Geek Locker
Welcome back to the Geek Locker Roundup— your bi-weekly collection of the latest sports innovation news, product releases, and design resources!
Last week, I wrote about the bright future of trail racing and a bit about my own experience in the vertical kilometer (VK) event at the Broken Arrow Sky Race. I believe that the many forms of trail racing ranging from VK’s all the way up to 100-mile ultramarathons will begin to gain popularity relative to road racing in the near future. I’m not sure that it can ever surpass road running in popularity due to more difficult access, but trail running seems like it’s set to “have a moment” in the next few years.
Goin' Up to the Spirit (Finish Line) in the Sky
Two weekends ago, the annual Broken Arrow Skyrace events were held in the Olympic Valley just miles away from Lake Tahoe. I had the great fortune of participating in the “Vertical Kilometer” race, which involved ascending the Palisades ski resort from base to summit— about 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) of climbing— in just 3.7 miles. It was quite tiring to …
Next week, to honor the upcoming Paris Olympics, I’ll be taking a look at the relative cost of the summer and winter olympics, and dig into what makes the difference between the two. It’s very possible this article balloons to include a fair amount of my own conjecture about the future of the Olympics as well, which I’d say charitably presents a “mixed” outlook.
In other news, I am in the process of figuring how to add some more structure and entertainment to content on the Geek Locker for the future. In July, I’ll be kicking off paid-only content, likely in the form of short unstructured op-eds about salient sports tech news. I’m also thinking through how to drive the site’s content into “seasons,” on either a yearly or semi-yearly cadence, with distinct themes, goals, and focus areas. If anything, the total of 2024 will be “Season 0,” and if you have any suggestions about what these “seasons” could look like, please reach out!
As always, I appreciate your engagement and please share with others who might be interested in reading about sports innovation. On to the news!
Company Cable
Company Cable highlights major and minor updates from companies around the sports innovation space.
Esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas is filing for IPO on NASDAQ, aiming to raise a total of $5MM in the process. I would consider myself “skeptical” of this move and the prospect of investing in the company. As the e-sports market seems to be pulling up from a short deflationary period, maybe this move is required to generate cash for the business to continue functioning. It’s likely a boom-or-bust investment!
Magnus Carlsen's Fantasy Chess has raised $3M in its first major funding round. Chess has risen in popularity since the pandemic, particularly through online play and tournament viewership. It’s no surprise that Carlsen and others might be looking to both leverage this growth and add elements to following professional chess that enhance the number of viewers. If you like watching golf on TV, I recommend giving professional chess a view.
Sean White's Unrivaled Sports has acquired minority stake in the indoor skiing experience company Snöbahn on the back of the news that Unrivaled Sports will be launching the Snow League for competitive freestyle boarding and skiing this winter. The company seems to be aggressively seeking growth, and this investment expands the influence of the company beyond the snowy mountain ranges to cities and towns through an indoor skiing experience I think they hope will become the next “Top Golf” equivalent.
TMRW Sports has been valued at over $500M in its Series A funding round. The company is seeking to use its new funding to grow its portfolio of sports entertainment and technology offerings, and to help launch The Golf League (TGL) next year. TGL is an indoor, simulator-based golf league, whose broadcasting has already been secured by ESPN, and which seems poised to explode onto the golf scene. Admittedly, I never thought three separate golf leagues could co-exist simultaneously!
Caesers Sportsbook has acquired sports gambling infrastructure startup ZeroFlucs for an unknown sum. ZeroFlucs provides bet-pricing services, with more inherent flexibility than other providers, allowing sports books to add unique in-game and multi-game parlay bet types. It really feels like we are in a sports gambling bubble that is set to burst some time in the near future, either through regulation or market crowding and deflation.
Workout nutrition and recovery supplement company Gorilla Mind has expanded its partnership and distribution with GNC nationwide. In recent reading, it surprised me to learn that GNC often tries to “buy-in” on up-and-coming nutrition and vitamin brands before their competition because they believe once a product becomes mainstream enough to be in Target, Wal-mart, and other major stores, it loses momentum at GNC. A surprisingly keen insight on their part that means they are more aggressive in seeking and marketing new brands.
New Releases
New Releases shows off new products and features that are hitting the market.
The media and marketing company Playfly Sports announced the launch of Playfly Max, aimed at providing college athletic departments tools to generate NIL revenue. The world of college sports is changing faster than anyone can keep up with, so I fully expect to see many companies like this pop up in the next few years— some earnestly, and some not-so-earnestly trying to help colleges navigate the logistics and financials of paying and supporting athletes.
Adidas has entered the trail running “super shoe” market with the Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra. The timing is extremely ironic given my focus on trail running super-shoes in the article last week. I’ve been impressed with how Adidas has slowly but surely built a trail running powerhouse in its Terrex brand. If you visit any trail race, you’ll see their logo and gear all over professional and amateur athletes alike.
The Garmin Fenix 8 release window and high-level specs have been revealed. The big TL;DR is that Garmin is combining the Fenix and Epix watches into a single line, complete with OLED display, high-quality features and battery life. Unfortunately, the upcoming Garmin Instinct 3 watch was fully leaked this week as well. All press is good press?
Headphone brand OpenRock released a pair of bone-conducting headphones aimed at athletes. I’m a longtime believe in the bone-conducting headphones from Aftershockz, and I imagine these perform quite similarly. For running and on-road cycling, I think there aren’t any better form factors for headphones out there!
Stowe, Vermont-based Birdie Blue has launched its website, selling “upcycled” ski gear converted into fanny packs and other bags. They have a very similar style and vibe to Cotopaxi, and I could easily see them becoming a staple of the retro-apparel and bag market, especially in New England if they can gain some initial traction.
Some News
Some News shares select news stories from across the sports and design world.
The NFL and Wilson announced continued partnership to produce the official footballs for the NFL. I haven’t been able to find a single straight answer on the duration of the contract beyond “multi-year,” but this move almost certainly bolsters Wilson’s revenue for at least half a decade— a critical move now that Wilson is part of a public company, Amer Sports.
Nike's stock has sunk dramatically on reduced outlook for 2025, continuing a slide throughout 2024 (and more broadly since a high in 2022). If I were a betting man, I would imagine that all the major sports brands (e.g. Nike, Adidas, Puma) see continued decrease in market share in the years to come (not financial advice). It’s easy enough to produce high-quality sports gear and equipment with modern design tools, manufacturing, and supply chains that the quantity and quality of competitors these companies will face in the years to come may be greater than any previous point in history.
The NBA 2k League is being overhauled and expanding outside the US. The NBA’s e-sports endeavor is seeking to find new footing with increased media presence and international events. One of the major draws of e-sports is that they can be played anywhere in the world, so it’s not unsurprising to see this move, particularly as the NBA looks to seize upon the momentum of its international growth in Europe and Africa.
CNBC has launched a new vertical for coverage focusing on sports business. The exact details of the launch are still a bit murky, but the announcement is not a shock, given the constant media buzz around investment in sports. I would expect that more traditional sports networks like ESPN and Fox Sports will work towards coverage of sports business from the sports-coverage side in the next couple years.
Hockey equipment brands Bauer and CCM are reportedly both up for sale right now. There are a lot of rumors swirling as to why these companies are for sale, but it seems like the bottom line is the current owners aren’t seeing the growth they desired. The NHL, and hockey more broadly, isn’t an extremely popular and growing sport like the NBA and NFL, so as investment and growth continue to pile into other sports, hockey-related investments simply aren’t as tempting. I am fascinated to see how much these companies sell for, given they are the two largest hockey equipment manufacturers in North America!
Grab Bag
Grab Bag features interesting or useful sports innovation and product design resources, ranging from books and websites to individual graphics.
The MIT Tech Review released an article about the impact of the rise of super shoes on distance running training. It’s a great article covering everything from the science of the shoes to the impact on training programs for elite athletes, like those in Kenya. I can’t summarize it all here, so please give it a read!
Sports tech review legend DC Rainmaker interviewed Zwift CEO Eric Min, and it's worth a listen! The interview dives into a lot of really pointed technical and business-related questions, and I think DC Rainmaker’s earnestness really helps him extract some insightful information.
Japan's Nichigo Press released an interview in english with the founder of VECTOR GLIDE, a Japanese ski and board manufacturer. The interview touches on the foundational differences in skis that are designed to ride in Japan specifically, which is quite a fascinating subject I wish they had delved deeper into. Regardless, it’s always fun to find a new, unique gear brand— you should check them out next time you need new skis!
Journalist Sophie Morgan shined a light on the new adaptive sports center at Park City, Utah. The McGrath Mountain Center itself is quite remarkable, and more importantly, anyone with a disability looking to use the center for skiing and other sports can do so for whatever they can pay. Financial barriers to skiing and outdoor sports in general are quite high and for specialized gear like monoskis, they can be even higher, so it’s great to see they are seeking to make these experiences accessible!