T. Dosho Shifferaw, 51, is the founder and creative mind behind Dosho Design. At his product design studio in Northern California, Shifferaw has created an array of one-of-a-kind workout gear for the fitness minded, including Ab-Lifter Plus, Torso Toner, SuperBoard, Windjector, Jam Gym and DoshBell. Several of these have been endorsed by fitness personalities such as Denise Austin and Kathy Smith.

Shifferaw's father was a general in the army of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, and he grew up in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, during a time of relative peace and prosperity. A socialist revolution in Ethiopia overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie and stripped Shifferaw's family of nearly everything it owned. He came to America at age 17 with just $500 in his pocket and supported himself working as a cab driver.

Shifferaw attended Chapman College and the Southern California Institute of Architecture, then San Francisco City College, where he studied industrial design and engineering. At City College, while working on a student project aimed at designing an ergonomic plastic chair, he came up with the idea for the Bowflex^® exercise machine. Shifferaw patented the concept and attempted to license the idea to fitness equipment manufacturers. Lacking vision, they all declined, so he obtained a minority business loan, incorporated under BowFlex, Inc., and started marketing the product direct to consumers in the early 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of Bowflex units have been sold here and abroad, and the brand is now owned and marketed by The Nautilus Group (NYSE:NLS).

Shifferaw now has more than 20 years of experience in the fitness product design industry, with an inventive line of exercise gear that appeals to all age groups, genders, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Each product is designed and engineered by Shifferaw to the highest standards of quality, affordability and usability.