WATCH ABOVE: A love of crafting has turned into a popular YouTube channel for Luanga Nuwame. Peter Kim reports
When he was 22, Luanga Nuwame built his first major cardboard creation: a board game. Since then his creativity has expanded to shelves, usable snow shovels and comic book-inspired props like Captain America’s shield.
“It started as a teenager. I just started making things to the chagrin of my parents. And then when I discovered YouTube, I discovered other people who liked this,” said Nuwame, who’s now 38.
The Mississauga resident has just designed and built what he says is the world’s first usable, recycled treadmill, made completely with cardboard and held together with glue.
“It can take up to 250 pounds,” said Nuwame, who’s been using it for about two weeks.
Nuwame runs a popular YouTube channel, where he uploads “how to” videos related to his cardboard creations for others who want to replicate the ambitious feat.
“I love making crazy insane things out of cardboard,” one of his videos reveals.
His next project is a cardboard elliptical machine. Nuwame’s creations are part of a trend known as “upcycling” – transforming waste materials into something of higher value.
Though the treadmill is sturdy and usable, fitness professionals caution against using it too frequently.
“It’s almost like you’re doing a running motion but the floor is not moving; therefore, you are kind of running in one spot which is going to throw off your mechanics,” said Adam Trabulsi, Fitness Director at Habitual Fitness.
But Nuwame isn’t trying to get rich by selling his creations.
“It’s about expressing my creativity, being able to see what my imagination creates and see if I can make it; and then sharing it with others who may want to make it themselves.”
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