From Concept To Company - Part 1

I want to tell the story of how Victory Grips came into being. The reason why I am doing this is for a few of reasons. First, is to share a personal story with anyone who may be interested. Second is to provide myself a reminder to be grateful of how far I have come and to those who helped me along the way. And third, a perspective of how I want the story to continue. 

So...Me and my buddy, Justin, were drinking lots of bourbon, Buffalo Trace to be exact. We were enjoying one of our favorite past times of having a creative session. You see, Justin and I were grad school buddies from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). We had this thing where we would get a great buzz and let the creative juices (and bourbon) flow hoping to have some really fun opportunity come from it. Being creative is a big part of who I am. 

During that time in 2012 Justin had begun his CrossFit journey and I had been a coach for a couple years. We got on the subject of gymnastics movements in CrossFit and how those movements compared to that of traditional/classical gymnastics. (I was a competitive gymnast so I have a lot of insight and opinions about this subject.) This lead to us talking about gymnastics grips, and how the traditional gymnastics grips on the market were not really suited for CrossFit. Then it occurred to me. This was the idea I was hoping to have. The opportunity to explore and create something that people were seeking, but just couldn't find. 

That's where the obsession began. Obsessed with hands and how they functioned, how people gripped, how they wanted their hands to feel during a workout, and what they were trying to do to save their hands from turning into burger meat or the skin of a gator. I immediately began to sketch and prototype.

This was the beginning. A long gradual process of observation, research, and designing that still continues...And so will this story.