By Diane Feen
BOCA RATON — If you know Tom Madden, founder of TransMedia Group, then you know he is one smart man. His knowledge is as vast as the Pacific Ocean and his understated humble nature make him a real ace in the deck of life.
So when his wife, Angela, told him to slow down while eating, he couldn’t help but devise a clever way to achieve that goal. And who else but Madden (the genius among us) would have thought up the idea to combine free weights with utensils.
Called The Knife and Fork Lift, these utensils double as 1½ pound weights and silverware. Since the reception to this concept was so overwhelming (he has sold thousands), he added a spoon (let’s face it, you have to use this for ice cream).
“When you’re eating with a knife, fork and spoon that weigh 1½ pounds each, you get the connection between weight and food intake. With these utensils you are exercising muscles while you’re eating and it slows you down,” said Madden.
According to Tom, we all need to exercise restraint when eating and as Americans, we all eat too fast. “We need to re-educate the mind. These tools are training wheels for overeaters.”
Since Madden is a PR maven, the knife, spoon and fork lift has been seen on TV and mentioned in the media quite a bit. They are also sold (and are very popular) in Europe as well.
One success story goes beyond the macaroni and cheese martyr and onto something more meaningful. “We had one person contact us to buy the Knife and Fork Lift set who had cerebral palsy and he shook so much he could not feed himself. After he got these weighted utensils, it reduced his shaking so much that he can now feed himself,” added Tom.
Madden not only owns TransMedia Group (a PR and marketing firm), but he is always looking to promote new products that change the status quo of life. He is currently representing a needleless IV connector (cutting out hospital infections), a state-of-the-art lock that keeps out intruders, a new medical syringe and he also does the PR for the Gold to go vending machines and GL Homes, among others.
TransMedia Group also has a publishing division and is always on the look-out to make stars out of the common man (or company). And it seems they are doing a great job, business is up and they now have 14 employees who tell the world what’s new (or novel).
And after 30 years at the helm at TransMedia Group (and many more in NY as a head honcho media guy) it’s safe to say that things couldn’t be better for Madden and his crew at TransMedia Group.