IWIY X eo
Former SKINS And Adidas Bosses Launch Exciting Sports Tech Venture With eo
Australian sports technology company eo has launched along with two ground-breaking wearable devices in the fields of concussion assessment (eo NuroCHEK) and elite swimming performance (eo SwimBETTER).
The company is backed by some of sports’ most elite names including the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Melbourne City FC and Swimming Australia, along with Olympic swimmer Kyle Chalmers OAM and international superstar triathlete Vincent Luis as early investors.
Co-founded by Jaimie Fuller, former SKINS boss and sport-ethics activist, Dean Hawkins, whose CV includes senior roles at adidas, SKINS, Network Ten, Alvarium and Mogo, and Dr Kenneth Graham PhD, the world-leading former NSWIS Chief Scientist; the trio bring over 70 combined years of business, brand and scientific expertise to their new venture.
Eo (Latin for ‘progress’) is applying new research discoveries and innovations from outside the world of sport, to help athletes redefine their limits.
Keeping in line with Fuller’s notoriously ‘out there’ approach to branding, eo reps the tagline “Science of Defiance”, and demands that the devices “defy evolution”. eo describes their tone of voice as “Direct, Provocative, intelligent, irreverent.”
The logo is ‘confident’ in its symmetrical simplicity. Bright, bold, brilliant and established. When using the brand name in run of copy, it should always be written as eo, lowercase and always in bold.
Sydney based sport content production agency I Want It Yesterday created the distinct eo SwimBETTER campaign (which can be seen in videos above and below.) Creative director and co-founder, Joey Ferrone on the process: “The team at ‘I Want It Yesterday’ enjoyed the entire creative process of the SwimBETTER Campaign. We feel that eo’s innovative & disruptive tone of the voice aligns with the content that we like to create. Having the chance to work alongside eo’s Chairman Jaimie Fuller for the first time proved to be a cohesive and seamless experience as we were able to build the project collaboratively with the eo team.”
Dean Hawkins, CEO and co-founder of eo, said, “Jaimie Fuller is a visionary when it comes to the power of sport, and the way sports should advance society, as well as improve individual lives.
“We’ve known each other for over 15 years, and have been discussing the eo plan since early 2019. But it took 18 months for me to be convinced that the development of the product pipeline really aligned with the strength of the brand and Jaimie’s vision – but when it did, it became absolutely compelling.
“Eo is now the perfect opportunity for us to combine our skills, with the extraordinary talents of Kenneth, to build a truly unique business.
“The timing of our launch is great from a market context: the global sports tech sector is growing at well over 20 percent and will exceed $40 billion by 2024. And we have a pipeline of five products which will be progressively launched into that market. The third product in the pipeline, a sweat analysis patch we are developing with input from government scientific agencies, could be the most exciting, and biggest, opportunity of the lot.”
Jaimie Fuller, chairman and co-founder of eo, said, “My passion for the intersection of sport and business is something that started over twenty years ago with SKINS, eo is the next step in the journey.
“Our focus is to deliver highly technical and innovative products, providing untapped benefits to elite athletes’ performance and career longevity. This gives us the freedom to operate without the constraints of conventional sports brands, where it’s mainly about the evolution of existing products.
“Dean is the smartest business person I know, and his operational and management capacity is unique. We get along like a house on fire, having had reversed roles in our previous working life. I can’t stress enough how fortunate we are to have him driving this business.”
“Last week eo launched eo SwimBETTER. A world-first in wearable technology created to revolutionise competitive and professional swimming by enhancing the technique of athletes and providing precise data on every stroke. The discreet eo SwimBETTER devices fit in the palm of the swimmers’ hands, and allows immediate changes to bring swim times down.
Australian Olympic medallist and early investor in eo, Kyle Chalmers OAM, said, “I swim to win races, and break records. When I first tried eo SwimBETTER my coach and I were impressed with the data I could get on every one of my swims. Force production, consistency, efficiency, stroke rate, the path my hand takes in every stroke, and more. This is information I haven’t had access to before and it’s information that will guide my training and hopefully get me to gold again in Paris 2024.”
The second device, eo NuroCHEK, is a brain assessment headset, which will play a major role in the first line of defence against concussion. In contrast to other tools that rely on subjective analysis, eo NuroCHEK is a neurological biomarker that is completely objective, meaning the device cannot be gamed by a player. It identifies and assesses concussion symptoms in real-time, improving diagnostic decision making and ensuring the safety of a player and peace of mind to a team, a coach, a player and their family.
Eo’s chief medical consultant, Dr Paul Bloomfield brings his 25+ years in sports medicine to the company.
Of eo NuroCHEK Dr Paul Bloomfield says, “There are studies out there across all codes, not just rugby league, that players aren’t always honest with the symptoms, particularly at the time of injury during the match.”
“Particularly if they’re ignored and players go back on the field, because second impacts can lead to a worse concussion or increase the risk of other injuries. That’s where eo NuroCHEK can assist because it doesn’t rely on players being honest.”
