Looking back to that time in 2005, it sounds a little crazy now. But really, what better way was there for Justin Niefer and Stan Payne to be absolutely sure that this revolutionary product they'd come up with actually worked?
The former University of Georgia baseball players wanted to test what they would come to call EvoShield, a lightweight and malleable protective material they hoped would someday protect athletes of all sports and ages from blows to the wrist, ribs, chest, elbow and shin.
So they took turns in the batting cage at the baseball training complex where they then worked, getting drilled by one 90-mph fastball after another.
"If you're going to put a product on the market, you want to believe in it," Payne reasoned.
Niefer and Payne survived the experiment intact and with their partners, Stan Kanavage and David Hudson, eventually developed a line of custom-fit protective gear that's found a home in pro and college baseball, football, hockey and basketball locker rooms across the country.
Stars like American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers and World Series hero Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants have sworn by EvoShield.
Now, the Athens-based company is preparing for the January rollout of its product line that will be available in over 400 retail outlets throughout the U.S., including major chains like Sports Authority and Modell's.
The company anticipates that amateur athletes, particularly youth ballplayers, will try their gear and find it a more comfortable and protective alternative to bulky, one-size-fits-all, hard plastic shields.
One day, they hope, the EvoShield name will be as known and widely used in the sports world as Under Armour or Gatorade. EvoShield also has potential uses beyond sports, perhaps for medical and military use.
"I don't think there's a ceiling for this product or its applications," said Niefer, a former Bulldogs center who graduated from UGA in 2005 with a consumer economics degree. "This isn't just for pro athletes either. It's something parents can protect kids with."
Through a family friend of Kanavage, the company's founders came upon the proprietary material they called EvoShield after it had been developed by a chemist. Unlike other materials which absorb impact from a blow, research showed that EvoShield diffuses the energy and reduces the impact and risk of injury, the company said.
After hearing of the material's unique properties, Niefer, Payne and their partners realized it would make good protection for athletes.
EvoShield is made up of a fusion of five layers of fiberglass resin that, when taken out of its foil package and exposed to oxygen, quickly hardens. Before it does, the user wraps the material around the area to be protected and it forms into a customized tight fit.
A cloth sleeve or a shirt, in the case of the chest protector, is included and is wrapped around the material for wearing comfort.
The gear costs from about $20 to $100.
Pro athletes have provided unpaid testimonials. The first came from baseball slugger Manny Ramirez who tried an EvoShield elbow pad in 2007. In a nationally televised game, Ramirez was hit by a fastball on the elbow, but instead of writhing in pain, he smiled, pointed two thumbs up and strolled to first base to the amazement of the game's broadcasters.
National Hockey League player Shane Doan called EvoShield "the only product of its kind. It's unique in that it forms to your body and is the most comfortable protective gear I have ever worn."
Cortez Robinson, equipment coordinator for the NFL's New York Jets, said, "Our players love it. It's lightweight, easy to use, less bulky and very protective."
Celebrity endorsements are valuable but, as Niefer noted, "There are only so many elite athletes."
The business goal now, he said, is to build public awareness, especially among parents, about the value of EvoShield and its brand name.
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