

VP of Sales
“Lover of faith, family, hunting, fishing, and anything involving water and a boat.”

With almost two decades of experience in both office and retail furniture, Dave has held various leadership roles in product management, market launch, and new product development. In addition, he has a wealth of knowledge in applications marketing, global supply chain strategy, accounting, and strategic retail partnerships.

Dave has certainly tried and tested a wide range of chairs in the market, so when he first sat on the Anthros chair, he immediately knew it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. This realization, along with his deep passion for helping people reduce pain and improve their posture, motivated him to make a difference at Anthros. With his impressive expertise in building omni-channel networks and extensive industry knowledge, Dave is thrilled to add value to the Anthros team and help the brand reach more people. By doing so, he hopes to provide more individuals with the opportunity to reduce pain and perform their best with the help of the Anthros chair.

THE ROCK

PAT WALTERS

COO

Lover of God, family, and Country, and of course a great Rock Concert!

Every company needs a Pat Walters. Pat is a lifelong entrepreneur with successes including the founding of a mortgage company: in 18 years, he grew the firm to over 200 employees and annual mortgage sales over 1 billion. Following the recession in 2008-2009, he started an office furniture franchise and continues growing it throughout the Midwest. Pat brings his vast experience and wealth of knowledge to help lead Anthros to mass success!

WOLF OF ANTHROS

BRETT ENGELKING

CFO

“Lover of outdoor activities, snow and water sports of all kinds, and philanthropy related to animals and children.”

Brett is our numbers guy. We can’t have a successful business without a great CFO and Brett brings over 30 years of experience in the financial services arena: working with a global independent investment bank/financial services company, a multinational investment management firm, and a local billion-dollar Registered Investment Advisory firm. He understands business ins and outs through his various roles in treasury management, securities lending, back-office and middle-office operations, advisory account administration, performance monitoring, and technology oversight.

Brett’s pretty much done it all in finance and he’s a really fun guy, proving that numbers and fun can go hand in hand!

THE SCULPTOR

KENT WEISS SOLBERG

Director of Design + Innovation

“Lover of any mode of transportation that is 100 percent human-powered, making things, and watching things sprout in spring.”

Anthros proves that an office chair designed with foundational seating principles will help people by “fixing their sit.”

But this isn’t enough: a chair needs to be beautiful, enhancing any space.

Kent is a distinguished industrial designer whose designs have been recognized by IDSA, Red Dot, Design Preis Schweiz, and Industrie Forum Design Hannover. He brought Anthros to the next level with his passion for creating beautiful products. With over 20 years of experience at every stage of the design process, Kent is the magic who combined beauty and function for the Anthros chair.

FIX YOUR SIT GURU

STACEY MULLIS OTR/L, ATP, NPI-CPS

Director of Clinical Education

“Lover of new adventures, real conversations, and frequent belly laughing.”

Stacey, an occupational therapist, seating specialist, and certified posture specialist, has worked in the wheelchair seating industry for over 15 years. She was successful in sales, growing her territory and marketing numerous resources, courses, and content supporting a digital inbound marketing strategy. Stacey presented and shared her expertise at numerous national and international conferences and developed scalable education programs for newer therapists online.

Her unique sales and marketing acumen, combined with her knowledge of the human body, and goofy sense of humor makes her a perfect fit for Anthros.

THE DOCTOR OF SIT

ASHLEY WILLIAMS PT, DPT, ATP/SMS, CASP

Ambassador Community Director

“Lover of all dogs, offshore fishing with her amazing wife, and late-night acoustic guitar performances for no one in her backyard.”

Ashley, Doctor of Physical Therapy, seating specialist, and chair assessment specialist, has worked in the wheelchair seating industry for 15 years. She led a pediatric seating clinic for five years, then taking her expertise to the wheelchair manufacturing industry, excelling in sales and training newer therapists in seating principles.

Ashley connects with everyone she meets and is passionate about sharing her knowledge of sitting well. While growing sales in her territory, she also presented at regional and international conferences and guest lectured at local universities. Ashley joins Anthros as the Ambassador Community Director and brings wit and high energy, knowledge, and a drive to fix the way people sit.

THE DIGITAL GOAT

TYLER WANTULOK

Director of Marketing

“Lover of family, traveling, exploring new technology, and never sitting still. Commonly known at Anthros as ‘Mr. Fun’.”

Tyler has had a career in marketing and design for over 20 years, with the last ten years in the wheelchair seating industry. He’s a big-picture thinker and has always kept ahead of marketing strategies and trends. With Anthros being a new company, Tyler brings his problem-solving, eye for design, and leadership skills to the marketing team. His passion for reaching people who don’t even know they need Anthros drives Tyler to more innovation and creativity in getting our message to the masses.

THE CREATIVE

SAM SZUTKOWSKI

Creative Manager

“Lover of the macabre and all things creepy – especially the Addam’s family. A type geek, graphic design nerd, illustration obsessive, fan of screenprinting, and letterpress junkie.”

With a beautiful chair design, Anthros needed a creative manager who can share Anthros with the world in an impactful way. Sam is a graduate of the prestigious Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She is a self-described graphic design nerd who has almost a decade of experience working on ad agency teams, in-house marketing teams, and as a freelancer.

Her talent and drive are reflected in the Anthros logo. She is our resident gaming expert as both she and her fiancé are avid gamers.

THE FUTURE

GRANT BROGAN

Influencer and Social Media Manager

“Passionate outdoorsman and lover of backcountry skiing, rock climbing, and fishing in southwest Montana.”

Grant is the youngest member of the Anthros team and started his career as a college marketing intern with a wheelchair seating manufacturer. He quickly realized that making a positive change in people’s lives through marketing initiatives truly made him happy and dove in headfirst. Over the years, Grant has held several marketing positions in various organizations finding success in social media management, sales, and go-to-marketing strategies. His passion for helping others and fostering business development makes him the perfect fit for this role. You can typically find Grant outside, covered in mud or snow, and sharing his goofy laugh with anyone around!

THE DATA GENIUS

JANNA DUFRESNE

CTO

Lover of wake surfing, kickboxing, and being a soccer/downhill skiing mom.

Janna is a highly experienced network engineer and network architect with 27 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies. She is a skilled problem solver, motivated to implement systems and processes to create maximum efficiency in all that we do. Not only is she smart, but she’s kind and enthusiastic and enjoys talking with our customers and answering their questions. 

Janna is passionate about anything that has to do with being on the water and she has been a key founder and organizer in planning the Anthros Foundation's At the Lake (ATL) event for several years running. If she could live in the water, she probably would :-) Thanks to her hard work and dedication, it has continued to grow and is an “event of the year” to numerous families. The joy that ATL brings to the athletes and families motivates Janna to make every year better than the last! 

THE FIXER

MATT LAWLEY

Lead Developer

"Lover of God, family, coaching youth running, and generally trying to make the world a better place - one line of code at a time."

With a background as a VP of Operations, Matt wrote his first line of HTML 6 years ago and was immediately hooked. He brings invaluable leadership and management insights from 12 years of experience in operations to the detail-oriented developer position. 

As the Lead Developer, Matt is responsible for bringing the company's innovative and design-focused approach to life online. His passion for web development and building cool online animations make him the perfect fit for Anthros. He is committed to delivering high-quality work and pushing the boundaries of what is possible online.

THE YOUNG GUN

SIMON WALTERS

Dealer Sales

"Lover of family, dance music, riding dirtbikes and anything that goes fast."

With eight years of experience outfitting hundreds of offices, Simon has honed some skills in the office furniture business. After hearing the wants and needs of consumers while deciding on the right chair for themselves or their employees, he became convinced that Anthros was the solution.

Excited to join the Anthros team, Simon aims to bring his expertise to new heights and make a lasting impact. With a thirst for innovation in the office seating industry, he is poised to excel and set benchmarks in helping people fix their sit with Anthros. Simon's dynamic nature and pursuit of excellence make him an exciting addition to the Anthros team. 

SO THERE’S THE ANTHROS ELITE TEAM OF 14!
WE’RE READY TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE SIT AND
TURN THE CHAIR WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!

WHAT WE KNOW

“ERGONOMIC” IS THE MOST OVERUSED WORD RELATED TO SITTING

What does ergonomics really mean?
According to Google, ergonomics is “the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment.” What does this have to do with posture and the human body? Nothing, really.

The problem with traditional office chairs labeled as “ergonomic” is that they support the body in all the wrong places. The body then searches for comfort (aka, sits like crap) and ends up tired and in pain, sitting and standing in sloppy postures.

Ergonomics is NOT the answer to sitting well.
Anthros cares about the human body and aims to prevent pain and poor posture. We won’t use the word ergonomic. In fact, we went as far as coining the term Anthronomics.

Anthronomics is the understanding and application of biomechanics (science of movement), ergonomics (work law), and anthropometrics (human measurements) in the pursuit of optimal posture and support of the human body in the standing and sitting positions. As you may have guessed, anthro (or human), is at the center of the Anthronomics methodology.

The result of using Anthronomics in our design is:
Anthros: the first chair that adapts to the human body

WHAT WE OFFER

EDUCATION

Because we love humans, we are committed to creating educational materials like e-books, blog posts, videos, and more to address topics related to sitting well and living pain-free. We offer free access to our “Reverse the Negative Effects of Sitting” and “Get Out of Back Pain” online video series.

ANTHROS

BUILT IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

Leggett and Platt (L&P) is a leading American manufacturer that designs and produces various engineered components and products that provide comfort to homes, offices, and transportation. It has been listed on Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies”. Genesis Seating is the furniture division of L&P, established in 1994 in Grand Rapids Michigan. Anthros is proud to partner with Genesis seating to manufacture the most comfortable seating solution in the office, home, and gaming chair market.

WHERE OUR HEARTS ARE

GIVING BACK

The most exciting part of the Anthros team is our commitment to giving back. We all agree that with our success, we will give back through the Anthros Foundation (501c3/nonprofit). That’s why a percentage of every dollar earned will be given back to organizations that serve the global wheelchair community.

Believe it or not, there are countless Third World countries where adults and children lack access to the basic mobility equipment that allows them to participate in fundamental daily living activities. We want to be a part of changing this sad reality.

Events

Our yearly flagship event is an adaptive day at the lake named “At the Lake.” You can more below.

At the Lake Event.
The Anthros Foundation recently raised nearly $20,000 for Beeline Wheelchairs in Guatemala. Our team went to Guatemala to fit 57 children in custom wheelchairs.

By supporting Anthros and our mission, you are making the world a better place by providing help for those who need it most.

Learn More