Geek Locker Newsletter #6
March 22nd, 2024
Geek Locker
Welcome back to the Geek Locker Newsletter— your bi-weekly round-up of sports innovation news, product releases, and design resources is here!
BIG news— the entirety of the Geek Locker’s 50+ article archive has moved to Substack! The whole archive is going to remain free to access through April before articles published longer than 2 weeks ago become part of the paid subscription tier. The Newsletter will remain free to access indefinitely, and this summer, additional paid-only articles will start to be published. I am excited about all the upcoming improvements to the content and will make sure to share info on all the changes as they arise.
Last week I wrote about the sports-tech entrepreneurial engine in Steamboat Springs (one of my favorite places to visit), and how modern design tools are making it easier than ever to start an outdoor gear brand from anywhere:
Next week, I’ll be indulging myself and finally writing about the new (insane) Visma-LAB Time Trial Helmets. Cycling seems to be the sport that always has the craziest-looking gear for optimizing marginal performance gains, and even if I can’t draw any conclusions about why this doesn’t happen in other sports, at least we’ll get to see some crazy cycling helmets from history.
As always, I appreciate your engagement and please share with others who might be interested in learning more about sports innovation!
New Releases
New Releases shows off “new” products and major features that are hitting the market.
Scarpa released its updated TX Pro Telemark Boot after multiple years of anticipation. Scarpa continues to become more of a household name as it has exploded into popularity in the backcountry and uphill gear markets.
Samsung recently revealed info about its Galaxy Ring (a smart ring), that it plans to launch in summer of 2024. It will be fascinating to see how it stacks up in terms of features and price compared to the Oura ring, especially if it bucks the current trends of wearable companies charging ongoing subscription fees. Questions abound.
In a non-traditional release, the Smithsonian revealed its “Sports Invention” exhibition that debuted at the Lemelson Center mid-March. If you’re in the area, it could be worth checking out!
REI launched its new in-house brand products for 2024. REI continues to expand its product offerings, particularly in the trail footwear and outerwear (coat) markets. It has felt like REI typically released copy-cat in-house products 2-3 years after industry staples like Patagonia an Arc’teryx release a new product, but it seems like this gap is closing and REI is moving closer to the cutting edge of outdoor product design.
Sports.com launched its own mobile app in tandem with a revamped version of its website. The company’s domain might be worth more than anything it could hope to valorize in the sports streaming and community industry, and it will be fascinating to see if they can become a major new player in the international or domestic sports media market after simultaneously partnering with international media distributor Bango.
UK-based Madison Clothing released its 2024 cycling clothing line, adding to its very broad apparel coverage across all types of cycling, from the road cycling to the mountain biking, to the commuting. If you’re looking to test out a new cycling gear brand that seems to provide a comfortable balance against aero-optimized kit, this might be a great place to start.
Company Cable
Company Cable highlights major and minor updates from companies around the sports innovation space.
Fenway Sports Group led a $3 Billion (with a B!) investment into the PGA, furthering my clear misunderstanding of how there is so much money in professional golf. The PGA then turned around and led a Series A funding round in Pro Shop, a media management company that produced Netflix’s “Full Swing” documentary about the PGA. The virtuous cycle continues!
Steve Ballmer launched Halo Sports and Entertainment to consolidate his preexisting ownership of professional sports teams and entertainment assets including the LA Clippers and the Kia Forum. It will be interesting to see if his sports and entertainment holdings expand, and if he seeks to eventually create the Fenway Group of the west coast.
Sports gambling startup Betr raised $15MM in equity financing on a $375MM valuation. The company finished its Series A raise in the summer of 2023, and is looking to accelerate its growth by expanding a handful of new states in the US. More broadly, sports gambling continues to become a more ubiquitous part of the sports entertainment experience.
Volley came out of stealth, revealing their ball machine that uses AI and robotics to provide a more comprehensive training partner. If you’re into tennis or pickleball and looking to demolish your local beer league opponents, it might be worth looking into this training tool. It’s unclear exactly what’s next for the company, but they will undoubtedly be looking to expand quickly.
Ireland-based Output Sports stamped its intention to expand to the US market. The company’s hardware and software products designed to help individuals and teams track performance land in a crowded domestic market, and time will tell how it competes against the likes of Perch, Catapult, Kinexon, Zebra, Whoop and the many more companies circling around the local waters.
Some News
Some News shares select news stories from across the sports and design world.
The Premier League and the England Football League (EFL) are at an impasse in regards to enacting sweeping financial and structural changes. The chaos is maybe the second biggest controversy in the UK at the moment, but does highlight the incentive and operational splits between the highest-earning clubs throughout Europe, and the smaller clubs trying to make ends meet.
Riot Games released a public "What's Next" memo to its esport leagues, teams, and fans. It’s a super interesting read that focuses on how Riot is planning to shift its own esports away from a proverbial venture-backed gold rush towards something more sustainable in the long run. Esports as a whole appears to be in a period of retraction, and while the details of this restructuring may not be exactly ideal, they do highlight the intent of esport governing bodies to now focus on longevity and robustness.
Amazon linked a deal with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to become a licensed gear manufacturer and vendor. It’s not clear if the partnership, in tandem with Prime Video’s NFL push, is part of a broader sports-market entry by Amazon, or just a reminder that the company is absolutely humongous and does everything. Side note: I’d absolutely root for an “Amazon Basics” sports team. The Boston Basics has a nice ring.
On the flip side of the coin, Fanatics continues to face scrutiny from the perceived MLB uniform issues. The founder of Fanatics recently fought back against the public hate at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, a sentence that raises more questions than it answers, for me personally.
The United Football League (UFL) partnered with Under Armor and MSX (by Michael Strahan) for its 2024 gear and apparel. Both moves come on the back of the XFL/USFL merger that created the league, as it attempts to become the first successful “minor-league” football product in the US that isn’t called college football.
AppleTV and McKinsey veteran Pete Distad was appointed CEO of the new sports-streaming joint venture between ESPN, FOX and Warner. The move provides the venture with more structure, but does not provide any concrete looks into what’s next for the new streaming service (except that they will likely be in court soon).
The Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to unionize, almost assuredly teeing up a legal battle between the school and the union. The outcomes could have pretty broad implications for all of college athletics, as the relationship between university and athlete seems to continue changing dramatically every year.
Grab Bag
Grab Bag features interesting or useful sports innovation and product design resources, ranging from books and websites to individual graphics.
What are the NIL Rules now? It’s a simple question that I didn’t actually know the answer to, until very recently. This article is a great overview if you want to understand why and how college athletes now make money while competing for their school.
Red Bull released a video showing off a drone for filming F1 races. It’s an extremely cool, but basic, drone that produces even more impressive footage. For not only F1, but other racing sports like cycling and trail running, drones will almost assuredly play a bigger and bigger role in coverage over time.
Ultrarunner Camille Herron set nearly every single speed and distance world record between 300 miles and 6 days of running in a recent controlled experiment by Lululemon. The effort was part of Lululemon’s effort to optimize ultrarunning performance, including heat management, fueling, and every contributor to marginal gains (including eating food that the athlete likes).
The Australian track cycling team will reportedly ride $100k bikes at the Paris Olympics. Even with context for manufacturing and the cycling industry, it’s a LOT of money for a bike. The argument for spending up into absurd costs for cycling equipment is very easy though, so it also wouldn’t surprise me if this is a “cheap” track bike in a few Olympic cycles.
If you’re interested in European football club economics, I highly recommend the Swiss Ramble Substack. It’s fascinating to get a look into the economics of European soccer teams (spoilers, most of them have poor annual economics), and how much each team’s performance affects their business.
The Minnesota Wild pulled their goalie at even strength in overtime, which was incredibly risky but paid off with an immediate goal and sudden-death victory. Unbeknownst to many (myself included), it turns out that this maneuver actually loses a team its point for a tie if the other team scores on the empty net. Not a rule I would have ever guessed existed, but I’ll never forget now.