90 hours of VR gaming on Twisted Reality’s KAT Walk Mini.
Twisted Reality, a purveyor of VR-focused omnidirectional treadmills, offers a variety of locomotion alternatives to both consumers and businesses looking to maximize their space or increase the immersion of their VR setups. Their most recent product, the KAT Walk Mini, is the companies most affordable option to date at $3,999; that’s $3,600 less than the next cheapest option on the lineup, the KAT Walk Premium ($7,599).
According to Twisted Reality, while the device was originally meant to serve as an accessory for VR gaming, customer feedback indicates the omnidirectional treadmill also serves as a valuable tool for physical fitness. Before sharing these findings with the public, however, Twisted Reality founder Jake Phillips wanted to be sure he had physical evidence ready to back up these claims.
And thus the 90-Day KAT Walk Mini Challenge was born; a three-month marathon of VR gaming designed to test the potential physical benefits of the KAT Walk Mini. Since April, Phillips has spent 1 hour per day immersed in VR using the omnidirectional treadmill to move throughout his virtual environment, all of which he’s broadcasted live in real-time. Every Sunday Phillips shows his body on-camera—much to his chagrin—completes a proper weigh-in, and provides measurements for his resting heart rate BPM, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, and thighs.
“Telling people about this finding is one thing, but as I looked at myself in the mirror, taking fitness advice from me is like taking marriage advice from a 50-year-old bachelor,” said Phillips in an official release. “I have been fit off and on my whole life… I have a history of athletics but was struggling to find the motivation to get up and actually go to the gym. It is easy to let fitness and health fall out of priority with the monotony of daily life … meanwhile, my stomach kept growing and the scale kept going up. The question became, could I find 1 hour a day to play video games? The answer was obvious, absolutely!”
Phillips is now more than three-quarters the way through the 90-day journey. As for the types of games being played, Phillip chose to focus on a catalog of titles he simply enjoyed playing, rather than focusing solely on physically-demanding experiences. So far this includes War Dust, Contractors, GORN, Blade & Sorcery, Rec Room, Nature Treks VR, The Forest, Virtual Army Revolution, and Zero Caliber, just to name a few.
“For me, it is essential to be able to play what you love. No matter what workout or diet plan you go on, this one thing remains true, it needs to become your new lifestyle! Being able to cut pounds while doing what you love will ensure success from day to day, while keeping the motivation there.”
In a recent update video posted last week to the Twisted Reality YouTube channel, Phillips provides a montage of weigh-ins showcasing his progress so far throughout the challenge. According to the video, Phillips was down 21lbs. by the 48th day.
“The concept for me is that you don’t have to THINK about a workout routine… just play your favorite games, have fun, and get an added bonus of watching the scale go down,” states Phillips on the Twisted Reality website. “I truly believe that if advancements like this keep improving, the next generation of gamers will be athletes!”
To check in on Phillips progress, stop by one of his daily broadcasts on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.
