Bangert: A weight, a memory and a business plan, all in the shape of a heart

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Justin Morrissette already had been playing around with ideas for fitness products he thought would bring a little more flair, a little more fun to the CrossFit workouts he coaches and anywhere else weights are lifted.

A 2016 Purdue University graduate, with a degree in aerospace engineering, Morrissette had ideas for stylized kettlebells and assorted equipment customized for the gym.

With design help from some artist friends, startup advice through the Purdue Foundry and room to work at MatchBOX co-working studio in downtown Lafayette, Morrissette came up with a 2.5-pound weight plate in the shape of a heart that he figured could be the start of a company he was calling Barbell Flair.

“You know, something a little flashier, more personal gym equipment,” Morrissette said. “Something that’s really yours and might keep you excited about working out.”

He also had started making plans for a Kickstarter campaign to raise initial cash through crowdfunding sources.

What happened this summer to Chantal and Jacob Richardson, a Lafayette couple Morrissette met during classes at CrossFit West Lafayette, changed his business rollout into a cause.

“He texted me one day,” Jacob Richardson said. “He said he had these heart weights. He said, ‘I want to dedicate them to Chantal.’ He wanted to know if that was OK – if I was OK with it, if Chantal would be OK with it.”

And?

“I was on board from the beginning,” Richardson said. “Chantal, I know she would have been, too. … I wish she could be here to see what’s happening.”

On Aug. 5, the Richardsons were on a benefit ride for fallen firefighters with about 100 other motorcyclists when Jacob’s Suzuki Boulevard caught a patch of loose gravel in the S-curves of County Road 400 East on the climb past Clegg Gardens, just east of Lafayette. The bike went down. Chantal was hit by another motorcyclist in the pack.

Chantal Richardson died three days later, but only after her family was able to work with the Indiana Donor Network to find recipients for her organs. She was 26, a mother of two daughters – Sophia, 4, and Allison, 2 – and going to Ivy Tech Community College to get an associate’s degree in early childhood development, with plans to transfer to Purdue to work toward a degree that would line up her aspiration to be a food science teacher.

In the months leading up to the crash, the Richardsons had found their way to CrossFit West Lafayette, situated in a former auto repair garage at one end of Levee Plaza. Jacob Richardson went in May to work his way through the facility’s “New You Challenge,” a six-week mix of workouts and metabolic conditioning. By July, Chantal joined in, too.

That’s where the Richardsons met Morrissette, who had left a job working on wind turbines in Fowler to get more involved in training and the idea behind Barbell Flair.

Morrissette said it was hard to miss Chantal Richardson’s devotion to breast cancer awareness. Her workout attire leaned toward pink. Jacob Richardson said his wife had a collection of more than 20 T-shirts with pink ribbons and slogans calling for more research on breast cancer.

“She was the kind of person who was always looking for someone to help,” Jacob Richardson said. “I’m not exactly sure why she was so into pink ribbons, but it was just something she was totally behind.”

Morrissette’s response: “That kind of ignited the fires. … I’ve got to do this. And we’ll put a real cause behind it.”

Morrissette’s friends Tom Dahlseid and Leah Schretenthaler helped design a 2.5-pound, heart-shaped plate – a “PR (personal record) buddy” for the end of the stack – that wouldn’t shift in a way that felt unbalanced. He used computer-assisted design software and CNC routing equipment at MatchBOX to create foamboard prototypes. And he found someone who could make a mold to make steel versions ready for a weight bar.

Earlier in December, Morrissette started the Kickstarter crowdfunding effort, with a goal of raising $6,000 by Jan. 4. It’s an all or nothing deal for Morrissette and Barbell Flair.

But it if comes through, Morrissette will give a third of the proceeds to the Richardson family to handle ongoing medical bills. Another third of the proceeds will go to the National Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.

A $40 contribution will score a pair of the heart-shaped weights. (A $25 pledge gets one.) The weights will be painted pink.

Can that grow into as a business?

“I don’t know,” Morrissette said. “I have my dreams for Barbell Flair. … But it starts here, with this. It starts with honoring Chantal.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO: The heart weight plate campaign to raise $6,000 is at Kickstarter.com. Search for “heart weight plate.”

Reach J&C columnist Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@gannett.com.