Created by Super Bowl champion and coach Kenny Anunike, Skelo Wear produces protective athletic equipment and AI-powered training devices designed to improve player safety and skill development. The company’s patented technology focuses especially on the mobility, protection, and performance needs of athletes, including equipment intended to reduce hand and wrist injuries.
SYZMIK Sports, LLCSince 2015, SYZMIK Sports has built its reputation around innovation in sports head health, drawing on a team with backgrounds in athletic-equipment and brain-impact research. Its SYZMIK brand, launched in 2022, is best known for protective headgear developed for football players, including the award-winning ARK ONE helmet and the X7C headband used by athletes from more than 17 national teams.COCKEYSVILLE, MD
Saturn SportsFounded by lifelong athletes who have experienced head injuries, Dayton-based Saturn Sports develops connected football equipment that monitors helmet fit in real time. Its platform tracks chinstrap tension and gives athletes immediate feedback when a helmet needs adjustment, while giving teams season-long visibility into fit and equipment use. The company’s work is aimed at making contact sports safer without taking athletes out of the game.CINCINNATI, OH
LACEUP ATHLETICSFounded by athletes, Malvern-based LaceUp Athletics designs wearable weighted training gear that adds resistance to everyday movement and sport-specific practice. Its signature approach pairs LYCRA® compression sleeves with evenly distributed, flexible FLX Weights, while its training laces thread directly onto equipment such as sticks and clubs without straps or clips. The company also makes adjustable gear such as its Heavy Hat for building neck strength and stability.MALVERN, PA
2nd Skull, IncBorn from founder Federico Olivares’s 2010 determination to protect his son after a bicycle accident, Pittsburgh-based 2nd Skull makes thin protective skull caps and headgear designed to add impact protection beneath a helmet or worn alone. Its products use lightweight XRD® material that stays flexible during play but hardens under sudden pressure, and are made in the USA after testing at independent laboratories. The company’s headgear has also been developed for industrial workplaces, extending its original sports-safety idea beyond the field.PITTSBURGH, PA