SpinaliS is a Slovenian invention, proudly produced in the EU, and used around the world.

Back in 1999, I began to suffer from lower back pain. I visited several doctors and physiotherapists, all of whom advised me to sit on an orthopedic ball while at my desk at work. I found that sitting on the ball was very beneficial, but quite difficult and impractical at the workplace. That is why I made my own chair. My idea was to create a chair that would replicate the sensation (and benefits) of on a therapeutic or exercise ball, but that was in the shape of a proper chair, with arm rests and an elegant design (because it was a little odd to meet clients while balancing on an inflatable rubber ball).

When customers who came to my advertising sign company asked about my new chair, I started thinking about its production and marketing, but I had to first check what medical professionals thought about it. I made contact initially with a renowned orthopedist, Dr. Janko Popovic who, I’m the first to admit, was skeptical during our first telephone conversation. He said that he had received about 20 chairs a year to assess, all supposedly with health benefits, and had not yet recommended any of them. At that point, I really didn’t know if my invention would pass muster, and it was without much confidence that I visited him, homemade prototype in hand. He tested it and called me back, sometime later. When I walked into his office, I was much relieved when he congratulated me. Mine was the first chair he felt he could enthusiastically recommend. According to his vast knowledge and experience as an orthopedic specialist, this design would really help those with back pain, and help those without back pain remain without it. That was the initial encouragement I needed. I decided that I would start producing the chair for others.

I first presented my patented invention at the Alpe Adria Home 2000 fair. My spouse and I were assembling four chairs, by hand, until five in the morning on the day of the fair! But it paid off, because the response of fair visitors was remarkable. The enthusiasm at other domestic fairs in our native Slovenia, such as the furniture fair in Ljubljana and Celje, escalated. Many fair visitors visited us at our sales showroom. The ball was rolling.

Just a year later, by the time the Trade Fair in Celje in 2001 finished, we had already received orders for thousands of SpinaliS chairs. After 11 developmental stages, our chairs finally took the shape of a modern office chair, and we fulfilled the first few thousand orders. Sales have been increasing day by day since then. Now the chairs are used in more than 25 countries around the world. Queens, presidents, Hollywood stars and Olympic medalists have all used them. More than 80,000 have been sold, a number we are proud of, especially considering the small size of our initial market, our home nation of Slovenia, which has a population of just around two million.

The SpinaliS chairs, with their patented movable seats, do not allow for passive sitting, which means that the back muscles are constantly tense and strengthen, thereby reducing pressure on the intervertebral discs, which has a positive impact on the entire spine. Passive sitting on traditional chairs is bad for you. Active sitting is the answer. SpinaliS is the answer.

I humbly recommend it to you and welcome you to try it for yourself.

Tomaž Ham