The Herman Miller Aeron ($1410+) provides superb back support — but it’s not guaranteed. Pokimane’s public transition to an Aeron chair illustrates that point. In late 2021, she started suffering from wrist pain. To address that, she bought a $2000+ Aeron chair. However, her transition to using it regularly took 12 clumsy months. Potential Aeron chair buyers can avoid a similarly rough transition by reading her story.

ChairsFX has been tracking Pokimane’s chair usage for a few years. She started streaming in 2018 atop a DXRacer gaming chair. In 2019, she briefly switched to a Herman Miller Embody(1).
However, its large back support was a poor fit for her tiny 5’4″ frame. As a result, she switched to a Noblechairs Epic (rated for sizes 5’6″ and up). Since 2019, the Epic’s tall white backrest had been a staple in her streams.

After her wrist pain emerged, she debuted her new Aeron chair in November 2021. It was a shaky transition. In September 2022, she pushed her Aeron aside for a Frost Blue Secretlab Titan chair.

By November 2022, she had switched back to her Aeron chair. Since then, it’s consistently served as her streaming chair.
Pokimane’s Aeron Chair Misadventure
In November 2021, Pokimane debuted her new Aeron chair in a stream. Over several other streams, she generously shared her early experiences with it. Her misadventures give prospective Aeron buyers valuable insights into the Aeron buying process.

Pokimane chose a small-sized Aeron Remastered with a Mineral finish (the most expensive frame). Given her 5’4″ size, the Size A version was a smart choice!
Aeron Size A | Size B | Size C | |
Seat | 25.75″ (W) x 16″ (D) | 27″ (W) x 16.75″ (D) | 28.25″ (W) x 18.5″ (D) |
Backrest | 20.25″(W) x 21″ (H) | 21.5″ (W) x 22″ (H) | 22.75″(W) x 23″ (H) |
Seat Height | 14.75″ to 19″ | 16″ to 20.4″ | 16″ to 20.5″ |
Size Rating | 4’10” to 5’9″; 300 pounds | 5’2″ to 6’6″; up to 350 pounds | 5’2″ to 6’6″; up to 350 pounds |
Notably, Pokimane isn’t a Herman Miller partner. She bought the chair with her own cash, on her own terms.
Aeron Remastered from Herman Miller $1695
Learn more in this detailed Aeron Remastered Review.
Episode 1: The Chair Arrives Broken!
On November 12, Pokimane broadcast a live stream titled welcome everyone (✿◠‿◠) CHAIR UNBOXING!(2) The Aeron was poised to make a grand debut to her 8+ million Twitch followers.

But as Pokimane rolled her $2000 chair out of the box, she noticed an armrest cap had broken off – it was a disaster!
Her first idea was to super glue it back in place. Instead, she reboxed the chair and contacted Herman Miller.

Protip: even multi-billion-dollar companies like Herman Miller can make mistakes. If your chair arrives damaged, stay cool. Contact the chair company and ask them to resolve it. Most legit brands will help you with apologies.
Episode 2: Replacement Chair & Headrest
On her Nov. 25 stream, a replacement Aeron chair arrived(3). Had she super-glued the armrest in place, she might have voided her warranty.

Instead, she suffered a 13-day delay to let Herman Miller resolve the problem. If your chair arrives damaged, keep this strategy in mind.
Aeron Headrest Mistake
The ergonomic chair buying process includes physiological and psychological factors. The former has to do with the quality of back support. The latter refer to gimmicks that make a chair appear to be more comfortable.

A headrest on a mid-back office chair is an excellent example of this. In fact, Herman Miller makes it very clear: Leaning your head back on a headrest while in an upright position would be improper posture”.”

Specifically, adding a headrest to an Aeron chair promotes a rearward head tilt. That curves the upper spine, forcing the neck to tilt forward. As the upper spine curves forward, the lower back tightens up.
Bottom line: the Aeron is one of the world’s best posture-correcting chairs. By adding a headrest to an Aeron, users will lose its most spectacular feature (good back support). Learn more:
Episode 3: Learning Aeron Functionality
The Aeron has unique controls that take time to comprehend. Herman Miller’s official PDF user guide covers the essentials(4) but isn’t intuitive.

On December 6, Pokimane made another stream(5). Instead of the PDF user guide, she used Herman Miller’s Aeron video user guide(6). As backup, she crowdsourced help from stream viewers to help her with the Aeron chair’s settings.

Spoiler: the crowd offered little help. Therefore, Pokimane deployed a common strategy for new Aeron chair users. She mashed controls randomly while thrashing around in the chair.
After around 30 minutes of thrashing, she figured out all the settings she needed.
Essential Aeron Functions
- Seat height: pop the switch under the right side of the seat open. That will loosen the seat lock and kick in the gas lift. Push down with your bum until you find your ideal head. Then, push the switch back into a locked position.
- Tilt tension: if you want to rock in an unlocked position while working (not recommended), fiddle the knob under the right side of the seat. Turn forward to increase tension. Turn back to loosen the rock.
- Tilt angle: reach for the knob under the left side of the seat. It has an outer and inner dial. Turn the outside one to toggle the angle.
- Posturefit: turn the dial behind the backrest to adjust the depth of lumbar support. The height is non-adjustable — that’s why you should stick with Aeron chair size ratings. If you use an Aeron not rated for your size, the lumbar support won’t work.
- Adjust seat angles: you can lock the Aeron’s seat at various upward or downward angles, or also with a flat horizontal angle. Turn the outside dial under the left seat backward to free-flow the seat angle. When you find your preferred angle, turn the knob forward to lock it.
Advice: a great way to get your head around Aeron settings is to pay attention to the buying process. It includes seven options that customize the functionality of your chair. As a result, once your chair arrives, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.
Where Did Pokimane Go Wrong?
Pokimane spent over $2000 on a tricked-out Aeron chair in November 2021. But for the next six months, she switched back to her Noblechairs Epic. Her pricey Aeron doubled as a cat bed and guest chair.

In September 2022, she switched to a Secretlab Titan chair. She finally transitioned to using her Aeron full-time in Nov. 2022 — 12 months after she first bought it!
Mistake 1: A Chair Won’t Heal Injuries
I asked some of the esports industry’s leading physical therapists about Pokimane’s case. Dr. Jordan Tsai of Respawn Therapy works with elite teams like Cloud9, TSM, Evil Geniuses.

He also sits on Secretlab’s Ergonomics Advisory Board. Even so, he touts a good chair as the last option to treat pain. Before that, he advises players to spend two hours daily doing a range of motion exercises.
Dr. Elliot Smithson works with 1-HP.org. His clinic services G2, Team Liquid, Fnatic, and other elite squads. He says that wrist pain is the most common esports injury his clinic deals with. For a start, he recommends “taking breaks every 45 minutes and standing up to do some light stretching.”
Dr. William Duncan of Southeast PT offers this summary: “A chair alone cannot fix your issues. If you work on strength & endurance and use a good chair, this will most likely resolve the source of your symptoms and allow you to play longer.”
Mistake 2: Wrong Buying Choices
Pokimane was surprised to discover that her chair’s Posturefit lumbar support system is not height-adjustable. That type of mistake can be avoided by understanding your options before you buy.
In the Herman Miller store, there are seven configuration options that are worth paying attention to. The two most important are highlighted:
- Frame and base colors: six styles to choose from (graphite is cheapest, mineral + polished aluminum is $320 extra).
- Chair size: choose Size A (small), Size B (medium), or Size C (XL). All are the same price.
- Back support: no back support (cheapest); Adjustable Lumbar Support Pad ($75 extra); Posturefit ($95 extra).
- Seat and backrest tilt: Standard Tilt lets you control rocking tension. Tilt Limiter ($100 extra) lets you lock the backrest and seat at different angles.
- Armrests: choose non-adjustable; height-adjustable ($125 extra); 3D adjustable ($255 extra)
- Armrest pads: choose standard or leather ones ($180 extra).
- Caster wheels: choose casters for carpets; multi-surface casters with ‘quiet roll'($50 extra).
Aeron Sizing
The Aeron comes in small, medium, and extra-wide sizes. At 5’4″, Pokimane correctly went with an Aeron Size A (small).

Aeron Lumbar Support
The Aeron comes with a choice of lumbar support systems. PostureFit ($95) supports both the lumbar and sacral spine with a dual-pad design. You can adjust the depth of the pads, but not the height.

The other option is a height-adjustable sliding lumbar pad ($75). Slide it up or down until it hits your lower back curve.
Here’s the tricky part: the Posturefit hits two spinal points, providing better support — but only if it fits. With a perfect fit, the bottom pad applies pressure to the tip of your tailbone.

With a poor fit, it feels like a brick against your lower back! Because of Pokimane’s slow adoption of her Aeron chair, it’s possible that her Posturefit device didn’t fit. Learn more in this breakdown:
Conclusion: Research The Aeron Before You Buy!
Pokimane bought her Aeron chair in November 2021. However, she only started using it full-time in November 2022. To avoid such a long, turbulent transition, it helps to grasp the Aeron’s pros and cons before you decide to buy.

The star feature of the Aeron chair is its 8Z Pellicle Mesh. This stuff was first designed to help a driver with a broken back win the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

8Z Pellicle Mesh has variable tension zones designed to keep the user in near-perfect balance at all times. With weight evenly balanced across the mesh seat pan, sitting upright becomes surprisingly easy.
Compared to other mesh chairs, 8Z Pellicle mesh is spectacular — it feels like you’re floating on air. However, in my experience, the mesh is the only spectacular feature on this chair.

Users looking to be blown away by functional wizardry may be disappointed with the Aeron’s limitations. For instance, it can only recline with a tiny 93-104° recline range.
Bottom line: learn from Pokimane. Do not buy an Aeron chair to address pain. Instead, temper your expectations. Beyond its spectacular mesh, it’s a straightforward ergonomic chair with no other jaw-dropping features (besides its aesthetics).
Aeron from Herman Miller $1410+
Hands-on Review: Learn Why The Aeron Is So Expensive (it’s the mesh)
Footnotes
- Pokimane, ‘Pokimane’s Dark Secrets REVEALED! $10,000 Room Tour 2019!’. Youtube, Feb. 27, 2019 https://youtu.be/2AQrjLjtScY?t=389, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- Pokimane, ‘welcome everyone (✿◠‿◠) CHAIR UNBOXING!’. Twitch, Nov. 12, 2021 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1203546886, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- Pokimane, ‘just chatting with y’all ♡’. Twitch, Nov. 25, 2021 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1214869023, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- ‘Aeron Chairs user adjustment guide’. Herman Miller, Aeron chair user adjustment PDF, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- Pokimane, ‘IT’S ABOUT DRIVE IT’S ABOUT POWER’. Twitch, Dec. 6, 2021 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1225177695, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- ‘Adjusting Aeron – Video’. Herman Miller, https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_eur/video-gallery/adjusting-aeron/, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).