From Noise to Sound
How do today’s leaders cut through the noise and shape the future?
In each episode of From Noise to Sound, host Dr. Dimitrios Marinos, from the Department of Marketing and Communication at HSLU, dives deep with CEOs, Board Members, and industry innovators to uncover the forces reshaping our world. Through insightful conversations, he explores topics like digital transformation, consumer behavior, and sustainability, revealing strategies and innovations that are driving real change.
Gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives on navigating a complex business landscape. Tune in each month to sharpen your view on leadership, tech-driven success, and what’s next in marketing and beyond.
New episodes every month, brought to you by HSLU, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
From Noise to Sound
Lazo Blagojevic - Alpha Aura Turning Sweat into a Smart Business Idea
In this episode of From Noise to Sound, host Dimitrios Marinos talks with Lazo Blagojevic, co-founder of Alpha Aura, about an innovative product born from a simple but universal problem: poor hygiene in gyms. The discussion is part of “Entrepreneurship December,” highlighting ventures that make an impact beyond the tech and AI world.
Lazo explains how the idea came from his personal gym experience, where using a single towel for different surfaces felt unhygienic, especially since gym machines can contain up to 300 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Together with his co-founder Tina, he designed a microfiber towel with color-coded zones, allowing users to intuitively separate which side to use for the face, body, or equipment. The material is light, quick-drying, sustainable, and saves space compared to traditional cotton towels.
The product’s name, Alpha Aura, symbolizes strength and positive energy, echoing the modern gym lifestyle where fitness represents health, discipline, and community. Beyond function, Alpha Aura also carries a social mission: each personalized towel embroidered with a customer’s name or handle is crafted in collaboration with a Swiss foundation employing people with disabilities, combining entrepreneurship with social impact.
Dimitrios and Lazo emphasize that even small products can drive meaningful change by merging hygiene, ecology, and inclusivity. They also discuss future plans to expand Alpha Aura’s concept to other fitness accessories such as yoga mats or gym bags, maintaining the same core values.
The towels are available online at www.alpha-aura.ch in three color combinations and through select retail partners. The episode closes with the message that innovation doesn’t always require advanced technology; sometimes, true creativity lies in rethinking everyday objects to solve real problems and improve people’s lives, one simple towel at a time.
How do today’s leaders cut through the noise and shape the future?
In each episode of From Noise to Sound, host Dr. Dimitrios Marinos, from the Department of Marketing and Communication at HSLU, dives deep with CEOs, Board Members, and industry innovators to uncover the forces reshaping our world. Through insightful conversations, he explores topics like digital transformation, consumer behavior, and sustainability, revealing strategies and innovations that are driving real change.
Gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives on navigating a complex business landscape. Tune in each month to sharpen your view on leadership, tech-driven success, and what’s next in marketing and beyond.
New episodes every month, brought to you by HSLU, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
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[0:00] Welcome to the podcast from noise to sound. I'm Dimitrios Marinos, your host. So as I mentioned before in social media, there will be an entrepreneurship December. So we'll present two podcasts from some ideas that I find very interesting, but also people have made a change and also some impact outside of the AI space, which we all the time listen and hear the last period of time.
[0:24] So the first one, or this one actually, is one idea that I find myself very interesting because I felt it as a problem when I was going to the gym. Hygiene was always an issue. So today I have with me a very close friend, but also someone that I can call partner because I have invested in this idea as well myself. So welcome, Lazo. Hi, Demi. Thanks for having me here. thanks for being here so um as i mentioned
[0:55] before hygiene in gyms or in sports in general is an issue so uh let me know how did you come to this idea i mean i know when you we were discussing about this it was a little bit uh strange to me i would say very simple i was finding it funny in the beginning but actually it was a problem that i really had so how did you come to this to this point.
[1:15] Um, the same way you explained, I'm, I'm going to the gym, um, three or four times a week. And I, I struggled all the time with, with the hygiene. Okay. Um, first I'm going to, to do cardio 10, 20, 30 minutes, and I'm sweating like crazy. Um, and then I'm, I'm going to do some, uh, floor exercises and then move to the first machine and the second one and so on and so on. And when when i'm sweating and i just wanted to dry my face i i never knew which side should i use to to to clean my face or to dry my face so uh i struggled with this one so you don't want to to clean your face with this side which was on the floor yes or or on the machine i will give you an ugly fact uh on a gym machine there are 300 times more bacteria than on a toilet i feel Actually, I read that and I couldn't believe this. And you don't want to have someone else's bacteria or the dirt of the floor in your face. And I was thinking about how to solve my problem and I cannot be the only one with this problem. And then I was talking to Tina. She's the co-founder of Alpha Aura.
[2:30] And then I explained to her why there isn't a towel with different color zones. So you know intuitively which side you should use for your face. And then she was smiling and she said like, Lazo, you had a bunch of, stupid ideas but this one makes sense and uh yeah then then we tried to to be creative and and design it and uh firstly we we wanted to have the silhouette of a body on the towel which was pretty bad to be honest uh you you can see the pictures on our web page and then we we said hey come on let's do it without the silhouette let's try to do only the different color zones so that But you always know which side is for which part, your face or your body or the backside. You can lay down on the floor.
[3:28] Obviously, you don't use this side anymore to dry your face.
[3:32] Yes, but one of the things is, I mean, first of all, it's interesting, the mathematics of it. Because as you mentioned, the statistics, actually, because I realize, I mean, in terms of hygiene and bacteria, and everyone is really trying to go to the gym in its best form. Best form, I mean, you have your appropriate shoes, you have your appropriate t-shirt, but no one had an appropriate towel. And that was exactly also my point in terms of hey this might be a really interesting idea because I was going to the gym with the towel as I'm using in the shower usually this type of towel same here cotton ones.
[4:10] And of course I knew it was not the best I didn't know better but I couldn't think of I was using different towels and so on and so forth but at some point you just give up and this is nice It's a great niche, and it's something that I think it was very much overlooked, to be honest. Yeah, sure. And you mentioned normally people are using the cotton towel, which they use after showering and so on. And to be honest, if you use it all the time and all the time, the surface feels kind of rough after, let's say, one year or two years. And that's why we came up with the idea to, to made it out of, uh, microfiber. So it's, uh, space saving. Sure. I mean, um.
[5:00] If you go to the beach and if you take your cotton towel with you and whoever, your wife, your children and so on, if you put it in a bag, it needs so much space. You cannot use your bag for anything else. So it's full of cotton towels. Towels take space. Yeah. Towels take space. And, you know, after the gym, they are also heavy. Yeah. If you are sweaty and everything, it makes a difference. It makes a difference. And also the sustainability approach. I mean, you can wash the microfiber towel on 30 degrees. You don't have to wash it with 60 degrees. It's more, as I said, space saving. You can put, I don't know, 20 towels in a washing machine. Yeah, for sure. If you use cotton towels, you can maybe five or six. Yeah. It's full, you know? I have to be the honest from my side. I mean,
[5:56] hygiene was for me highest priority. I was not thinking so much about the ecological part of it, but it was also a fact in terms of.
[6:05] When I used the Alphabert towel, or let's say because of this microfiber structure, for me, what was interesting is you wash it like the other specific for gym clothes or whatever. And then after two hours or one hour, let's say next morning, you can take it to the gym. Again, mostly the same towel. I mean, the other one, perhaps it was a little bit not dry.
[6:33] It's a good point. It's a good point. And so microfiber dries very fast. You can take it out of the washing machine and in five minutes it's dry. I mean, imagine that with a cotton towel. You need two days. You need another one in a circulation, let's say, or others as well. So the other one, you just really put them with your clothes, with gym clothes, into the washing machine. And then in the next morning, you have them fresh and dry. Exactly. And that's actually a cool thing. I think I would like to go a little bit back to the name. I mean, I've seen now we're very much active also in social media and everything.
[7:13] One of the things we had a lot of discussion as well was the name. It was Alpha Aura. It seems very, very dynamic. How did this come up? We were thinking about the name, and I think I'm the least creative guy on earth. It seems so, though, with the towel.
[7:34] And once I came out of the gym, and there was this name Alpha Aura in my head. And I was like, okay, all of us, We are going to the gym to be in good shape, to feel better and stronger. And so every one of us wants to be an alpha. So that's the thing. You go to the gym and you want to be an alpha. And Aura is, let's say it was the youth world, 2024. And I don't know why I came up with this name, but I thought it's a good name, I think. It's a big name as well. It really resonates to me at least. Yeah, yeah. I mean, a lot of young people are using this on social media. Ah, this aura, and he has a good aura, and so on and so on. To be honest, also for me, as a Greek, I know both words of the brand very well, Alpha. On the other side, aura is both coming from my ancestors, let's say a little bit. Yeah. And I think everyone wants to excel. To me, it resonated like everyone wants to excel. And even if you go to the gym, you want the best out of it. If you spend one hour in the gym, you want really to have an impact on you. So it's just you striving for achieving something. And that's how I interpret it, let's say, for myself. I want to take you a little bit back to the statistics. You have it also on your website.
[9:01] To me, it was not obvious. When we go to the gym about bacterias and whatever it is there, So I would like you to take us a little bit back on the point where you had done your statistics to try to solve this issue. So you mentioned before there are a lot more bacteria in a machine like in a toilet. So what would you find out on your research? Well, as I said, it's 300 times more than on a toilet seat. So, I mean, even this one is blowing your mind. As I said, you don't want to have someone else's bacteria in your face. And to quantify this, there are about, I think, two until two and a half million bacteria on a gym machine. Two and a half million. Yeah. And you cannot expect the stuff of a gym to clean it all the time. So you have to focus on hygiene for yourself. So that's the point. That's what I was struggling with.
[10:08] And so that's... Yeah, actually, fair point. Because to me, it was not obvious. I mean, we have seen that hygiene discussions between a phone, between gym, everything that is coming in between. Yeah. So for me, one of the aspects that is also relevant when you use, you know, a towel, are there other use cases that you see using a towel apart from gym? because the towel, I mean, this hygienic factor.
[10:35] That you mentioned there it's not only the high tuning factor but at least something that you know personally very well how you want to sit in a towel or whatever what other use cases do you have let's say but just
[10:48] using italian it's very simple sometimes it is i mean as i said before when you when you go to to the beach you you use a towel you can take this towel with you so you can save much space in your bag or as i mentioned in the beginning i have a uh hygiene uh habits so when i when i'm flying when i go to occasion uh to be honest i don't like uh sitting on on the seat in an airplane uh and and lean on on the seat so uh since we have a sleeve on the towel which you use mostly in in uh in the gym so if you sit and you you can use this uh sleeve so that the towel doesn't fall down yes so you can use this sleeve as well if you um are in an airplane and put it over the over the seat or in your car uh if you don't have time um to to take a shower in the gym so you can and you don't want to sit down with your sweaty stuff on your seat in your car you can use this lift just to put it over the seat in your car. Yeah, I mean, it happens to me. For example, I remember it was.
[12:05] It was a very rainy day and i've put it also you know in my car just to cover the seats yeah it can happen also it could be sweats it doesn't doesn't really matter it doesn't matter yeah dirt sweats or just you were outside and it was rainy and you yeah yeah i mean it's it's it's it's multiple uses but i i find it really interesting that once you have that um sometimes you come into this um you know use case modus you can say i will use this i will use there i will use that But so it becomes also, even if you are not, I mean, everyone likes to take your hygiene as much as possible. Sometimes things slip from your fingers, let's say. But as soon as you have it, it becomes a second thought, which before it wasn't. Exactly. Exactly. And I find it also interesting that, I mean, it happens not only with a towel, but it happens with everything. Sometimes it just brings you a mindset on that
[13:01] or it actually amplifies you a mindset in specific areas but i want you to i want to take a step back a little bit and say i mean you're not coming from uh the gym space no obviously not no um i'm in finance yeah you're in finance uh and um.
[13:19] This is a product, you know, it has production, it has some specificities and so on and so forth. I mean, how does someone who comes from finance, I mean, jumps on something like that? Is sometimes naivety helps you to jump or it's a structured thought? Hey, I thought I can't be the only one with this issue. And you have, yeah, and there are so many people going to the gym. And I thought, I mean, in Switzerland, you have one million people doing sports every week. And the thing, there are more and more people going to the gym because the youth is not going to partying all the time and drinking and so on and so on. They are going to the gym. It's a lifestyle. It became a lifestyle. And so I thought, I'm not the only one with this issue. So I think I will help other people as well with this idea. Obviously, I mean, but it subconsciously, I mean, everyone has it, but no one had the.
[14:24] A practical solution i mean you have two towels and it's it's a solution but it's not practical yeah yeah and um when we had this idea we were talking with with friends and family in the beginning and then we we told them about our idea and so on and a lot of people said uh hey i have exactly the same issue uh one of my friends uh told me uh she has three towels uh in in the bathroom one towel for the hair one towel for for the face and one towel for the body and she said hey this is the perfect solution even for for my uh bathroom yeah you can use it i mean therefore i'm i've seen other cases as well i mean a colleague also used it you know he was playing tennis and just to sit there uh i mean you i mean people as soon as you bring it out people use it for different reasons as well, which you personally also have not imagined. Yeah, exactly. And if you create this awareness, people will start saying, hey, that's exactly what I was searching for. It makes sense. So a lot of people told us, hey, this makes sense. I will buy it. So, and yeah, so the idea began. Yeah. What I really find interesting, I say where I bought in, apart from the idea, which is Korea.
[15:43] I'm always privately also try to support lots
[15:46] of communities and i think communities are very very important uh anyway in specific factors especially when it has to do with kids or special needs so it is one of the products and i like that very much that you can really individualize i mean you have a towel and you can put your name or your handle if you have instagram yeah exactly right so and once you guys has come up, also think this part of the towel has been.
[16:17] Created done by a specific group can you explain a little bit about that and how you came up with this yeah sure i mean um we want we wanted to towel to to be personalized if you want so i mean uh louis vuitton did this with the bags you you can put your name in there put your name in there and uh we thought okay it's a good idea um people want to to have things personalized uh with their name or their Instagram account, probably. And so, we shared this idea as well with our friends and they said, hey, that's pretty good. And we are doing this with a Swiss foundation and there are people working with disabilities. So, I mean, there is also kind of a social impact. It's not a kind of, I think it's good because what I've seen, I mean, of course, this is an option on the towel. Yeah. Some people. It is. Do it or not. And this amount of money, I think it's how much it is? It's plus five Swiss francs. So this part is going to the kids. Exactly. I mean, to disabled people. Yeah, yeah.
[17:31] Disabled, I mean, for sure. And that's actually, for me, I mean, it was for my personal, let's say, experience a little bit more than the ecological part, which I said, you know what, that makes a difference. And you have also a good feeling when you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have a good feeling. As you said, you have a good feeling if you know there is something social behind it. So, yeah. No, I think I like this.
[17:59] I mean, you don't see it very often in various products, But I like the fact
[18:04] that you try to tackle, I mean, it's a simple product. It's an owl. On the same side, you tackle topics like the social impact that you have with disabilities for the people, but also the ecological very strongly. Yeah. All of the simple products. And sometimes, you know, I have my question myself, why artists don't do it? I mean, why not?
[18:25] Hey, I don't know. No, I mean, when I came up with this idea, I thought there has to be something like that before. I cannot be the first person, but we tried to find something and there was nothing like this with the different color zones. And it was not my first idea to personalize it. It came up with talking about the idea and so on and so on. It was an evolution of ideas. And then we came up with the personalization thing, and we contacted the partner who will produce the towels, and we asked them, is it possible to personalize? And then they said yes, and then they told us it's made of, I mean, they are giving it to this foundation. And then we thought, hey, that's amazing. That's a win-win. Yeah, it's a win-win for all of us. For us as a company for the foundation and for people who are buying the towel yeah I mean also you know everyone wins because actually I mean apart from the people with disabilities but also you know the gym today has also.
[19:35] A lot of different um reasons why people going there they're going not only to go to the gym but they're going for the community yeah uh to see to be seen some of them as well and um and that's the thing sorry to interrupt that's the thing what what i uh like about gen z they're not going to to partying all the time and uh and and and lose themselves in the in a club so they are going to the gym they they are doing something for their health okay and uh hygiene is also part of of your health yeah so to be honest we we saw this when when corona was everywhere well we oversaw it yeah yeah but but still i think that is also the the culture of it uh and that creates a little bit also a warmness i would say i've seen it myself i mean it's of course it's my towel and i'm going to the gym i have my name in the towel uh which is good i like it um um but But it also creates, you know.
[20:34] For people who, I mean, sometimes you talk to the gym with people you often see there. And it also creates some worthiness there. Yeah, sure. I mean, normally people are using the boring towel with one color. And if you see this towel, it looks premium. It's a nice color in it, nice color zones. And I think the name is also... Appealing, of course. But on the same side is what I mentioned before I mean you go to the gym and
[21:07] you try to I mean there are so many clothes I mean there is a lifestyle behind the gym right absolutely and I think, the design the quality of the town is also fits into this space as well as lifestyle, because to be honest, There's so many brands out there, not the typical ones, but the more gym-like ones. And therefore, those are a little bit exceptional. And I like the fact that it's also not the standard ones, but a little bit more exceptional.
[21:43] Now, my question is now, what's next? for example, more or less in terms of now there's a brand, there's values behind the brand, right? Are there perhaps ideas for the future? You want to stick with that? How do you feel about it? I mean, is it something that you would like to expand in these terms? Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, we had so many ideas in the beginning And then we had to say, come on, we have to start. We have to focus firstly on the towel and then see what happens, okay? But there are other ideas in my head.
[22:25] I mean, you can do the same thing with yoga mats, okay? You can also have different color zones on a yoga mat. Use it properly. you don't want to to lay down with your face on this side with where where your feet was last the last day or someone else's feet was so so you can use this as well properly okay and maybe in the future it's with with gym bags and so on and so on but uh i think i think uh the way
[22:57] i interpret it at least it is um that the values that you explained before is something that is very prominent. And if you try to apply those values to other types of products, I think that would be.
[23:10] Community-wise but also for uh for the people who are enjoying sports a huge advantage also also to i mean in terms of me the ones who are ecological uh more fans but also if you if you can combine all these things together in one product why you should not do that yeah yeah i mean i mean social impact hygiene aspects for yourself and for others and uh uh and uh yeah Yeah, I mean, there is also the aspect, I mean, a lot of people going right now, I mean, I find also in the new generation, they're going much on running, they have these running clubs, social clubs. Therefore, I'm saying, sports is not sports anymore, the way it used to be before. Yeah.
[23:58] I mean, I'm going to run or I'm going to, this has a very social focus. Exactly.
[24:04] I mean, back in the time you did sport for yourself. Yeah. Now it's a community. It's a lifestyle. You want to share it with other people and so on. Yeah. And I think this is where I see it, let's say, going. Therefore, I was also very much interested on this idea because we are very much, and I'm personally also very much interested in ideas that comes a little bit out of this digital world because we have enough of it. I mean, everyone is too much on laptops, on mobiles. It's good to be out. It's good to be, I mean... In a community to fill in there. So what I liked is exactly that. I mean, even a small towel can put some change. Yeah, exactly. And it doesn't have to be rocket science to be something. No. I mean, to be honest, it's not a revolution of a towel, but it's a small evolution, let's say. Yeah. I see exactly that. It's just a spin on a given issue. Exactly. It is an issue. Yeah. I mean, you didn't invent the towel, which is absolutely okay. But just giving the spin, it actually makes it something which is on the time. Yeah. Because if everyone goes to the gym, gyms are fooled.
[25:19] And I think since it's full, there's hygiene is a factor. It is. If you don't have your own gym, of course, if you have your own gym, it is like that. But until you have the gym, I think there is a solution. But then you don't have the social impact anymore. I mean, I would not change, to be honest. I would not have a gym in my building, let's say. I would go to the gym and be inspired by other people. Yeah, I think this is also one of the reasons I go to the gym.
[25:55] When I go to the gym, I don't really observe that people are fit and super trained. But I observed that people who really do the grind from they want to lose kilos or for other reasons because you see this person really have a target it's a focus and it motivates you it motivates you it inspires you exactly if you go in your personal gym, I mean, you can inspire yourself. Maybe, maybe. No, I mean, if you want to have your private gym, it's okay. But I mean, I would not do that. I want to share with other people and get inspired by other people. Sure.
[26:30] So how could someone really find such a towel, to be honest? How can you purchase that at the moment? Is this online as, I don't know. Yeah, we have a webpage, alfaora.ch. page and yeah, you can order it over there. We have three different color combinations. One, let's say, is more male, one is more female and one is pretty neutral. I mean, so you can choose whatever you like. Yeah, that's, yeah. And I'm, I think there is space and the colors are so neutral. You can, I mean, it's impossible that you find something you don't like or fits more or less.
[27:12] And I've seen you have a couple of retailers you go in also physical stores, we are trying to find B2B channels one of my closest friends actually.
[27:26] I know him since I don't know almost 30 years I think and I told him about this idea and he was like oh wow that's a pretty good idea and I thought hey let's try to sell it in your shop and he was like hey it would be awesome to have this yeah to share this experience with us so yeah.
[27:49] Actually that's a good thing because some people, would like to feel it and touch it and understand online it's it's a little bit unpersonal but it's comfortable yeah it's fine it is it's like that and so the look and feel you you will get this in a shop so yeah that's that's absolutely that's absolutely great uh so it seems that the business is rounded the ideas are packed so las i would like to thank you very much for being here today and giving us a little bit inside of a actually very simple product with a very innovative spin from my perspective. I really like that I use it, as I mentioned before. And I have invested also in terms of, I really believe that it makes, as a small product, a difference socially, ecologically, but also lifestyle-wise. So really, thank you very much. And I wish you all the best for your ideas. Thank you so much. And I was looking forward to hear even more from your ideas, let's say, in the future. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dimi. So from our side, thank you for being here today so we'll have, entrepreneurship December another really inspiring entrepreneur from outside of the tech world is going to present as well so looking forward, to be in touch with you send us your feedback send us also your ideas and happy to see you next time as well have a great one, bye bye.
