Here's What Went Down With Terra-Core After Shark Tank

As a fitness fanatic, Greg Nigro has a passion for creating unique workout equipment that allows people to get more from their exercise. Nigro was working in the gym world when he received requests for a portable board, allowing people to get more effective workouts from anywhere — which could totally work for the cozy-cardio trend. "For the last five years ... we built functional training equipment that essentially has an air surface and that air surface is dynamic, it activates our core, it's much more comfortable. So it's more ergonomic," he told Creators Faire in 2016. "People just loved our products so much that they came to us, we got a lot of people that said, 'Hey, would you build something that's more portable that we could put on the floor?' And we said, 'That's a great idea! Why not?' So that's what we did, and that's where the Terra-Core came from."

That same year, much like No Limbits did before appearing on "Shark Tank," Nigro set up a Kickstarter to get the Terra-Core board off the ground. The savvy entrepreneur raised $95,678 from 194 backers, far surpassing his $60,000 goal. But he had high hopes for his invention and knew he needed more help to make Terra-Core as big as he wanted it. So he turned to "Shark Tank" to find a new (and wealthy) workout buddy.

Greg Nigro chose a gimmicky "Shark Tank" entrance to get Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and guest Shark Anne Wojcicki on board (literally). In the episode, which aired in November 2019, he dressed as the Sultan of Sweat to announce he wanted $300,000 for a 15% stake in the company. Nigro brought in fitness buffs to show the Sharks how the "Terra-Core" board worked, and the famous entrepreneurs tested his invention too.

Not only were the Sharks impressed by his equipment, their muscles twitched when Nigro revealed the company had achieved $2.1 million in sales since 2017. They only seemed more intrigued when Nigro shared he expected Terra-Core to break even that year, with projected earnings of over $1 million the next. John was first to make a $300,000 offer — but for 40% equity. O'Leary told the entrepreneur he'd give $300,000 for 30%, but wanted $20 in royalties after he made $1 million. John also came in at 40%, before dropping to 35%. That's when an all-out bidding war began. Greiner wanted in at 22.5%, so John dropped again to 30%. As if things couldn't get any better for Nigro, Wojcicki also expressed interest, but she wanted 17% of the business and $10 for every board sold.

Just as the Tank was about to descend into chaos with multiple offers flying around, Nigro chose Greiner. "Having Lori as a partner means everything to our business," he said. "We've worked really hard to get to this point and Lori is really somebody who can take us to the next level."

It's not clear if Terra-Core's deal with Lori Greiner officially closed, as she didn't appear to publicly acknowledge her investment after the episode aired. However, Greg Nigro made the most of people looking for more at home workouts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, offering special prices on Terra-Core equipment via social media. After his "Shark Tank" episode re-ran in August 2020, he wrote on Instagram, "During this pandemic everyone at @terracorefitness is grateful to be in a position to meet the demand of so many people needing an incredible, low cost, versatile home fitness tool. If you need a #terracore please DM me for special pricing. We are all in this together," he wrote.

But Nigro's journey with Terra-Core didn't last long after the episode originally aired. In 2020, he left the business five years after founding it, joining the ranks of fellow "Shark Tank" brand Spirithoodz, who also had a co-founder back away from the company they built after appearing on the ABC show.

Despite so many "Shark Tank" stars wanting to invest in Terra-Core, it's all but disappeared from the web and is difficult to purchase. The business continued for at least three years after Greg Nigro left, as its Instagram (where it boasts more than 79,000 followers at the time of writing), X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages were all regularly updated until 2023. But customers have noticed its absence from social media and the online market. One Instagram user commented in January 2025 on the brand's seemingly final Instagram upload, "Your site is not working." Despite previously being the main way to buy the fitness product, it's official website, terracorefitness.com, returns an error message.

Social media users also accused the company of not fulfilling orders. In May 2024, Facebook user Plainfield Commons Fit Body Boot Camp commented on the brand's final upload, "Do not buy from them!!! I was just scammed! They took my money and I haven't heard anything in over 2 months!!" 

Though Terra-Core was once available via Amazon, its landing page is no longer active. However, Terra-Core Balance Trainers are available for pre-order via Power Systems, though no release date is attached to the listing.

Though it seems Terra-Core may have gone out of business, founder Greg Nigro has kept his passion for fitness and workout gear alive as Vice President of Sales at gym180. The businessman confirmed his new role on Instagram, telling his followers, "My recent trip to Germany allowed me to evaluate the quality of manufacturing, innovation, product lines, and company culture. All of which are incredibly impressive and I now understand why they have the moniker 'King of Machines!' I'm beyond excited to join the team and lead the charge of bringing this incredible brand to North America!" Nigro put his time pitching to the Sharks to good use, too. He regularly appears in social media content for gym180 introducing company's latest gym equipment to customers. In August 2024, the former "Shark Tank" star showed the brand's Instagram followers how to use its crossover chest machine.

Nigro is also the man behind the fitness consultancy brand The Gym Sherpa, through which he's worked with big names like Vin Diesel and Sylvester Stallone.