Trainor Jim Brings Award-Winning Mobility Equipment to Market

Lee Trainor: Inventor, Designer, CEO, and Co-founder of Trainor Jim, developed the Shuffler after struggling to find suitable exercise equipment that could safely strengthen his legs without increasing spinal pain caused by spinal stenosis. 

“I had to come up with something that would make me gain leg strength, so when I [stood] up, I had the support and strength in my legs to stop me falling over,” Lee Trainor explained. “That’s how the Shuffler came about - I’ve not had a fall now for 33 months.” 

Following successful early use, Lee Trainor began collaborating with healthcare professionals and rehabilitation specialists to develop the concept into a scalable product capable of supporting wider mobility and rehabilitation applications. “We realized this could help a lot of disabled, elderly and frail people,” he said. 

As development progressed, one of the primary engineering challenges was identifying materials capable of withstanding repeated daily use while remaining lightweight and easy for vulnerable users to handle. “The key challenge was finding the materials which balanced durability and strength, while still being lightweight for vulnerable users,” Lee Trainor explained.  

The product also needed to remain compact, safe, and highly durable under continuous daily use. "It had to be robust. It had to be lightweight. And it had to be somewhere where fingers couldn’t get trapped,” Lee Trainor said. Working closely with Protolabs, Trainor Jim refined both the component materials and manufacturing approach to ensure the final product met the required performance, safety, and usability standards. 

Speed and flexibility also played a crucial role throughout the development of the Shuffler. According to Lee Trainor, Protolabs’ ability to rapidly manufacture parts, scale production, and respond quickly to changing requirements became a major advantage as development progressed. “I could turn around and say to Protolabs, ‘I need to increase the order from X amount to X amount,’ and they would say no problem at all,” Lee Trainor explained. “It was never an issue.”  

Fast turnaround times also helped Trainor Jim to maintain momentum throughout testing and refinement. “Compared to traditional manufacturing, the turnaround time from design to physical parts was significantly faster,” Lee Trainor said. “That allowed us to maintain momentum throughout developing and testing.” This responsiveness enabled continuous design improvements without delays between prototype and production stages, helping Trainor Jim to accelerate development while scaling efficiently. 

For Trainor Jim, selecting the right manufacturing partner was not only about technical capability, but also about finding a supplier that understood the real-world purpose of the product. 

“Protolabs understood the project, understood what I was trying to achieve, and understood what the end product was going to be used for,” Lee Trainor explained. He added that understanding the needs of disabled and elderly users was critical throughout the manufacturing process. “A lot of [manufacturing partners] just think it’s another machine part coming out of a tool,” he said. “But Protolabs understood why [we’re] doing it and the benefits it’s going to give to people.” 

Supporting Mobility and Rehabilitation at Scale 

The Shuffler is now being used across care homes, rehabilitation environments, and community mobility programs across the UK to support movement, circulation, rehabilitation, and seated exercise for vulnerable users. 

“There’s nothing that puts a smile on my face more than seeing someone get the benefit,” Lee Trainor said. “Especially a stroke survivor moving their feet without even realizing that they’re exercising.”