DAYTON, Ohio — Doug Pfenninger, 47, who purchased a treadmill in January 2019 and has since used it exclusively to hold outerwear, was promoted Tuesday to Vice President of Treadmill Operations at StrideCore Home Fitness, a position the company described as “long overdue.”

Pfenninger, who has never once turned the machine on, was selected over several candidates with actual running experience.

“We interviewed marathoners, personal trainers, and a former Olympic race walker,” said Marguerite Voss-Ankrum, StrideCore’s Chief Dormant Equipment Officer. “But none of them could say they had supported eleven jackets, a windbreaker, and a bag of returns for over six years without a single complaint from the deck. That’s leadership.”

Pfenninger’s qualifications include an unbroken record of load-bearing, intermittent use as a place to “just set this for a second,” and a working knowledge of the machine’s handrails, which he described as “great for scarves, honestly.”

“Most people see a treadmill and think about cardio,” Pfenninger said, adjusting a lanyard that reads ASSET LEAD. “I see a platform with a built-in hanging surface and a console that doubles as a hat shelf. You have to be able to look at a product and see what it can really do.”

Sources confirmed Pfenninger’s first act in the role was to rename the company’s 2025 initiative “Move More” to “Hang More,” a change that tested well with every focus group made up of people who own treadmills.

The promotion follows a company-wide audit that found 84 percent of StrideCore customers use their machines primarily as furniture, a figure internal documents referred to as “the real market.”

“Our customers have been quietly innovating for years. Doug is simply the first to put it on a résumé.”

Dr. Alistair Hennepin-Quayle, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Aspirational Purchasing at the University of Northeast Lower Michigan, said Pfenninger’s rise reflects a broader shift in the home-fitness sector.

“For decades, the industry measured success in miles run,” Hennepin-Quayle said. “We now understand that the true metric is square footage occupied by good intentions. By that standard, Mr. Pfenninger is a world-class athlete.”

In his new role, Pfenninger will oversee a team of 14 employees, none of whom he expects to see use the equipment either. He will also be responsible for StrideCore’s new Premium Tier, in which customers pay $2,499 for a treadmill that arrives already covered in a light layer of dust and a single hoodie.

Asked whether he planned to start running, Pfenninger paused for several seconds.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think that was part of the job,” he said, before lifting a navy peacoat off the console and putting it on to leave. “Wait, that’s not mine.”

Pfenninger’s wife, Carol, said she was proud of him, and noted that the machine is currently holding her coat as well.