Our Origin Story
What do you get when you combine a widowed entrepreneur and a former anti-terrorism expert? A story of resilience, purpose, and the founding of Equip Products—a company dedicated to adaptive fitness and therapy.
David & Dana Askew and the Unthinkable
This is the story of me, Mark S. Harris, and my wife, Dana Askew-Harris. We’ve never shared the full journey of how Equip Products became the adaptive fitness and therapy company it is today. It begins with Dana’s loss of her first husband, David, in 2003. David ran a successful paint and touch-up business in St. Louis, Missouri, serving car dealerships across the region—a business they built together with sixteen teams. When David passed suddenly after a brief illness, Dana and her two young children were devastated. With no time to pause, Dana stepped into his role, learning new skills to keep the business running and provide for her family.
A Few Minutes Away and a Million Miles
Just ten minutes away, I was living in a neighboring community, unaware of Dana’s story but connected through mutual acquaintances. In the post-9/11 era, I ran an Anti-Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness business, traveling 40 weeks a year to train armed forces, first responders, and hospitals in responding to major incidents. My work focused on saving lives, treating chemical and biological exposures, and providing filtration and decontamination systems. Around 2008, I started chatting with Dana online and via text, finally meeting her three months later when I was home. We hit it off, spending every spare moment together from then on.
Loss and Legacy: Senior Airman Bradley R. Smith
In January 2010, a mutual friend, Senior Airman Bradley Smith, was killed in action in Afghanistan by an IED. Bradley, part of the U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Control Party, was a close friend of Dana and David’s, having grown up in their youth group. His loss, detailed in a Coffee or Die article, left a lasting impact on his family—Gary, Paula, Tiffany, Chloe—and our community. We’ve honored Bradley through a 5K for years and by participating in the CrossFit Hero workout named after him, “Bradley”:
"Bradley"
10 rounds for time:
- Sprint 100 meters
- 10 Pull-ups
- Sprint 100 meters
- 10 Burpees
- Rest 30 seconds
Participating in the “Bradley” workout inspired us to create equipment that allows adaptive athletes to honor heroes like him through fitness, a mission that became the heart of Equip Products.
Wedding Bells and Disaster
Dana and I were married in April 2010, uniting our lives and experiences. Weeks later, Dana’s daughter, Alysa—a college soccer player at Hannibal-LaGrange University—survived a near-fatal truck accident while on a mission trip in Haiti. The truck’s brakes failed, causing a crash that left Alysa with severe facial injuries. Miraculously, she was airlifted to Miami, where trauma specialists helped her recover. We flew to her side, supporting her through weeks of healing. (Read more about Alysa’s story)
A year later, my son, Sgt. Andrew S. Harris, a U.S. Marine Corps Crew Chief, survived a helicopter crash during training at Camp Pendleton, California. I received a text—“I’m alright, I’ll call as soon as I can”—only to see him on the news being stretchered away. Tragically, his friend, Sgt. Trevor Cook, lost his life in the crash. Andrew, who went on to serve two tours in Afghanistan, still lives with visible and invisible impairments today. (Learn more about the incident)
The Seeds of Invention
These experiences shaped our mission. My work in trauma response, our children’s injuries, my upbringing with disabled parents (my father had polio, my mother is legally blind), Dana’s loss of David, and the sacrifices of friends like Bradley gave us a deep burden for the injured and their recovery. In 2016, while working at the CrossFit Games in Carson, California, we saw adaptive athletes—veterans with prosthetic legs, individuals in wheelchairs—struggling with a lack of fitness solutions. Kevin Ogar, paralyzed during a fitness event, shared that there were no off-the-shelf tools for adaptive athletes. (Read Kevin’s story)
We took that as a challenge. Our first LapMat prototypes were rough—I’m embarrassed by my initial design—but with feedback from wheelchair athletes, we refined it. A year later, at the 2017 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, Kevin Ogar and Chris “Stouty” Stoutenberg used the first LapMats™ during an exhibition event, protecting their legs while lifting barbells. The response was overwhelming, with dozens of athletes requesting more solutions. (Learn more about WheelWOD)
Born From Trauma and Grit
Combining Dana’s entrepreneurial spirit and my trauma expertise, we founded Equip Products to create adaptive fitness and therapy equipment that empowers everyone to move forward. Nine years later, we serve thousands of customers worldwide with 130 products, including:
- LapMats™
- Multi Ropes™
- LouP™ Barbell & Rig Strap
- Ankle, Leg, & Body Straps
- Deadlift Harness
- Bike Block Pedal Lifts
We’re also working on over 20 new initiatives to support a broad spectrum of movements in fitness and therapy. (Explore our products)
Continuing the Mission
Today, we partner with organizations worldwide to advance activity-based training for the adaptive fitness and physical therapy community. We sponsor many events and have been a presence at adaptive fitness and therapy events worldwide, anywhere adaptive fitness and therapy events are held. These efforts reflect why we started this journey—to empower movement and independence for all.
Join us in this mission! Explore our adaptive fitness gear and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X formerly Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn for updates on how we’re making a difference, one movement at a time.