Pelé demonstrates revolutionary G-Form shin guard technology at the World Cup host city
RISBJ Staff | Jul 01, 2014
PROVIDENCE, RI – Why is Pelé, widely considered the greatest footballer of all time, seen dropping heavy bowling balls onto fragile glass bottles in Sao Paulo, the host city for the World Cup? According to the legend of the sport, it’s to demonstrate the most significant improvement in player protection since the last time the World Cup was played in Brazil back in
1950, when he was just 10 years old.
“I have obviously played a lot of football in my day, and taken a lot of knocks along the way”, says Pelé, showing off some of the many scars he bears on his own shins, “but the traditional hard shin guards with foam and tape just don’t protect that well, and they aren’t that comfortable for the player either. Finally there is new technology to protect better, and they even feel like you are wearing nothing.”
The new shin guard technology he demonstrates is the creation of G-‐Form LLC, a company out of Providence, RI, USA, that is famous for having used the same technology to revolutionize protective gear in Extreme Sports such as BMX and Mountain Bike, Skateboarding, BASE Jumping and many others. G-‐Form, having partnered with Bauer Performance Sports, can also be found in the best helmets and gear in hockey and lacrosse and is also the hidden protection for many of the top movie stunt professionals around the globe. The company has previously showcased their technology in extreme demonstrations, such as protecting an iPad and iPhone that were dropped from over 100,0000 feet – from space, literally.
G-‐Form, founded less than five years ago, is on a mission to use new technology to create products that provide superior protection for athletes without the bulk or stiffness that is usually associated with protective equipment.
“G-‐Form’s products are already covered by more that 80 filed and issued patents,” says Dan Wyner, the Company’s CEO and one of its founders, “and we are on a mission that’s really just at its beginnings to completely revolutionize protective gear in sport. We are here to change the way people think about protective gear and are driven by the needs and well-‐being of the athletes. The technology now exists to make products that are comfortable, yet actually can protect better than the usual hard plastics, carbon shells, and traditional foams.”
G-‐Form has quietly been testing its football/soccer products on thousands of international professionals, and the results are universally positive. “The professional player unions of over 20 countries around the globe have already made commitments and been outfitting tens of thousands of their players with new G-‐Form shin guard technology,” added Sean Veck, Managing Director of Global Sport, “and many national team players can be seen this year wearing them at a World Cup for the first time.”
Pelé was so impressed with the new technology and the improved protection it offers for players that he agreed to help the company spread the word, to benefit as many players as possible. In a simple demonstration, he stands with G-‐Form’s VP of Innovation, Thom Cafaro, as the two of them drop bowling balls on glass bottles, comparing the soft, flexible G-‐Form shin guard to a traditional hard shell shin guard. In drop after drop, the bottles protected by the G-‐Form shin guards remain undamaged, while bottles protected by the hard shell shin guard readily shatter. The company and Pelé have just released this video footage of the dramatic demonstration.
“Much of the protective gear athletes are wearing today is extremely outdated, from a materials science perspective,” said Cafaro. “It’s easy to see in the demonstration is that the G-‐ Form shin guards are soft, flexible, and comfortable – like compression sleeves – until they are struck by the bowling ball. At the moment of impact they stiffen for an instant, actually absorbing and redistributing the energy from impact. It’s an entirely different way of protecting the body and defies all preconceived notions about protective materials. You can even throw them in the washer like socks after the match”, added Cafaro.
“They are very, very comfortable, but the most important thing to me, “added Pelé, “is they can protect the player better at the same time.”
While G-‐Form shin guards have been available to professionals in testing now for over a year, they are now being made available for sale to football/soccer players around the world and meet NOCSAE and CE standards for sales throughout the USA and EU. The products are made 100% in the USA – from the design, to the chemistry, to the molding, to the cut-‐and-‐sew. More information about where to buy them can be found at www.g-‐form.com.
Leave a comment
