Our Startups series looks at companies and founders who are innovating in the fields of athlete performance, fan engagement, team/league operations and other high-impact areas in sports. If you’d like to be considered for this series, tell us about your mission.
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World’s shortest elevator pitch: “Smart activewear optimizing physical performance by instantly correcting posture and protecting the body from injury, with an integrated technology to track your results on any smart device, anytime, anywhere.”
Company: BAX-U. “It’s pronounced ‘Backs you’ because it backs you up.”
Location: Los Angeles, California
Year founded: 2022
Website/App: https://bax-ugolf.com/
Funding round to date: “Series A. We have been self-funded up to this stage with friends and family, raising over $300,000. My personal contribution is over $800,000.”
Who are your investors? “Friends, family and believers. We fall under the umbrella of my company Think Healthy, Inc.”
Are you looking for more investment? “We are about to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help finalize the cost of our product’s go-to market.”
Tell us about yourself, founder Dr. Romina Ghassemi: “I have been in practice since 1995. I specialize in biomechanics
BAX-U founder Dr. Romina Ghassemiof the body. Basically, I help people regain their skeletal misalignment back into normal position for higher performance, whether they are athletes or just want to stay healthy. I have noticed over the past 27 years of practicing that over 80% of my patients could have prevented the aches and pains they suffered or avoided giving up their favorite sport. To solve this problem, I created a line of technology apparel that works in two steps. Step one, align the body in a proper position.
Step two, use technology to track the results and the performance. My whole journey as an inventor started in trying to help people have better posture because the products out there are too bulky, too ugly. I started creating a line of products that help people regain their proper posture during their daily activities without thinking about it. This helps them spend their time scheduling their vacations and time off rather than doctor visits. I was quite successful with my first invention, a posture brace. I took this product, and I went to USC, and we increased the velocity of a pitch by one to four miles. However, the coach told me, ‘My boys don’t wear a brace.’ It took many years to turn this into an activewear that’s dry-fit, comfortable, easy to put on and take off and, most importantly, it doesn’t move around as the player is active. I realized you can’t correct the upper body without addressing the lower body. Your performance, whether it’s running,swinging, pitching, jumping, squatting, all those activities require the full alignment of the upper body and lower body.
A BAX-U biomechanic overview of a golf swing.
So, I added a pair of shorts. With this full suit, a person can stabilize five points in their body, which is realigning the position of the shoulders, stabilizing the upper back, realigning the lower back, stabilizing the pelvis and, most importantly, aligning the hips. I’m able to help people mitigate 80% of musculoskeletal injuries. Then, I realized most people like to know what’s going on with them. For that reason, by adding sensors to the trunk and pelvis we can monitor in three dimensions from the front, side and top, exactly what’s going on with the spine. We can monitor that exact evaluation with the pelvis, and the combination effect of the torso on the pelvis. We can help the person accomplish two things–not only learn about the body, but, most importantly, have an active record that actually corrects their body. Not everybody has the luxury of time or money to get constant training and coaching. The common pain point for trainers and coaches is the alignment of the body for their students. What if you can have a tank top that corrects your upper body and a pair of shorts that corrects your pelvis? Therefore, working with your trainers and your coaches would give you a much-higher prognosis, much-better results. The cheeky part is that by putting your body in a proper position, you actually retrain muscle memory. You create a bio-feedback loop into your nervous system to reset your patterns. The results will be much better for the user. The app and the sensor technology shows you how well you’re doing. I created this because I wanted to help people’s posture and spine outside my office. I wanted to help people anywhere who want to have better posture, have a higher edge, reduce the aches and pain, and can do this affordably, comfortably in the comfort of their home, however they like to do it, but at least have the opportunity to wake up that inner warrior of their own body.”
Who are your co-founders/partners? “I don’t necessarily have co-founders, but I have a team of amazing people with
BAX-U’s instant feedbacksuccessful track records. I’m proud to be in the sphere of their influence. My CTO has a 30-year history in wearable technology. Our business developer is an ex-baseball player. He understands the value of proper alignment and knowing how to train properly. Our fashion designer has helped us have a product that’s comfortable, attractive, machine washable, with 20 years of experience in fashion technology. She specifically does couture, which is rare to bring into activewear.”
How does your product/service work? “The product I’ve created is a two-step process. There are a lot of apps and compression attire and lots of gadgets that show you how to improve your game, but they’re not all in one place. I have put everything into one item. The activewear has the feel and the comfort of a compression device, a compression wearable, but also offers a dial system that you can realign your body based on your body’s needs, whether you are an athletic enthusiast or a weekend warrior. The sensor technology specifically positioned inside the apparel tracks your results. You put on the activewear and activate the sensors to create an avatar of your body. You use the bio-tension straps to reposition the body in your optimal state, kind of like waking up your warrior in you, waking up your inner power. Once you align your body into inner power, the sensors compare your rate of change from where you were to where you are now. This is the portion that shows you your posture or your biomechanical correction. What makes this product more attractive is as a golf player sets up to swing, we break down the swing analysis into five phases and in every phase, the sensors will tell you where your body is and why you were off on that particular motion. This technology allows the user to either seek training or self-correct or create a database of daily, weekly or monthly performance charts so they can improve. It’s similar to what a K-VEST does in a lab setting, but the challenge with K-VEST is the vest shifts, so the person has to recalibrate. Simulators are costly, and not everybody has the luxury of having them or having access. We offer similar data on the course or the range, and you can share it with your trainers and coaches or for your own personal improvement.”
What problem is your company solving? “Abnormal wear, tear and compensation to the body, and the problem of not knowing, ‘Where did I go wrong in my swing.’”
What does your product cost and who is your target customer? “Our products with sensor technology cost between $260-$320. Our customers are avid or weekend golfers. Our goal is to help people feel better and play stronger. The age range for our customers is anywhere from junior players all the way to seniors. Seniors love our product because it gives them a higher sense of balance and stability. Juniors love it because they learn how to not only use compensation, but train productively and most effectively. We did a study with Golf Performance Lab and metrics documented increased velocity of the swing by 10 yards and improved accuracy by 20 to 40%, just with the wearables alone.”
