LOUDMOUTHGUARDS Strikes Test Deal with National Sports Retailer Olympi
News Release: September 2015
Worcester, MA - There’s a new “must have” in the sports world, and this week, Olympia Sports will be the first retailer to place the product on its shelves. LOUDMOUTHGUARDS are the first mouth guards to offer athletes both protection and expression, and as the company’s co-founders, Kevin Gniadek (Cape Cod, MA) and DaSean Cunningham (Sand Diego, CA) have learned, today’s young athletes prefer both function and flair.
“When we surveyed kids at sports fields throughout San Diego County and asked them to describe in one word what they liked about LOUDMOUTHGUARDS, as opposed to their current mouth guard, three words were constantly at the top of their lists... cool, fun, & different,” says Gniadek.
This week, LOUDMOUTHGUARDS will debut in twenty Olympia stores across New England (MA, ME, NH, CT) and in locations across NY, MD, and PA. It’s a very exciting time for Worcester native, Gniadek, who moved to San Diego in 2011 where he met Cunningham who would become his future business partner. The two shared their passion for sports and business and eventually formed LOUDMOUTHGUARDS.
According to Gniadek, “LOUDMOUTHGUARDS are the only mouth guard brand that focuses on what the young athlete is looking for in a mouth guard and gives them the ability to express him/herself on the playing field.”
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS feature vibrant graphics and a lip protector style with a detachable strap, as well as dual action breathe holes and a soft comfortable grip. Another unique feature of LOUDMOUTHGUARDS is that they don’t require boiling, because they are made of medical grade silicone which makes them “braces-friendly”. They’re also one hundred percent customizable enabling an athlete to add his/her own team logo in his/her team colors.
Co-founder Deasean Cunninham explains where he got the inspiration for the product:
As a close personal friend of Reggie Bush (San Francisco 49ers), I was front and center and in the middle of the national hysteria that Reggie created in 2006 when he started inscribing 619 on his eye black strips. It both fascinated and infuriated me that my friend had started a national trend but wasn't in a position to capitalize on it. When my nephew and his friends started coloring in their mouth guards to resemble shark teeth, I knew I was looking at a winner and I didn’t want to see that same mistake happen twice.
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS opened its doors in the fall of 2014 and before the product ever hit the market, Gniadek and Cunningham tested the product with their target demographic, athletes ages 5-18. Since then, this grassroots business has surpassed its competitors in the social media market, ranking number one on Instagram among all mouth guard companies and are on track to be the #1 mouth guard company on social media by the fall of 2016.
Currently, LOUDMOUTHGUARDS have been available online at www.loudmouthguard.com and at youth football games throughout the country. If all goes well with its Olympia Sports trial, the retailer will place the product in all of its two hundred and fifty locations.
“DaSean and I are super excited about the test at Olympia Sports. Being an athlete from New England, I have frequented those stores over the years and we can’t thank Olympia Sports enough for giving us the opportunity to share our mouth guards with their customers,” says Gniadek.
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS • Where Protection Meets Expression •
Olympia sports is a service and family oriented retail sporting goods company featuring a broad assortment of high quality namebrand merchandise in sports equipment, apparel, athletic footwear and accessories. Founded in 1975 at The Maine Mall in South Portland, Maine, the company has grown to over 200 stores throughout the Northeast and now Mid-Atlantic. We have done this by never losing sight of what make us successful; focusing on customer service and being your community sporting goods store. www.olympiasports.net
Worcester, MA - There’s a new “must have” in the sports world, and this week, Olympia Sports will be the first retailer to place the product on its shelves. LOUDMOUTHGUARDS are the first mouth guards to offer athletes both protection and expression, and as the company’s co-founders, Kevin Gniadek (Cape Cod, MA) and DaSean Cunningham (Sand Diego, CA) have learned, today’s young athletes prefer both function and flair.
“When we surveyed kids at sports fields throughout San Diego County and asked them to describe in one word what they liked about LOUDMOUTHGUARDS, as opposed to their current mouth guard, three words were constantly at the top of their lists... cool, fun, & different,” says Gniadek.
This week, LOUDMOUTHGUARDS will debut in twenty Olympia stores across New England (MA, ME, NH, CT) and in locations across NY, MD, and PA. It’s a very exciting time for Worcester native, Gniadek, who moved to San Diego in 2011 where he met Cunningham who would become his future business partner. The two shared their passion for sports and business and eventually formed LOUDMOUTHGUARDS.
According to Gniadek, “LOUDMOUTHGUARDS are the only mouth guard brand that focuses on what the young athlete is looking for in a mouth guard and gives them the ability to express him/herself on the playing field.”
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS feature vibrant graphics and a lip protector style with a detachable strap, as well as dual action breathe holes and a soft comfortable grip. Another unique feature of LOUDMOUTHGUARDS is that they don’t require boiling, because they are made of medical grade silicone which makes them “braces-friendly”. They’re also one hundred percent customizable enabling an athlete to add his/her own team logo in his/her team colors.
Co-founder Deasean Cunninham explains where he got the inspiration for the product:
As a close personal friend of Reggie Bush (San Francisco 49ers), I was front and center and in the middle of the national hysteria that Reggie created in 2006 when he started inscribing 619 on his eye black strips. It both fascinated and infuriated me that my friend had started a national trend but wasn't in a position to capitalize on it. When my nephew and his friends started coloring in their mouth guards to resemble shark teeth, I knew I was looking at a winner and I didn’t want to see that same mistake happen twice.
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS opened its doors in the fall of 2014 and before the product ever hit the market, Gniadek and Cunningham tested the product with their target demographic, athletes ages 5-18. Since then, this grassroots business has surpassed its competitors in the social media market, ranking number one on Instagram among all mouth guard companies and are on track to be the #1 mouth guard company on social media by the fall of 2016.
Currently, LOUDMOUTHGUARDS have been available online at www.loudmouthguard.com and at youth football games throughout the country. If all goes well with its Olympia Sports trial, the retailer will place the product in all of its two hundred and fifty locations.
“DaSean and I are super excited about the test at Olympia Sports. Being an athlete from New England, I have frequented those stores over the years and we can’t thank Olympia Sports enough for giving us the opportunity to share our mouth guards with their customers,” says Gniadek.
LOUDMOUTHGUARDS • Where Protection Meets Expression •
Olympia sports is a service and family oriented retail sporting goods company featuring a broad assortment of high quality namebrand merchandise in sports equipment, apparel, athletic footwear and accessories. Founded in 1975 at The Maine Mall in South Portland, Maine, the company has grown to over 200 stores throughout the Northeast and now Mid-Atlantic. We have done this by never losing sight of what make us successful; focusing on customer service and being your community sporting goods store. www.olympiasports.net