Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus exercise equipment, died Tuesday. He was 80.

While I am not a big fan of most exercise equipment (for reasons I will get into later) and disagreed with many things Arthur Jones had to say about fitness, I did respect the fact he wasn’t afraid to express his opinion. It’s a rare person that has the guts to say how they feel, even when many people strongly disagree with you.

And if you look at any health club today, his influence has changed the modern gym forever.

He also later invented MedEx, equipment that I have used in a rehab setting. Arthur Jones certainly was an innovater.

RIP Mr. Jones.