Swimming Inventors and Entrepreneurs See Bright Future

Swimming is growing and expanding in new and exciting ways. Much of the growth has been fueled from within the community by those who care, members of what we like to call the swimming family.

Taking a broad perspective, thanks to Michael Phelps, among many others, swimming is the marquee sport of the Olympic Games. USA Swimming’s progression on tentpole events like US Olympic Trials and the Golden Goggles awards show, and FINA’s investment in the World Championship platform and their World Cup prize package (north of $2 million dollars), has built on the success. In sum, the sport’s future is bright, and swimming inventors and entrepreneurs are increasingly eyeing the market, asking themselves, why not service the sport and make a living at it?

At SwimSwam we strive to be a part of the process, to support swimming inventors and entrepreneurs, like Andrew Chadeayne, the Founder and President of SwimSpray. Chadeayne’s a lifelong swimmer; All-Ivy at Princeton, a 2000 US Olympic Trials participant, and a U.S  Masters National Champion. He’s been fully indoctrinated into the sport. Chadeayne. Knows. Swimming.

Andrew Chadeayne, Founder & CEO of SwimSpray, managing partner of InventingPatents.com

When we met Chadeayne and learned about his product, SwimSpray, we were enthralled by his passion. Half of our conversations were about swimming and how to promote the sport we love. Chadeayne, armed with a Ph.D in chemistry and a legal practice focusd on securing patents, invented SwimSpray to solve the age-old problem of swimmers perpetually smelling like chlorine. And it worked! Now Chadeayne’s everywhere, advertising at swim meets, sponsoring his own SwimSpray Masters Team,  sponsoring open water competitions, and his business isn’t even 18 months old yet.  More than anything else, it’s clear Chadeayne’s happy to be a part of the community, to be involved, and now, more than ever, he understands how taking a chance and launching a new product is so much more than simply selling a product. It is a lifestyle, a swimming lifestyle.

If you’re a swimmer and you’ve fleshed-out a design or created a demo product, Chadeayne may be the guy with whom you should connect. Chadeayne’s patent consulting firm, Inventing Patents, is a great step toward patenting that once-in-a-lifetime design or product that can serve the swimming community, and he’s a swimmer himself. Chadeayne will understand the concept quickly and and help you claim your invention in a patent application.

With platforms like indiegogo.com and kickstarter.com, we (SwimSwam) have seen and featured swimmers launching new products. If you’re inventor and/or entrepreneur striving to raise awareness or support for your new swimming product or service, contact us as swimswam.com to feature you.

If you’re looking for inspiration, a reason to take action, then read about a few other swimmers who have been successful creating businesses that serve the sport.

Examples of Swimming Entrepreneurs:

John Mix is an avid open water swimmer who launched FINIS with Olympic icon Pablo Morales. It was tiny company that produced monofins in the early 1990s. Now FINIS is the world leader in producing technical swimming products, and they have a thriving swimsuit business. (They recently signed Anthony Ervin as a FINIS Athlete.)

Dan Meinholz is the CEO and owner of A3 Performance, a rising brand in the competitive swimming market. A3 Performance shone brightly at the 2013 NCAA DI Championships and US World Trials with many finalists. Dan is a swim-parent whose life revolves around swimming.

Roque Santos is a 1992 Olympian with over two decades of experience in the apparel industry, and now he’s heading up Engine Swimwear for all of North America.

Josh Davis is a 5-time Olympic medalist and the managing partner of the Mutual of Omaha BREAKout Swim Clinic.

Keith Haden is the owner and CEO of All American Swim Supply, and he swam at Eastern Kentucky University. Everyone knows Keith from his boots-on-the-ground approach to reaching swimmers and coaches. Keith shows up on deck and maintains strong ties to the community.

HardCoreSwim is owned and operated by Todd Jacobsen, an All-American DIII swimmer and a great 100 butterflyer.

David Arluck swam, and his dad was an All-American swimmer at Colligate and an Olympic Trials participant. David Arluck is the owner and CEO of the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour presented by SwimOutlet.com and Arluck Promotions, a marketing firm that works primarily with elite swimmers.

Glenn Mills at GoSwim is an 1980 Olympian, Masters Swimming World Record Holder and stroke doctor to elites, club swimmers, and everyone else.

TYR Sport was launched by Olympic medalist and former World Record Holder Steve Furniss.

Bobby Savulich is a well-known swimming elite who launched Athlete Approved, a company where swimmers could see products elites actually use and approve of.