The SHIFTPOD story

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SHIFTPOD


STORY

buckminst er fuller, visionary

Our architectural design was in part

inspired by buckminster fuller’s concept of the geodesic dome.

The other inspiration was the Hexayurt

With the structure set, we then integrate

design by Vinay Gupta, a student of

our fabric, poles and parts, into the

Bucky Fuller. Following the smart

design. Like a kid’s geodesic ball, our

geometry of the hexagon, we naturally

pods open with simplicity and ease.

fortify our pods with nature’s strongest

Setup takes a mere 22 seconds.

design. This is called biomimicry.

yes, they’re just as easy to strike.

And

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SHIFTPOD

INSPIRATION

Research in the field led to our newest innovation; a stealth fabric that uses a 12-layer DARK-OUT material. Made of a supercomposite with synthetic down thermal insulation and a highly reflective UV protective layer, it reflects and blocks more light so you sleep better even in the bright sun.

When it comes to weather, these shelters stand up to the harshest environments around the world. From frigid snow to the blazing desert, they even withstand winds up to 100MPH. Beyond being sought after for large festival venues and special corporate events, Advanced Shelter Systems are used globally for fast deployment in extreme conditions.

From a single pod to pre-packed containers holding command and control centers, they’re at the ready when disaster strikes.

So what does all this mean? If you’re a weekend warrior, festival goer, over-lander or survivor in need of the best shelter, you can trust we’ve got you covered.

SHIFTPOD

VISIONARY christian Weber, founder, designer & CEO

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interview

by KRISTIN MANN for Magnetic Magazine If you are a burner, chances are you've seen these metallic structures all over the playa the last couple years — they’re called SHIFTPOD, and they’re making festival camping a whole lot easier and a lot more luxe.

Born out of necessity to stave off dust storms and high desert temps, veteran burner Christian Weber designed the first SHIFTPOD for himself and a few of his playa compatriots to make life better at Burning Man. Word of his prototype spread quickly, and before you could say “art bike”, his business was booming.

We got a chance to catch up with the SHIFTPOD founder to find out more about this amazing little structure that’s not only changing the lives of festival goers but disaster survivors and first responders as well.

interview

SHIFTPOD ORIGINS SHIFTPOD has its roots in dance music culture to some degree. Can you tell us how Burning Man gave birth to the Shiftpod product and brand?

CW: EDM has had a huge impact on me from the early days of Detroit through the LA rave explosion. I threw some of the first raves in Seattle after being sucked in by Double Hit Mickey and some of the early events in LA. I loved the early culture and vibe and loved sharing it with others.

Eventually, this led me to Burning Man in

Over the years I went from tents to huts to moving trucks, and eventually large RVs thinking that was the way to go. In 2014 I found myself in JGunn’s Hexeyurt Palace. This thing had AC, a couch, refrigerator, and a separate bedroom. I am not sure Vinay Gupta, the inventor of the Hexeyurt, had this kind of luxury in mind for refugee camps but it really worked on the playa. It was then I decided I had to have my feet back on the ground and I was going to build one of these for next year.

JGunn sat me down and described the process of construction, strike, storage, and

transportation and immediately crushed my dream of my own hexeyurt castle.

About 3—4 months after getting home, I woke up in the middle of the night and could not get it out of my head. There had to be an easier way. I began to sketch, fold, and search. I found a tent manufacturer and got on a plane.

After producing a prototype, I sent it out to my camp list as a fundraiser for camp, and shortly after that, it leaked onto Facebook. Eight months later we delivered the first 300 proof of concept units to the worst weather on the playa in 20+ years that I can remember.

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ORIGINS

\

CW: On our first delivery the wind and dust were blowing hard. We delivered 300 and had zero catastrophic failures, and SHIFTPOD was born.

FESTIVAL EDC Las Vegas — Video

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Festivals take you to the extremes of both fun and weather. In blazing-hot summers, at a place like Burning Man, winds kick up quickly. Most tents are incapable of withstanding these gusts head-on.

But SHIFTPODs have been tested in winds up to 100 MPH – a major reason we're considered the best shelter on the planet.

IT’S ABOUT THE


SHIFT SHIFTPOD BEGINNINGS

CW:r Research in the field led to our newest innovation; a stealth fabric that uses a 12-layer DARK-OUT material. Made of a super-composite with synthetic down thermal insulation and a highly reflective UV protective layer, it reflects and blocks more light so you sleep better even in the bright sun. When it comes to weather, these shelters stand up to the harshest environments around the world. From frigid snow to the blazing desert, they even withstand winds up to 100MPH.

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KM: What are some of the things that make SHIFTPOD the perfect shelter for festival camping?

CW: Festival season can be hot, and neither guests nor crew want to struggle with setting up tents. My personal record setup of 22 seconds was beaten by the EDC set up crew in 2017 when they popped one up in 17.28876 seconds+/-. With this kind of speed, we can setup thousands of units for an event or disaster in only a few days.

Several customers have posted videos of their first time, and they are coming in under a minute! Strike is equally as fast. When you are getting to the festival or worse… when you are leaving and are fried, the last thing you want to do is deal with a long setup or strike.

setup POP ALL OF THE WALLS OPEN.

NEW SHIFTPOD TIE-DOWNS — Video

DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN!

SHIFTPOD set-up video

STYLE IT Now you can take a little bit of home with you

wherever you go. Whether you use a queen size airbed for two or fit six 6-ft- tall people inside your POD.

SLEEPS 2 TO 6

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reflective fabric CW: The SHIFTPOD is also the first and best heat-reflective shelter on the planet.

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CW: This means it will help reduce the heat exposure and will actually stay cold if you have AC. The SHIFTPOD has power and AC ports so you can really dial in and glamp it out.

SHIFTPODXL SHIFTPOD’s Mini, 2 and XL

KM: You have a NEW XL product in the works, when does that hit the market?

CW: Yes, we are really excited about this.

They are 14 feet across and have a huge bay door opening. We actually had the first 25 of the SHIFTPODXLs out at the Burn this year, and they performed very well. We took what we learned from these and made even more improvements. The SHIFTPODXL is really the VIP experience version. the ultimate glamping experience and your central Hub

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SPACE

MORE

SHIFTPODmini CW: If you are flying in, the SHIFTPODMINI has you covered as it is easy to carry as its load and weigh are only 37 lbs. The heat reflectivity, comfort, and speed of setup and strike make the SHIFTPODMINIi the best way to fest-glamp.

GLAMP

FEST

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APP KM: You have been working with the Ultra guys, EDC, and other big festivals — what’s next on the horizon for SHIFTPOD in the music festival scene?

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CW: We are gearing up for an incredible 2019. We will be doing activations and expanding our reach into Europe and Australia. Asia is also coming online, and we will be working on a few large projects over there. We will be in Miami at WMC and are excited to be going back to EDC Las Vegas bigger and better than ever.Â

ACTIVATION CW: Now with CAMP EDC being able to host 20,000+ guests on site, it not only takes the guest experience to another level, but it also reduces traffic, and busing costs, improves safety, and reduces community impact.

Win/Win/Win all the way around.

The coolest part is what we learn here can be directly applied to refugee and disaster response camps around the world, keeping in line with the ethos of the party: have fun and help others in need at the same time.

BY KRISTIN MANN

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SHIFTPOD THE BEST SHELTERS ON THIS PLANET

shiftpod mini shiftpod2 shiftpod

xL

shiftpod.com