Launched on Wednesday, Perfect Burpee is an exercise mat designed specifically for high intensity workouts. Unlike traditional yoga mats, the extra cushion and octagonal shape allows fitness-goers to execute movements without stepping off of the surface.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the president and cofounder behind Perfect Burpee, Justin Mendelson, who was also a co-host at this week’s Boston Fitness Gala.

With regards to the Perfect Burpee, let’s just say that with already 73 backers and 30-percent of their funding goal achieved, it seems this fitness tool has been a missing link in many individuals workout routines.

Caroline Earle: What inspired you to create the Perfect Burpee and turn it into a Kickstarter campaign?

Justin Mendelson: I had the pleasure of working this past year with the founder of Spartan Race, Joe DeSena.

I was inspired by Joe to start doing burpee workouts, and did so on my roommate’s yoga mat. What I found was that my hands and feet were off the sides, it was slippery when I got sweaty, and it just didn’t hold up to use with shoes.

I realized that I needed a better workout mat, something that was perfect for burpees, because if it was worked for burpees, it would work for any workout.

David Gritz (my cofounder) and I went through a lot of iterations in designing our product and tested almost every mat on the market to get Perfect Burpee where it is today. In order to get Perfect Burpee to an affordable price, we need to produce in large batches.

We decided Kickstarter would be the best way to help raise the funds necessary to order our first batch of product.

CE: It’s now live! What are the next steps for Perfect Burpee as the campaign gains attention?

JM: We’re focusing our energy on grassroots promotion and activating our personal network.

We’ve spoken to other Kickstarter founders and the biggest advice we gathered was to focus on friends and family for help spreading the word.

We are also working with a number of professional bloggers and celebrity athletes to test the product and give us feedback. This will not only elevate the exposure of the campaign, but also provide us with valuable data for the continued refinement of our product.

CE: Tell us more about the 10K Burpee Challenge.

JM: Although David and I have been long time friends and serial business partners, we come from extremely opposite ends of the fitness spectrum. To put things simply, David has never really exercised consistently, and I just completed my first IRONMAN competition.

So one night, late in November (and after a few drinks at the bar), we decided we were both going to perform 10,000 burpees. David in 60 days. Myself in 30. Since doing 10,000 burpees in 30 (or even 60) days is crazy, we decided to bring in an expert to design a training plan which would prepare our bodies for the challenge.

This expert was none other than Joe DiSteffano, the co-founder of Spartan Race SGX. With over 10 years of industry experience, and thousands of burpees done himself, Joe was the only guy we trusted with such a program.

We’ll be sharing our workouts, nutrition regimen, and body transformation photos with all of our backers. The purpose of the challenge is to rally our backers and community in setting extraordinary goals for 2015 and crushing them!

Images via Perfect Burpee