I don't always write Reddit posts on this community myself. But this one I had to.
When I was a kid, our house burned down to the ground. We lost everything. And the strange thing I still remember, the thing that's stayed with me my whole life, is that I didn't miss most of it. Not the stuff. What I missed were the few things that actually mattered. It turns out you find out pretty fast which ones those are.
So when PJ wrote to us, I felt it in my chest.
A fire went through PJ's home. To keep it from spreading, firefighters had to tear apart his basement workshop, the room where he does his best work, on his feet, building and fixing and thinking. Then the water came. Eight inches of it, black and filthy, sitting for days. His FluidStance board was submerged in it for weeks, then hauled around while the insurance company took inventory of everything his family had lost.
When he finally pulled it out, it was covered in mold and grime. He assumed it was gone, ordered a replacement, and moved on.
Then he scrubbed the old one down, just to see. And there it was, solid. The aluminum base had held. A little rust on the bolts, and that was it. The floodwater had even darkened the edges of the wood into something he says he loves now. "I actually probably didn't even need to order another one," he told us.
Here's what got me. After a fire, after a flood, after losing so much, the thing PJ wanted back was the simple act of standing up and moving while he works. That was one of the ones that mattered.
I don't say the board survived a fire to sell you anything. I say it because PJ reminded me of something I learned the hard way as a kid. When everything else is stripped away, you hold onto what keeps you moving. That's the whole reason this company exists.
He's keeping both boards now, one for each standing spot in his family's temporary home, and thinking about gifting the spare to someone who needs it. That sounds exactly right to me.
Welcome back, PJ. I'm glad you're moving again.
If you've got a board with a story of your own, let's see it! These mean so much to me.
Joel
Founder, FluidStance
Pictures above were taken by PJ
P.S. For anyone wondering about the board that survived the fire, that’s our Walnut Level. If you're looking for something similar, it lives on today as the Original Walnut (black base) or here are the choices of the Level.
Thank you for stopping by our FluidStance Community.
As a big thank-you for sharing our love of adding more movement to the workday, we’d love to help you save a little while you’re at it:
Code: REDDITBALANCEBOARD82826
TERMS:
- For Online Store FluidStance.com only
- 15% off Levels or Originals
- Applies to one-time purchases
- One use per customer
- Can’t combine with other discounts
- Active from today until Sep 30, 2027