32 / 56
O
ne of the biggest launches you probably
missed at Outdoor Retailer Summer
Market 2015 was that of DonJoy Perfor-
mance, DonJoy Global’s new consumer
division. Tucked behind the Venture Out
hipster mosh pit and its concert-level
ambiance, DonJoy’s staff adroitly handled those who did
stumble into the booth. For those lucky enough to do so, or
whose cool hunting radar was piqued by
Inside Outdoor
’s
Product Market Showcase, they were in for a rare surprise.
DonJoy Performance, through design and acquisition,
is unquestionably alone at the frontier of new, premium,
high-performance products in the consumer space. What
was shown at OR, in particular, what DonJoy has done to
sport compression, will redefine the category like no other
brand has before. These legit advances in compression are
as striking as DonJoy’s whole new category of perfor-
mance technology: neuromuscular electronic simulation
(NMES). Appreciating the significance of both technolo-
gies requires a look into DonJoy’s past and its present
motivation driving this newest wave of gear. From that
vantage point, an overview of the new products will
explain why this technology is game changing.
DonJoy’s roots go back to 1978 in support and 1980 in
bracing. At the time, co-founder Mark Nordquist was playing
football for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football
League. Initially, he was influenced by an Eagles trainer who
had been making knee sleeves for athletes using inner tube
rubber. Nordquist and his partner Ken Reed improved on that
idea by using wetsuit neoprene, a more compliant and com-
fortable material, to make their own sleeves. It was not long
before they were making sleeves for Nordquist’s teammates.
Eventually, Nordquist and Reed went on to name the newly
founded company after their wives, Donna and Joy.
Donjoy Performance brings
medical expertise and innovation
to outdoor consumers
By
Ernest
Shiwanov
Inside
Outdoor
|
Fall
2015
32