Canvas Rebel Magazine | Meet Geoff Reeves
Meet Geoff Reeves
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Geoff Reeves. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Geoff below.
Alright, Geoff thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
He are multiple success stories from those who wore Triple Gambit gloves.
July 2, 2024
A Dallas firefighter friend wanted to use Triple Gambit gloves at work. After h bought a pair, he showed them to his teammates on his shift. Before long several firefighters in his department were wearing Triple Gambit gloves. My friends sent me some texts recently, these are his words…
“I was putting fuel in the truck this morning and was wearing my Triple Gambit gloves when the “B shift” captain came in and saw me wearing them. He said, I love those f***ing gloves, He said he has been wearing them on everything.”
I asked “Have you guys been wearing them on appropriate runs?”
He replied, “Yes, Car wrecks and elevators in high rises.”
August 26, 2024
“During the Dallas Church Fire, the heat coming from the structure was so intense we had to move the trucks back. But you couldn’t touch the outside of the rig with your bare hands because it was so hot. Since I have bought these, the first thing I do is put on mv TG Gloves when I get out of the truck. I was able to handle the extremely hot dials and connections on the truck to get it in a condition so we could move it. These gloves made all the difference when seconds counted.”
August 9, 2024
A customer living on the East Coast bought a couple pairs of gloves since he had to cut down a lot of brush and trees on his newly purchased property. He messaged Triple Gambit with a picture of his gloves on, and said…
“They work. Grabbed a smoking hot chain bar. Didn’t melt the gloves or fingers. Gave a pair to my general contractor who is
NOT a fan of gloves due to lack of dexterity. He is in Love. Didn’t take them off all day.”
July 19-21, 2024
At the first professional race where we introduced Triple Gambit gloves to the motorsport industry, a tech inspector bought a pair because his usual brand wore out quickly and had poor dexterity. After using Triple Gambit gloves he came back happy.
He said, “I was surprised I could pick up small items I hadn’t been able to before with gloves.”
A pit crew member from a GT4 team shared,
“Every time I pull a tire off the car during a pit stop, I know the hot wheel is going to burn my hand through my gloves. I always get a white “burn” line on my fingers and palm from it which hurts.” He bought a pair of Triple Gambit gloves and I caught up with him a day later. I asked him how the gloves were working. He stated, “They were AWESOME. I could barley feel the heat and I didn’t burn my hands for that 3 – 5 seconds that I needed them to work.”
September 2, 2024
A military friend bought and wore our gloves. The first time he used them was while training…
“These gloves are some of the most comfortable I have worn while protecting my hands. I had no issue manipulating my rifle, pistol or the breaching gear (ref: quickie saw). After the day was over, it was then I realized I handled metal objects with sharp edges and pieces of broken glass. I didn’t even think about it when I was doing it. I will wear these all the time now.”
September 19, 2024
A customer bought a pair of Triple Gambit gloves for a 24 hour physical endurance event. Participants carry 50 lbs rucks on their backs, handle numerous other random items ranging from 25-120 lbs each and travel 40+ miles with others learning teamwork. Workouts are injected throughout the event using their rucks and the other random items. This is an excerpt from their email written to us after the event…
“Protecting hands and feet are critical in these types of activities to continue operating by supporting your teammates. The Triple Gambit gloves held up to all of the abuse offered: carrying heavy awkward objects for miles, working out on the less than pristine asphalt of Manhattan, NY, digging through glass infested sand along the Hudson River, bear walking head first down steps, and numerous other fun activities. At the end of the 24 hours, my hands were one of the few parts of my body that weren’t scraped up or damaged with blisters.
An additional bonus: the gloves are still good to go! No tears or failures.
There is plenty of life left in them for more of these events, to use in other training in addition to shooting and other activities I enjoy. As for dexterity and mobility… I typed this review while wearing them. The Triple Gambit gloves were a sound investment. Get a pair and protect your hands.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have a passion for adventure, speed and smartly pushing limits. Mediocrity is boring and I don’t like the word “normal”. I have been incredibly fortunate for the experiences I have been a part of in the unique industry’s I have worked. But, I am continually seeking out more because I don’t like complacency, or being still. This has lead me to join 3 other “hungry” entrepreneurs to form TRIPLE GAMBIT, a protective apparel company that currently sells protective gloves and protective flannel jackets.
After serving in the Navy for 8 years in the Special Operations community, I separated because of an injury I sustained while on active duty. I have a passion for action sports, and I wanted to start my own apparel line. I was living in Los Angeles and noticed people wearing graphic tee’s with other country’s flags, or historic people on the front. I found that interesting especially after my time in the service. I continued to skydive after the military, and formed a skydiving team with my old teammates performing demonstration jumps into professional sports stadiums and other public venues around the country. At the same time I was racing cars in one of two national pro race series. I combined my two passions and started a patriotic action sports brand that promoted pushing oneself past their perceived limits through the race car and skydiving teams.
After several years on my own, I needed a new direction for the company but didn’t know where to take it. A friend that I knew from the Navy reached out and was working with a group to develop a new textile. I met the team, saw the protection provided by the prototype textile, and decided to sell my company name to the team and join the group. Bringing a better protective product against cut, tear, puncture, abrasion and FR to those needing better protection in high threat environments definitely fell within the pushing boundaries. The company, still in operation, has been success selling this patented textile to businesses who make it into protective garments or gear used by the US and allied countries in various parts of the world.
When the world shut down during COVID, I went back to school and earned a Masters in Entrepreneurship, then continued to earn my MBA. To apply the lessons learned in class, we had to come up with a business idea so we could implement what we were being taught. After lots of research, I kept coming back to workers not wearing proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) while on the job. I decided to focus my course work on a new startup targeting the reasons people were getting hurt and providing proper protective solutions.
Hand injuries are the 3rd most sustained injury and the easiest to deter. I found the overwhelming majority of gloves on the market today HORRIBLE at protecting the user from anything other than keeping your hands clean and preventing sunburn. Most are cheap, made from material that cuts or tears easily, wears through quickly via abrasion, and will melt if they get close to heat. We had worn several of these gloves in the military, and I couldn’t believe we did after seeing how easily they were defeated. After all, for a soldier to be effective on the battle field, an operator needs to take care of their hands and feet. The types of gloves that do provide any kind of substantial protection are so big and bulky, the dexterity is awful and can get in the way of accomplishing work.
Born is TRIPLE GAMBIT. TRIPLE GAMBIT gloves are made from materials that have a history of protecting its wearer from cut, puncture, abrasion, tear and FR. TRIPLE GAMBIT gloves are form fitting and can be washed without losing their protective capabilities. They are not indestructible, nor bulletproof. They are designed to protect the user through everyday use and last longer than similar style gloves currently on the market. They are also for those who could experience an immediate threat and need a higher level of protection where the gloves take the damage, not the user.
Currently, our gloves are being worn by firefighters responding to motor vehicle accidents and high rise calls in major metropolitan areas, trigger pullers defending our country, pit crews on professional race teams and by everyday people who are in need of a glove that offers comfort, dexterity, touchscreen capability and better protection than what is currently on the market now.
Besides being able to work with my talented team to bring better protective products to market, I 100% enjoy the texts messages, emails, or social media messages from customers who go out of their way to tell us how great our products feel, a story of how the products protected them, or that TRIPLE GAMBIT gloves have become their favorite brand to wear.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
TRIPLE GAMBIT attended its first professional car race as a vendor to market and sell gloves to pro race teams and its fans. Our spot was perfect, right next to the series Tech Inspection area and “Parc Ferme”. This spot ensured every racing team would have to walk past us for one reason or another.
Early in the weekend just after we set up our display, a young man wandered over in between practice sessions, introduced himself and asked us who we were, and what we were selling. After explaining TRIPLE GAMBIT was a protective apparel company and that we were showcasing our gloves, I asked his involvement in the weekend. He was a mechanic for a GT3 team and was on his way to Tech to meet his car. I inquired what kind of gloves he currently uses and what he likes about them. Expecting his answer, I told him how our gloves will give him similar dexterity, but will protect him better than what he is using. “What do they cost?”, he asked. I gave him the race weekend price. Without hesitation he “about faced” and walked away abruptly. My colleague and I looked at each other, then my colleague restated they were made form Kevlar and Nomex. The young man called over his shoulder as he got further away, “Yeah, $XX dollars worth. “ The total conversation took about 60 seconds.
Four races later our TRIPLE GAMBIT display is once again up and running amongst the other vendors at the final race weekend. By this time our gloves are now being used by personnel on the series Tech Inspection team, mechanics on several GT3 and GT4 pro-race teams, by emergency responders who work at the various tracks and more. The same colleague and I are once again manning the booth, selling, when a young man walks up to the table with his credit card out…
“Do these gloves really work?”
I pause… why does this person look familiar? My colleague asks, “Aren’t you the mechanic from several weeks ago who laughed at the cost?”
“Yes, that’s me. I bought a cheap pair instead when I should have bought yours.”
I was smiling, “Can I ask what changed your mind?”
He told us, “The material on the cheap gloves melted while I was wearing them as my hands got CLOSE to the hot rotor after the car come off the track.”
Ouch. I told him that is a story we have heard from a few other mechanics as well, but when using ours they found success.
“Yeah, I should have bought yours,” he said.
There is a small amount of education that happens between our customers and gloves to understand why they cost more than what you find in the aisle at Home Depot, or in front of the register at Auto Zone. Many people don’t know of or even understand the ANSI rating system for protective apparel. Typically, consumers just buy the cheap gloves because they look cool, they like the price point, and view them as a disposable item – which the cheap ones are. Sadly, the learning experience usually comes via pain and an earned story. I was glad to see the young mechanic finally realizing the need for the proper protection through TRIPLE GAMBIT gloves.
Any advice for managing a team?
The TRIPLE GAMBIT team is a fantastic one that I feel lucky to be a part of. We all have varied experiences and unique pasts bringing something different to the table.
I am a former US Navy SEAL, professional race car driver, with a background in military operations, action sports, and protective textiles. Having experience using countless protective apparel in all my ventures, it has lead me to be the designer of our products pushing or functionality while looking good.
Jim, a former West Point graduate, also has a PhD in Mathematics who combines his science and technical expertise to understand protective fibers, their limitations and is always looking for new solutions. We work together a lot when it comes to what material is best where on our garments to provide the highest safety, comfort, and reliability to our products.
Steve has more than 4 decades of experience in marketing and business development. Having worked for a major global brand he knows how to craft profitable growth strategies and build out sales teams. His input has been great.
Lastly, having a graphic designer that knows how to wield a mouse around Adobe is beyond wonderful. Ben is the company’s digital designer and co-content creator. He has over 10 years experience in website building, digital marketing, and social media. While we are talking about a marketing idea, he is clicking, dragging, cutting and pasting. By the time we get around to what the idea is, he has already produced a rough idea of what we were just talking about. Having the capability to quickly make changes to our website, toss around multiple digital campaign ideas over a zoom call, and create and blast out advertisements through social media quickly is fantastic.
We are all motivated people on our own, but keep the momentum as a team through weekly zoom calls and progress reports. We all agree this keeps the positive energy going. During those calls we brief the rest of the team on our separate tasks for the team. Sometimes hard questions will be asked after lots of time, effort and energy has been spent on the task by an individual. We try our best not to take those questions or suggestions personal. In fact, having those hard conversations and working through them is when a better result has occurred. We also do our best to make sure the “sacrifice” each of us do is even. It isn’t fair if one partner gets bogged down with more tasks or travels away from home more than others. I have also realized we naturally compliment each other when something great has been achieved, a new idea, the outcome of a design, a well put together and effective marketing strategy. It all adds up to positive feeling of contributing to a team and wants us to work harder for each other.
My advice would be to not forget what the end goal is, trust those around you, and make sure everyone is pulling their weight. In TRIPLE GAMBIT no one wants to be the weak link. Many times in the previous mentioned discussions on Zoom, I have said, “This is what I think, and this is why. But, I trust the team if you think we should do differently.” Be open to try new ideas. Sometimes the best ideas need to get flushed out through conversation. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt Damon was speaking of his collaboration with Ben Affleck during the writing of “Good Will Hunting”. Damon said, “One of the most profound things that anybody’s ever said to me. When [Ben Affleck] was 20 years old, we started writing “Good Will Hunting” and he said, “Hey, judge me for how good my good ideas are, not how bad my bad ideas are.” Lastly, don’t forget to celebrate the little victory’s. BELIEVE.
Article Originally Published Here
“Meet Geoff Reeves.” Canvas Rebel Magazine, November 10, 2024. https://canvasrebel.com/meet-geoff-reeves/.
