S01EP6: Guardian Sports: Protective Gear with Erin Hanson

Welcome to Blueprint of an Athlete, where host Dr. Robin West is joined by Erin Hansen, Co-founder and CEO of Guardian Sports. After 25 years in material science, Erin and her husband Lee launched Guardian in 2011 with a mission to prove that science and smart design can transform athlete safety. The Genesis of the Guardian Cap Driven by concern for her son who began playing football, Erin and Lee sought a solution to reduce the repeated head impacts in the sport. They realized a full helmet redesign was too difficult a paradigm shift, leading them to focus on a solution for practice, where the majority of hits occur. The Goal: Design a lightweight, inexpensive, one-size-fits-all soft shell that could retrofit every helmet and significantly reduce impact. The Evolution: The initial cap was sold in 2012. While initially meeting resistance for its look, the design was optimized with elastic straps and the newest 2.0 smooth design to look more like a traditional helmet. Validation: The cap was a winner of the first NFL Head Health Tech Challenge (2017). This recognition and the subsequent independent testing provided the critical validation needed for national adoption. NFL Mandate: The NFL now mandates the Guardian Cap for most positions during contact practices after reporting a >50% reduction in concussions. Player feedback confirms a better experience: "I'm practicing without a headache." The Greaseless Lacrosse Revolution Guardian’s mission extends beyond football. Inspired by injuries in lacrosse, they turned their attention to the ball itself. The Problem: Standard rubber lacrosse balls age quickly, becoming excessively hard (way above safety specifications) and "greasing" (leaching plasticizers, making them slick and inconsistent). The Solution: The Pearl Lacrosse Ball is US-made from a urethane material. It is greaseless and consistently maintains a low, safe hardness (110–150), which led the standard-setting body to lower the official spec. Safety Meets Performance: The Pearl improves both safety (softer hit) and performance (consistent feel and release from the stick), making it the official ball of the NCAA, PLL, and MCLA. Innovations for All Athletes Guardian continues to leverage material science to create safer playing environments for all sports: Bio-based Turf Infill: A corn and soy-based infill that replaces the recycled car tire rubber pellets often used in turf fields (which have been linked to health concerns). This new infill is USDA-certified, helps keep fields up to 28 degrees cooler, and has an engineered shape for better performance. Guardian Loop: A comfortable, soft-shell head protection solution that slips on like a headband, designed for non-helmeted sports with incidental contact, such as flag football, soccer, volleyball, and cheerleading. Leadership and Longevity Erin notes that the biggest barriers to adoption are often appearance and competition from major helmet manufacturers. However, the most successful selling point is athlete longevity and availability. Coaches across the NFL and NCAA are adopting the products because their athletes are healthier and available to play. Key Leadership Lesson: Have confidence in the mission. Erin states that navigating the world of a startup was less about business school and more about the "CEO experience" of raising five children. It's about taking a leap of faith and believing in the goal of improving health and safety, even when met with challenges.

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