STRIVE BRINGS US HIGH-TECH COMPRESSION SHORTS!
Nikola Mrvaljevic, a professional basketball player in Montenegro, believed that there had to be a more efficient way for athletes to train. He believed that not knowing what causes fatigue in an athlete was a major setback in their training.
With the new market for wearable technology Nikola chose to step in with his own wearable technology startup, Strive. His company was designed to answer how and why athletes fatigue? His company aims to quantify the “miles per gallon”.
THE BEGINNING
After his time in basketball, Mrvaljevic went on to study bio-medical and electrical engineering at the University of Rhode Island. He did his MBA from the University of Washington. He then Co-founded Strive with Carsten Winsnes, a former NCAA crew athlete who is now the company’s COO.
THE IDEA
Strive’s crown jewel is Sense3, a sensor system that is sewn into compression shorts that can measure muscle compression, heart rate and distance.
“We combine metrics that nobody else has. There’s no product on the market that can-do muscles, heart and motion in a single solution,” Mrvaljevic said. “If you put those three together, you can understand how efficient the athlete is.”
As the sensors are a part of the shorts, the athletes no longer must deal with any wires, straps or wrist bands which usually prove to be an inconvenience.
Details about the athlete’s body prove to be very useful for the coaches. Knowing when athletes are tired or when they start to fatigue can lead to a more efficient training regimen. As players fatigue, they might fall into bad habits, their form gets effected and they become more prone to injuries.
“We will never predict an injury,” Mrvaljevic said. “But we will try to point out risk factors for injury or for body inefficiency.”
Strive aids the coaches in keeping a record of all the player and the company plans on making it automated for a higher level of efficiency.
“If we know that the right quad is cramping up or not firing properly during high accelerations, a coach should know that. And that information should that be communicated to the athletic trainer,” Mrvaljevic said.
CURRENTLY BEING USED AT:
Strive is currently being used at the University of Maryland, Rutgers University and a few NFL teams. It is on the road to seek approval from the NBA to work with professional basketball teams.
The company has decided to collaborate on research projects with Cal Poly and the University of West Florida. Strive is also working with the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX program, which partners with military favoring endeavors.
Strive recently raised $1.5 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company has seven full-time employees.
