Interview With a Hamster.

A Wheel Good Time: The Fitness Product Hamsters are Raving About.

Continuing my side gig as a cross-species journalist, I had the honor of diving into the world of hamster fitness. As Wheel's Up, a new tech-equipped fitness wheel for hamsters and other gerbils, takes the industry by storm, I got on the phone with Oreo, the founder of Wheels Up, for a one-on-one interview to discuss its creation and get a behind-the-scenes look at its success.

Ross: Oreo, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule.

Oreo: No, thank you for the opportunity. And thanks for staying up for my nocturnality. 

Ross: Don’t mention it. How many RPM’s did you put up today, or tonight?

Oreo: Tonight was my night off the wheel. You actually caught me in transit. I'm in a ball on the way to do more press at HamCon. But don’t hold back, it’s a long crawl.

Ross: Great, let’s get right to it. Folks are dying to know what your inspiration was to create Wheels Up, and if you wouldn’t mind just giving your logline to what it is and how it works…

Oreo: Sure, of course. Wheels Up is the Peloton spin-bike but for hamster wheels. And succinctly, that was my inspiration. My owner, Savannah, has a Peloton and I couldn’t resist the temptation to upgrade my exercise equipment to the bar hers had set. I surgically nibbled a few HDMI cords, iPhone chargers, and flash drives into microsensors. I equipped these to each bar to track progress of a session, it also has an illuminated track to transform your run into more of a choreographed trot. It prompts the hamster to juke right, left, and center to the beat of various songs. And much like Peloton, we gamify the experience with live leaderboards and a social media plug-in, allowing you to run with friends or family. 

Ross: I’m in awe–you’re telling me a Wheels Up machine is made out of household cords?

Oreo: Correct. Humans overestimate the technology within an Apple TV remote, and they’re conveniently the most displaced tech item within a suburban home. Savannah’s family already bought a new one so we’re in the clear. 

Ross: Genius. How did you get this into the market?

Oreo: Well, Savannah helped me with most of it. I wouldn’t be where I am without her help. She works in electronic commerce and her friend is an online influencer. She posted a video on some platform with her hamster, Juul, running on it in the background and we blew up. I think it was called OnlyFriends.

Ross: Yeah, it’s OnlyFriends. That’s awesome. Congrats on your success. What’s next for the brand?

Oreo: Well, like I mentioned we are en route to HamCon and I’m speaking as a panelist alongside the Kia Soul hamsters. I’ll probably wear a t-shirt with our logo and use some big buzzwords so I hope it produces a lot of growth for us.

Ross: Are the Kia Hamsters cool?

Oreo: They… yeah they’re— (unintelligible)

Ross: Sorry, you cut out…

Oreo: Yeah, they’re…. they’re attending HamCon.

Ross: Okay! Understood. I have some rapid-fire questions if you’re up for it.

Oreo: Shoot.

Ross: What’s your favorite song to run to?

Oreo: Cheaply presumed by most, it’s not the “Hamster Dance”.  We actually don’t even have that on the Going Ham Playlist which is the internally hosted music platform.

Ross: Okay, yeah, all good.

Oreo: It’s “Deceptacon” by Le Tigre. 

Ross: Banger alert. Last question, what is one thing you’d like humans to know about hamsters?

Oreo: We don’t love cheese–that’s mice, mice love cheese.. We don’t eat junk, we’re health-minded creatures, obviously. We can eat cheese, but like, only in moderation. We’re all about the pellets and proteins. My favorite treat is an apple. I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but it’s exhausting getting all these cheese offers. 

Ross: Noted. Oreo, thank you so much for this call. I once again congratulate you on the grand success that has come your way. Good luck tonight at HamCon. I hope we can stay in touch down the line.

Oreo: You bet. Thanks for setting it up. If you do ever get a hamster in your life, hit me up, ‘wheel’ get you set up. 

My interview with Oreo only strengthened my advocacy for cross-species storytelling. I hope her story of building Wheels Up inspires readers as much as it inspired me.