Author: Olga – Co-Founder GYMMONKY, MedTech manager (background: physiotherapy & sports science), 20 years as a competitive athlete, personal trainer and class instructor.
My gym towel was always somewhere. On the machines. On benches. On the floor. After 20 years of training I'd seen this small problem so often that I'd almost stopped questioning it.
Until it hit me: this isn't a normal gym problem. It's a setup problem.
I had the idea. Steffen, as an engineer, turned it into a working product. An everyday annoyance became the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip: a magnetic towel clip for the gym that keeps your gym towel where it belongs – off the floor, within reach on the equipment.
The key points at a glance
- Olga recognised the gym towel problem from 20 years of training experience and from the hygiene awareness she developed in MedTech and operating theatres.
- Steffen, Co-Founder of GYMMONKY, is an engineer. He designed, calculated and developed the Magnetic Towel Clip to production readiness.
- It took 20 prototypes and test versions before magnet strength, clamping mechanism, handling and surface protection all fit together.
- The result isn't a trend gadget, but a small organisational system for a real problem in training.
The problem: 20 years of training, always the same
I've been training since I was 16. Bodybuilding, competition, personal training, classes – the gym was never just leisure for me. It was workplace, performance space and everyday life all at once.
And still there was this one detail that stayed with me for years: the gym towel had no fixed place. It lay on the floor, hung half over a bar, slid off the padding or was gone exactly when I needed it.
After 20 years of training I know how often a gym towel ends up on the floor without anyone noticing. And through my daily work in MedTech, where I've been attending operations for years, I know how much hygiene, clean working and controlled processes matter.
So a gym towel on the gym floor isn't a cosmetic problem to me. It's a sign that the training is missing a system.
Why discipline isn't the solution
My first approach was the one most people probably know: just pay more attention. Try to place the gym towel more deliberately. Try not to put it on the floor. Keep remembering not to let it slide off. In vain. It simply didn't work.
Then came the attempt to ignore it. Impossible. Every workout you see the dirty machines, fresh and dried sweat, dust on the floor and the equipment, people walking across the training area in socks or dirty street shoes. Gym towels slide down between dusty machines or onto the floor and then get thrown back over the backrest. Ignoring it was impossible.
It was clear to me: this isn't a character problem. It isn't a discipline problem. It's a systems problem.
During training nobody wants to keep working out where the gym towel goes. Anyone under load, in the flow or catching their breath between sets doesn't need another decision. The gym towel needs a place that works without thinking – and without disgust.
The idea: what if the gym towel simply hangs?
The idea was simple: what if the gym towel didn't have to be put down at all? What if it just hung right where you're training? What if it stopped sliding off benches and backrests?
A magnetic clip on the equipment. No floor. No searching. No sliding off.
When I told Steffen about the idea, he didn't just say: «Good idea.» He said: «I know that problem myself. I regularly get ill after training and I know and see how dirty gyms are. Let's look for solutions.»
But there was no solution that would let us simply upgrade our existing gym towels. So we set out to develop one. Over 2 years, over 20 prototypes. For us. And for you.
Olga had the idea. Steffen developed the product.
The roles were clear from the start.
I brought the problem: 20 years of training, in the gym daily, competition experience, classes taught every day, personal training, and the daily hygiene awareness from MedTech. I knew why this problem is real – and why more discipline doesn't solve it.
Steffen brought the technical implementation. As an engineer he designed, calculated and brought the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip to production readiness – from the clamping mechanism to the magnet strength to the choice of materials.
Together that became GYMMONKY: a solution built from real training experience and technical product development.
What the Magnetic Towel Clip had to be able to do
The idea turned into a clear list of requirements. Not as a marketing promise, but as a development brief.
| Requirement | Why it mattered |
|---|---|
| ✅ Works with all typical gym towels | Some people train with small towels, some with large, some with cotton, some with microfibre. It had to suit all of them. |
| ✅ Simple to operate | No complex clamping mechanism that breaks your fingers when you open or close it. |
| ✅ Works on many steel surfaces in the gym | Racks, cable machines, dumbbell stands and equipment towers differ enormously in everyday use. |
| ✅ Protects equipment surfaces | A product for the gym must not leave marks on the equipment. |
| ✅ Makes the towel sides distinguishable | The logo on the clip makes it clearer which side is meant for the equipment and which for face, skin or body. |
| ✅ As small as possible | A good fitness accessory has to fit in any gym bag and mustn't get in the way during training. |
| ✅ Stays affordable | The solution shouldn't be a luxury gadget, but a well-thought-out tool that as many people as possible can afford. |
| ✅ Works in strong colours | The clip shouldn't just be practical, but also visible, high quality and available in colours that match your personal training setup. |
This list sounds simple and the end product looks so logical. In reality it was the reason the first idea turned into 20 prototypes and test versions, and why it took over 2 years before we were satisfied.
20 prototypes: what went wrong – and what we learned
It all started with the basic shape. Before we got to finished engineering, we had to understand: how do we design the clip so it meets every requirement? It had to sit on the gym towel, look good, be intuitive to use, hold securely, protect equipment surfaces and still stay affordable.
The first design ideas came about with simple means – modelling clay among them. Not to test in the gym, but to make form, proportions and handling tangible at all.
In parallel we worked with magnets to understand magnetic force better: which strength feels right? When does it hold reliably? When does it become too strong? How does a magnet behave on different steel surfaces, angles and finishes of gym equipment?
After that the actual product question got more and more complex: how do we combine holding the gym towel with attaching to the equipment? Which mechanism is simple enough for everyday training, but stable enough for a damp gym towel? Which materials work technically, feel good and can later be produced sensibly?
We tinkered, combined, tested, discarded and rethought. A lot came out of simple test models, existing components, 3D prints and improvised solutions. Only from around prototype 12 were we at a point where first versions could be produced professionally and developed further in earnest.
Even after that it wasn't a straight path. Some approaches looked good but made no technical sense. Others held well but were too complicated, too expensive or not reliable enough in everyday use. On top of that came clear manufacturing limits: not every idea that works as a sketch, model or 3D print can later be produced cleanly, robustly and affordably. Again and again a prototype solved one problem – and revealed the next one at the same time.
Two years of development meant plenty of sweat, plenty of setbacks and plenty of complex tasks. But exactly that work was needed to turn a simple idea into a product that works in real gym training and today looks so self-evident.
Magnet strength: why the right balance counts
With magnets, stronger sounds better at first. Maximum force looks like the uncompromising choice on paper.
In real training, it wasn't.
Steffen tested and calculated different magnet strengths. The goal wasn't maximum force. The goal was the right balance: to work reliably on as many machines as possible with any common gym towel.
A magnet has to hold the gym towel reliably. But it mustn't be so strong that handling becomes a chore or the product is unpleasant in everyday use. Right after a heavy set, what counts isn't the most impressive number on paper, but whether the product can be operated naturally.
Our neodymium super magnet is strong enough for common gym towels, even when they get damp during training – and at the same time practical enough for fast, one-handed handling in the gym.
Swiss engineering in concrete terms: design, calculation, testing
«Swiss engineering» mustn't be an empty phrase. For us it doesn't mean a product sounds complicated. It means it was thoughtfully designed, properly calculated and tested in real everyday gym use.
Steffen implemented the clip technically as a product developer: clamping mechanism, magnet strength, material choice, geometry, usability and surface protection all had to fit together.
The decisive part was: the clip mustn't only work when you attach it carefully. It had to work in everyday gym training – with changing equipment, damp gym towels, quick rest periods and very little attention to spare.
Another goal: the clip had to stay affordable. Not as a throwaway product, but as a well-thought-out tool that as many people as possible can afford. It was clear to us: if the problem arises in many people's daily lives, the solution mustn't be a luxury gadget.
REACH compliance
REACH is the EU chemicals regulation. It governs which substances are permitted in products and what chemical safety requirements apply.
For a product that is regularly touched by hand and sits directly on the gym towel, material choice was no side issue for us. The GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip is developed and tested for REACH compliance. Tested by an independent laboratory.
Production in China – with Swiss development and standards
Swiss engineering doesn't mean every part has to be produced in Switzerland. It means: idea, product development, specification, test logic and quality standards come from us.
Production happens with a partner who implements those specifications. What mattered to us: no shortcuts on material, magnet strength, clamping mechanism, surface protection and function.
We didn't choose scalability over quality. We built the two separately: development and standards from Switzerland, production to clear specifications.
What GYMMONKY is today
GYMMONKY is a product I would have wanted for myself 20 years ago.
Not because it's spectacular. But because it solves a small problem that keeps coming back during training: where do I put the gym towel?
The clip doesn't turn that into a new routine you have to remember. It turns it into a system: attach, train, remove, pack away.
During training the gym towel stays visible and within reach on the equipment. After training you take the clip off before the gym towel goes in the wash, and stow it in your gym bag until the next session.
That's not a grand gesture. It's a small change that makes training more hygienic, calmer and more structured.
→ Discover the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip
Why this story matters
Many fitness products start with the question: what can we sell?
GYMMONKY started with a different question: why do we actually accept that the gym towel keeps landing on a dirty floor and disrupting the flow of training?
That question came from training. The technical answer came from engineering. And that's exactly how the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip came about.
Olga saw the problem. Steffen developed the product. Together it became an organisational system for people who take their training, their hygiene and their setup seriously.
→ Gym hygiene: what really lives on equipment and floors
→ What 20 years of training teach you about hygiene
→ Before and after: what actually changes with the clip
→ Gym gadget or organisational system? The full overview
→ 7 benefits of the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip
Frequently asked questions
Conclusion
Over 20 prototypes aren't a sign that the idea was complicated. They show that we didn't stop until the solution worked in real gym training.
The GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip solves a small problem that gets in the way every day: the gym towel lies somewhere, slides off or ends up on the dirty gym floor. Olga's idea and Steffen's product development became a magnetic towel clip that solves exactly that problem structurally.
That's GYMMONKY: real training experience, hygiene awareness and engineering in one small product.
→ Discover the GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip
References
Note: The GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip is not a medical device. The studies cited provide the hygiene background on gym surfaces and textiles; the product development itself is based on GYMMONKY-internal tests, prototypes and engineering decisions.
Dalman, M. et al. (2019). Characterizing the molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus across and within fitness facility types. BMC Infectious Diseases. doi:10.1186/s12879-019-4388-3
Owen, L. & Laird, K. (2020). The role of textiles as fomites in the healthcare environment: a review of the infection control risk. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.9790
Gym Gadget or Training System? The GYMMONKY Magnetic Towel Clip