The Great Kettlebell Shortage

Now, What’s Next?

Host Sonari Glinton explores the great kettlebell shortage of 2020, as closed gyms led to unprecedented demand for home exercise equipment. We learn how manufacturing overseas made kettlebells difficult to get, and how bringing the manufacturing to the U.S. and supply chain diversification provided ways to meet the demand, but were far from simple solutions.

In this episode we meet Jennifer Lau, co-owner of FitSquad who experienced the kettlebell demand firsthand. At the same time, Jay Perkins, the co-founder of Kettlebell Kings saw his supply of overseas manufactured kettlebells stall when demand was at its highest. We go to Viet Nam to meet Dinh Tien Vu, Director of Vietnam CastIron who was able to manufacture kettlebells in his foundry while Chinese factories were shut down. And we talk to Joe Franklin of USA-Iron, who was able to make kettlebells quickly by producing domestically in the USA.

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