Inside a bold play to make hockey more affordable

This video was produced in partnership with Be Giant.

The muted atmosphere comes as a surprise. Carpeted. Darkly lit. Black furniture. No music. Workers padding about in sock feet.

This is not the predictable work environment for a group of twentysomething corporate neophytes who are carving a fast and, at least in their social media posts, noisy foray into the world of hockey stick manufacturing.

The quiet energy seems to suit Zech Thomas. The founder, leader and owner of Swift Hockey presents as soft-spoken, thoughtful. Yet an Instagram video shows him grinning like a kid as he attacks a competitor’s merch, snapping the shaft of a True Hockey stick against a brick-walled arena. A Swift supporter narrates: “go ahead, True. Block us. Hide from us. Do whatever you want. We’re still here, we’re still breaking your sticks and we’re not going anywhere.”

That’s one way to position Swift as an upstart maker of durable carbon fibre hockey sticks – pro level, insists the company – retailing at half the price of the big-name competition in a sport that slaps families with daunting expenses. “Our message is really simple,” Thomas says. “We want to make hockey more affordable, more accessible. We make pro-level sticks for everybody.” The so-far elusive goal: a stick for $100 or less.

The rest of this story can be read on Be Giant.

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