When SWMBRD Sports Inc (CSE:SWIM)’s revolutionary new bodyboard goes into full production towards the end of 2022, it will be the culmination of a seven-year journey for brothers Justin, Matthew and Gareth Schroenn, the South African-born founders of the Vancouver-based sporting goods company.
Describing the SWMBRD, pronounced ‘swim bird’, as revolutionary, the company’s president and CEO Justin Schroenn said it took many prototypes and a number of fundraisers from angel and seed-round investors to produce a board unlike any other in the market.
“It is the first bodyboard that enables you to actually swim properly on it. It might not sound like a big deal, but it was remarkably difficult to achieve,” Schroenn explained. “When you are swimming, or even just playing in the water, the human body is going through sophisticated motions, torquing, and twisting. A flat board, we realised, could not mimic that behaviour, and that’s why, up until now, it’s been impossible for a person to swim on a board.”
Perfecting the prototype
It took years to get it right and it was only the realization that traditional thinking about board design had to be reversed, with significant displacement placed at the stern in order to support the weight of the users’ hips and legs and by embracing ‘intentional, controllable instability’, that resulted in the first workable prototypes.
“The relationship between the board bracing your core, the torque coming from the fins and the unique curvature of the upper deck means you are free to use all four limbs and the board is going to track what you’re doing,” Schroenn explained.
Financing was also a factor. While developing the prototypes and making pre-production molds and the first 50 test boards that will be piloted in the waters off Hawaii and Greece this summer required cash, so did securing the intellectual property for SWMBRD by registering more than 30 industrial design patents globally, with more to come.
“We knew that we would simply get the product stolen if we didn’t front-load the funding,” Schroenn said.
Metal mould for a SWMBRD board
No waves in Vancouver
Greece was chosen as one of the test sites due to its prominence as a summer playground for Europeans, as well as its relatively flat waters, similar to those off the coast of Vancouver and unlike the waves of Schroenn’s hometown of Durban, where he and his brothers grew up wave riding.
“We were used to big waves and in Vancouver, for the most part, there is no surf, but it does have a great aquatic environment with the lake, the river and the coastline of British Columbia,” Schroenn continued. “We came to realise, without the waves, the current boards were largely ineffective and if we developed this product and it was effective, there would be a huge market for it.”
The company had also built a strong base of contacts and strategic friendships in Greece, including one of the largest lifeguard organisations that used many of the earlier test boards for lifeguarding triathlons.
“While this board is a rocket on waves, the money is in the flat water and we knew we had to build a brand identity and a launch base whereby surf was not a factor,” Schroenn added. “The focus had to be on a flat number environment with huge numbers of tourists and a large resident population. In Greece, the water is a component of the identity of the place.”
New chairman to open doors
The connection to Greece runs deeper. Recently appointed chairman CEO Chris Kypriotis is a Greek-Brazilian national.
Kypriotis, described as one of the global sports world's most creative and effective leaders and executives, formerly held positions as vice president at Nike Inc Global, president at Nike Inc. Brazil, vice president at Billabong Global and president of iconic surfboard manufacturers and apparel companies C&C/Rusty Surfboards.
“The significance of bringing Chris on board is that he’s a high-octane accelerant and door opener for SWMBRD,” Schroenn said.
While Kypriotis may open doors for SWMBRD, French outdoor sports company TAHE has been tasked with manufacturing the swim boards using its ACE-TEC technology to ensure they are light (about 8.5 pounds for the adult board) strong and high performance.
Securing pre-sales orders
While funding is in place for the initial batch of boards that are coming out, a $1 million private placement announced on May 4, 2022, will fund the larger 500-board batches that will follow, as well as additional moulds catering for the youth market.
For now, the company will be marketing the final product to beach resorts so it can secure pre-sales orders for the upcoming run of boards.
While SWMBRD only has to commit to the first 500 boards, due out in December, 2022, Schroenn said it will ramp up production significantly with its manufacturing partners after that. The first shipment already has homes.
“The market is absolutely colossal because it’s a board for everybody. You don’t need waves, you don’t need to be an athlete, and we know most people love playing in the water,” Schroenn said. “It’s not just the boards, it’s the clothing, the sporting franchise, and the lifestyle.”
Conquering Greece, cradle of the Olympics
Schroenn said SWMBRD can be used as a unique aquatic workout system, with videos available online to demonstrate how. While there are plans for SWMBRD-branded bags, clothing and even a SWMBRD app, he said the company will also target the travel industry and sporting events, with the ultimate aim to see SWMBRD become an Olympic sport.
One SWMBRD mold can make about 27,000 boards a year, and he said the company envisages rapidly getting to a point where it would have production equal to a million boards a year.
“That is the objective. We have a motto: conquer Greece and you conquer the world,” Schroenn said. “Greece informs people’s perceptions of paradise, of the ideal vacation with blue water and blazing heat. This board is the absolute perfect key for unlocking that as we’re about to demonstrate in the upcoming year”
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com