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Futural Tri Innovations...

Thursday, 26 February 2015 00:10

This sport has always been at the forefront of gear innovation. But there’s room for even bigger thinking.

By Jesse Thomas * (triathlon.competitor.com)

Despite somehow snaking my way through two Stanford mechanical engineering degrees, I always considered myself half an engineer. I loved the “big picture” phase of problem identification and initial design. But my interest waned in the nitty-gritty detailed analysis and manufacturing optimization required to actually bring a product to market. I could survive the numbers, but I was a lot better at the pictures.

So when I joined my first startup out of college with a few friends, I kept myself mostly on the pictures side—and let the guys that handed me my ass in thermodynamics do the real engineering. Until one unfortunate day, I overheard a conversation about a “pump problem on the hydrogen generator,” and had an idea....

I threw together a prototype of tubing, rubber bands, a balloon and some Dremel-ed PVC and showed it to the guys. Surprisingly, they were mildly impressed. After a few minutes of discussion, they decided I would henceforth become the “hydrogen generator guy,” which—despite the title—was maybe the first nickname I ever had that wasn’t related to my gas.

I spent the next three years primarily designing portable hydrogen generation products, and thanks to the help of the real engineers around me, ended my run with a few patents that now allow me to say I have a few patents.

Since then, I’ve started my own company, Picky Bars, and was lucky enough to be involved with Rob and Kurt at ROKA, helping them design their first wetsuit, the Maverick. And whether it be something as complicated as a hydrogen generator or new wetsuit technology, or something as simple as an energy bar, I’ve learned that the real work starts after the idea is discovered. Just like my days as half an engineer, the tough part is bringing that idea from back of napkin to manufacturable, sellable product...READ MORE

* The MTN Guys are huge fans of Jesse Thomas' mind and Matt Collin's artwork.