Jul 30, 2025
"Even if you're in a wheelchair, you can still do fitness."
Mr. Kim Kang pondered over 'technology that makes wheelchair users move.'
The treadmill on a wheelchair, and the story of Kangsters unfolds on it. At the center of it is Mr. Kim Kang, who aims to return the 'right to move' to everyone.
Catch it now on the meetup podcast.
[The Story of Kangsters CEO and WheelieX Creator: Mr. Kim Kang]
Raised by a mother with polio and a father with physical limitations, Mr. Kim Kang started from the notion that people with disabilities should be viewed not just as 'people in need of help' but as people 'with the possibility to move.'
Thus, WheelieX was born,
WheelieX is the world's first treadmill designed exclusively for wheelchair users to exercise freely at home.
After countless thoughts and trial-and-error, we introduce Mr. Kim Kang, the developer of WheelieX.
Q.
Hello. Could you please introduce yourself briefly, Mr. Kim?
A.
Hello.
I am Kim Kang, the CEO of Kangsters Inc., an Abletech company for loved ones.
Q.
Nice to meet you, CEO.
This is my first time meeting you, and I'm very curious about the meaning of Kangsters. What does Kangsters mean, and how did you come to name the company Kangsters?
A.
Kangsters is..
My name is Kim Kang, right? But Americans pronounce Kang as 'Kang'.
I mentioned this briefly to my team.
And then the co-founder jokingly suggested 'Kangster', so why not 'Kangsters' for a group of people?
But on my way home, it kept coming back to me.
So, I searched on Google and found out that "Kangsters" is in the American slang dictionary.
It means "people who try anything for their loved ones and never give up on those they cherish."
We started this company for our beloved family, so it fit perfectly. That's how we became Kangsters.
Q.
Wow, there was such an amazing meaning behind it. Now that we're talking about the company, I'd like to shed light on your WheelieX. Could you please introduce WheelieX?
A.
WheelieX is a treadmill exclusively for wheelchairs.
The reason I developed WheelieX is because I was inspired by my mother. My mother used a wheelchair for a long time due to polio.
Since she used a wheelchair, it was very difficult for her to move anywhere due to mobility restrictions.
However, I thought that even if such people could do an hour of cardio at home sitting in their wheelchair, if they could just run for one hour, their life could change.
But if you look at the current assistive device market, most of it focuses on optimizing technology for mobility solutions.
Like prettier wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, and AI autonomous wheelchairs.
Of course, mobility is very important. It's about removing restrictions for people who have them.
But I feel like people are not seeing the side effects.
That side effect is making people who have the potential to move, not move.
Ultimately viewing people with disabilities as passive and only as recipients of help.
Just saying, 'Don't move with this, let something make you move.'
But I didn't like that.
So, I was determined to develop solutions that restore movement by making use of remaining abilities.
No one was making this attempt, so I wanted to present a new paradigm in the assistive device market.
The new paradigm is fitness.
I wanted to show that people with disabilities can also do fitness.
That's how the WheelieX project started.
Q.
You saw what no one else could see.
Listening to your story, it reminded me of something a professor said when I was in university.
They said, 'You should take those assistive devices away from the elderly!!' that's what they said.
Because they thought it took away their opportunities to move rather than leading them to better health.
It really resonated with me, as your words seem to be in the same context.
Why do you think we view it that way? Is it just a cultural thing?
A.
Because it's easy. It's convenient.
We also live in an era of technology overload that makes us not think too much, not push ourselves, makes us lazy, and unknowledgeable.
In some areas, it's the same.
So, in that sense, I thought, "No, you can move, you should move more, so show the miracle." That's what I thought to myself.
I've actually seen a lot of miracles.
