If there is any kind of practical inspiration for college students, it is seeing the success of a student with his or her own self-launched career. In this case, it is a recent Tech graduate who won the 2010 InVenture Prize in Spring 2010 and has taken that victory far beyond a competition.
The athletic training clothing Titin is the brainchild of Patrick Whaley, ME ‘10, and is now the main product of his start-up company Titin Tech. The last few months have been crunch time for the product line and his fledgling company.
“[Recently], I have been perfecting prototypes and establishing a manufacturing line to meet the significant demand for Titin. We begin retail sales Feb. 28 and are anticipating a rapid sellout of our first production run,” Whaley said. “Excitement continues to grow for the opportunity to own this innovative new product.”
Titin is a one to 30-pound athletic training shirt fitted with gel inserts over certain upper-body muscle groups from the waist to the upper shoulders and down the arms. The gels are well-distributed over the muscle groups, creating a hypergravity effect on the body and forcing the muscles to work harder and synchronously.
The Titin shirt is fitted and flexible due to the shaped gels, compared to other weighted vests that can often be bulkier and only cover the chest or torso. Conventional vests are also inefficient as they often only hold weights in a few areas, causing an uneven and unrealistic distribution of weight. The Titin gels may also be heated or cooled to provide better comfort.
“I am also developing weighted shorts and a women’s line all with patent-pending technology,” Whaley said. “Since my graduation, Titin has evolved into a more diversified product with increased functionality. This has increased Titin’s marketability and expanded the possible uses of my products.”
Having once carried extra books in his backpack to exercise, Whaley developed a regular shirt that could serve the same purpose. After several designs, he settled on a specific version and invested $20,000 of his own money into the project.
Whaley’s original name for the project entered to the Inventure Prize was Omegawear; however, he changed the name to Titin Tech in July 2010 and started selling and shipping shirts this month.
“Currently, Titin is my sole focus as I bring my innovative product to market. I look forward to the opportunities the future holds with anticipation that there will be other exciting ventures in my path,” Whaley said.
Over the last year, he has met with his production partners and investors to optimize the product for final sale.
“Tech has been very encouraging and has made multiple resources available to me. President Peterson has been extremely helpful in connecting me with various opportunities and has been an avid supporter for my product,” Whaley said. “Tech fosters innovation and inspires its students to pursue their passions. Tech was my dream ever since I could remember, and it was Tech that taught me anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into your dreams and ambitions.”
Shirt requests are available now on the company website http://titintech.com.