Meet The Disruptors: Nick Esayian Of LIGHT Helmets On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
Don’t be afraid to go up against industry giants. While understandably intimidating, and a lot of work, going up against those that have dominated an industry is always going to be a part of shaking it up. For LIGHT, this has meant facing incumbent brands such as Riddell and Schutt, and challenging the standards those companies have historically presented in their product offerings. While we might be newer to the game, our product is undeniably better, and at the end of the day, we can find confidence as a brand in that fact.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Esayian.
Nick Esayian is the founder and CEO of LIGHT Helmets, a startup developing innovative headgear to increase athletic protection and performance for youth to professional athletes. Prior to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Esayian raced sports cars professionally in the Pirelli World Challenge Series earning four Manufacturer’s Titles and multiple race wins.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Definitely! Originally, I was a sports car racer, racing for American teams including Honda and BMW in the Pirelli World Challenge Series. Obviously that space has its own safety risks, and after being confronted with those realities and watching individuals close to me suffer at the expense of inadequate safety gear, I knew that the headgear space as a whole needed to be elevated. In 2015, I connected with the late motorsport safety pioneer, Bill Simpson, and Chip Ganassi when they were starting what was originally SG Helmets. After some convincing, I eventually got involved and reestablished the company as LIGHT Helmets — helping them to develop an approach for football as they weren’t as familiar with the sport as myself, having played in high school and college. From there, I began working with them to translate technologies utilized in auto racing, military, and aviation industries to create headgear to benefit football and confront the sport’s ongoing concussion crisis — eventually taking over the company as CEO in 2018.
While my career was never playing football, I did play growing up, and both my sons now play. Improving the space so that they can safely pursue their passions is of the utmost importance to me — youth athletics should not be a direct risk to the health and safety of the children participating.
Leading the team at LIGHT has provided a unique opportunity to combine my passion for athletics and improved safety, with sales and marketing experience that I gained while working at Xeorox Corp, Bain Capital, and my own company Revenue Solutions, earlier in my career. I’m very privileged to have the opportunity to harness all my passions and skills in one place.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
What we’re doing at LIGHT is really critical, and we’re hoping to elevate the safety standards across the board from youth players and college athletes all the way up to the NFL, understanding that the way the industry currently is, every time a player steps onto the field they’re assuming an injury risk that can be reduced by deploying proven technologies to football.
Last year, the NFL announced 149 concussions in the 2022 season, an 18 percent increase from the 126 concussions in 2021 — and we’re seeing this trend continue in 2023. When reviewing the lasting impacts of concussions on professional players, a study revealed that players who experienced concussions during their NFL careers scored worse on assessments of episodic memory, sustained attention, processing speed, and more when compared against men of similar age. The life lasting impacts of concussions are nothing to be ignored and should certainly be taken into consideration especially when it comes to youth athletics.
There’s this idea that the heavier the helmet, the more protection it provides, and historically, headgear has been manufactured based on that principle. These heavier helmets have tested well in lab settings but have not led to injury reduction on the field. According to USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the additional weight of the headgear creates more force behind the hit and impact, causing trauma to the neck and the skull to ricochet more aggressively in the headgear. Ultimately something as simple as the weight of a helmet can impact if the player ends up concussed and on the bench.
The safety and performance benefits offered by LIGHT have been highly anticipated by athletes and franchise equipment managers for some time, and since our new NFLPA/NFL “Recommended Helmet”, the Gladiator, became available earlier this season, LIGHT Helmets has been trialed by more than half of the league’s 32 teams — including Super Bowl and conference champions.
LIGHT Helmets is manufacturing some of the lightest and safest football helmets on the market for youth players all the way to professionals that you see on the field during NFL Sunday. Our helmets are a complete protective system featuring a customizable arrangement of small 3D pads with an underlying support matrix structure. The 3D pads move freely, relative to one another, to optimize shock absorption, depending on the site of impact, and ultimately limit the risk of concussion and other injury. Of course we have helmets incorporating systems that can satisfy every budget.
At LIGHT, our helmets only weigh up to 3.5 lbs — that fact alone greatly reduces the likelihood of injury in many impacts, but even more so with our unique approach to design. Our work has really been a reeducation of players and the entire football community — explaining the ‘why’ behind concussions and going up against industry giants like Riddell and Schutt. We’re very proud to be the latest company — the first newcomer since Vicis in 2017 — to be recognized as a “Recommended Helmet” by the NFL, and have all of our offerings receiving a five-star Virginia Tech rating.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we initially took over the company, we were attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis where there was a symposium of the various helmet companies, equipment managers, and NFL safety executives. Notable NFL players and coaches were floating around the venue and I was sitting next to an interesting fella, wearing a “unique suit”, brand new Nike running shoes, eating a cookie. I smiled, nodded and didn’t pay too much attention. As he leaned back in his chair one of the NFL execs made an announcement that Dr. John York (San Francisco 49ers) had made a significant donation to an organization related to head and helmet safety… We are talking eight figures. I looked at my partner thinking, “H*ly sh*t, that is a lot of money… What progress could we make with that kind of money…” Moments later the nondescript gentleman next to me slid me a business card, “Dr. John York, Co-Chair, San Francisco 49ers…” Lesson, the most powerful people wear running shoes with their suit, because they can…
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
There have been many, from former NFL players, competitors, and other entrepreneurs. The Founder of SKLZ, John Sarkisian, has been successful in this space and provided me with a lot of guidance. There are only three other companies that make football helmets. I have always made a point of reaching out to competitors to introduce myself and open the channels of communication. Sometimes you get a warm response and other times, not so much. We were at an event and I was face-to-face with a CEO from one of our direct competitors. He was pleasant but went on to tell me all the reasons why LIGHT would fail. It certainly opened my eyes. Years later I reached out to him with an industry question and he went on to share how much potential he felt LIGHT had including why, what was unique about our product, company, etc. He gave some unbiased direction and that was hugely helpful. When we first met I would have never envisioned him being so helpful and an advocate of our efforts.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disrupting can certainly be unnecessary if there’s not a problem to solve — leading to a lot of wasted time, energy, and perhaps a pointless result. In the sports and football industry for example, if there was not a concussion crisis, and helmets were doing what they were intended to do, disrupting wouldn’t make much sense, and quite frankly wouldn’t be very productive.
However, oftentimes disruption comes from a catalyst and is the result of a problem — LIGHT’s ‘problem to solve’ being the overwhelming concussion rates year after year in both youth and professional football. For us, disrupting is not an option, but is essential to create a safer athletic environment for players to continue participating in the sports they love.
Can you please share 5 ideas one needs to shake up their industry?
1 . Don’t be afraid to go up against industry giants. While understandably intimidating, and a lot of work, going up against those that have dominated an industry is always going to be a part of shaking it up. For LIGHT, this has meant facing incumbent brands such as Riddell and Schutt, and challenging the standards those companies have historically presented in their product offerings. While we might be newer to the game, our product is undeniably better, and at the end of the day, we can find confidence as a brand in that fact.
2 . Take lessons from your competition on what works and more importantly what doesn’t. In this marketplace, we have one company that dominates the space and two that are struggling. You cannot mirror the business plan of a company that is basically a monopoly nor do you want to follow the path of companies that are struggling. We have found the recipe to be looking at what each does well, why that is the case, what their weaknesses are, the costs of both, and using this information to chart your own unique path.
3 . Go visit your customers. Your competitors are carrying all the baggage of their legacies. When you are new, you have a fresh slate, and can build the machine that best suits you today and into your future. The best way to determine what the market wants is to get out and talk to your customers, the end users, who drive the demand for your product. Start there, work your ways backwards through pricing, distribution channels, product, etc. Build the company for today and tomorrow and you will have a distinct advantage over your competition.
4 . Be prepared to meet resistance. Every innovation has been met with resistance; the airplane, F-16, HANS Device. Happiness is a function of expectation so prepare yourself mentally for the world to want to continue down the current path in spite of how awesome your new product is. When we started LIGHT we had people telling us that “Why would I want to be in a Volkswagen vs a Suburban… Heavier helmets are better…” Then the science proved them wrong and that 2 pounds of extra helmet weight becomes 160 pounds of weight your cervical structure is trying to manage in an 80g (fairly average) on field impact. The military, auto racing, and aviation industries have always known this, but it took a host of studies and a rash of injuries due to helmet weight for the market to start catching on in the football space.
5 . Hiring all industry people gets you typical industry results. Hire all non industry people and you will be completely reinventing the wheel. Balance is key here… You don’t want a company full of all the same suspects but you also need their industry intelligence and network to advance in an efficient manner. The mix of industry/non industry will change as your company evolves.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Introducing a new product requires guerilla warfare in terms of how you push forward. The most effective channels may take too long or be too expensive so we have identified who our customers are and what they want. We have players that wear the helmets and the person or entity that buys them. They both have separate agendas, neither can operate without the other.
Every player in America aspires to play in the NFL (or at least watches) so our Gladiator helmet was the first foray into that world and we earned a spot in the top rated NFLPA/NFL, “Recommended Helmet” category. In 2024 you will start seeing Gladiators on field in significant numbers and the NFL’s branding horsepower will help LIGHT build our brand credibility and awareness. We have a new helmet for 2024 that the NFL will be testing in December called the Gladiator ATK (Attack) which performs even better in the lab and on field at a weight of just 3.5 pounds. There will be a spectrum of Gladiators designed for each position on field and level of play to ensure the athlete has customized protection for their position, age, and level of play.
At the same time NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) has come to the same conclusion LIGHT has, which is that lighter weight is imperative to improving safety. After conducting two university studies, their new youth helmet standard of a 3.5 pounds weight max turns the firehose on for LIGHT as we are the only company currently in compliance with this new standard.
Beyond what is happening on the field, our dozen advisory board physicians are getting more involved in educating the public about the mechanics of injury, fatigue, and player performance. Even more exciting, we plan to attack other verticals in athletics and the commercial space.
At LIGHT Helmets we’re constantly looking for opportunities to improve our current offerings as well as expand our offerings to fill gaps in the marketplace. We have a variety of product releases coming down the pipeline to address the inadequate safety gear in the lacrosse and hockey spaces / sports. My sons both play contact sports that are greatly lacking sufficient equipment — and even expanding beyond athletics to develop improved headgear for construction workers who constantly face risk of head injury.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The book, “Boyd,” covers an American fighter pilot and engineer, John Boyd, and his quest to revolutionize combat aviation and fighter aircraft. Battling the military establishment and defense infrastructure, Boyd was one of the first true “disruptors” of the modern military. He is the father of modern American airpower that gave birth to the F-15 which has a combat record of 104–0 and has been manufactured for over 50 years. Boyd took on the establishment, which was self-serving, and on auto pilot, bringing revolutionary doctrine and tech to the battle space that saved lives and played a part in ending the cold war.
Reading about the external and internal battles he had, the price he paid, and the parallels to what we are doing for the athlete struck a chord.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Back to my football and auto racing days, other businesses, and LIGHT, your struggles, failure, and success are public. When I waiver I go back to Theodore Roosevelt, Man in the Arena Speech,
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I’d hope to inspire people to push for higher standards within athletics to protect all players, but specifically youth players who have long promising lives ahead of them. All sports are great, but football has a huge positive impact on everyone that plays it. In a huddle no one cares what someone’s race is, where they are from, their socioeconomic background, or what car they got to the field in. They are there to work together to succeed, for each player to accomplish their individual task. Which is a requirement for the group to achieve their task. Successful plays lead to first downs. First downs lead to scoring. Scoring leads to a win. A win in the championship.
Athletics are so much more than games, and are perfect opportunities to teach and learn valuable life lessons that transcend the time spent on the field — making those experiences as accessible and safe for all involved is a must. We want every player to be able to realize and enjoy the benefit of this great game (and others) with the best equipment to mitigate risks and allow the athlete to thrive during and after their career.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram — @lighthelmets
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/light-helmets/
Twitter — @TheLightHelmets
TikTok — @light_helmets
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
