“You just have to make a sock! “It is this reflection, struck from the corner of common sense and launched during a birthday party in 2020, which caused the click. A little over two years later, the famous sock, in fact a punching bag cover equipped with luminous targets and filled with flexible electronic sensors, arrives at CES Las Vegas. She travels in the suitcases of Maryline and Olivier Huc, from Tarn, as a couple in the city, working partners.
They have been working together for twenty years and have already created two companies, one in IT services and the other in the dematerialization of documents. The latest was sold in 2020 when they decided to found I-Percut and to devote themselves entirely to the I-Perskin, their high-tech black and orange cover, already patented in France and internationally. It must be said that the idea had already been circulating for several years in the head of Olivier, a practicing amateur of French boxing.
“When we were waiting for the coach with my son Romain, we hit the bags. I thought to him that it was a pity that we had nothing to measure our strength or our impact. The Hucs have come up with lots of solutions. Connected gloves first. But “too complicated to equip them with electronic elements”, advances Maryline. Really a punching bag connected then? Dismissed: “They weigh 60 kg, it was too heavy to ship”, from Castres. Hence the “sock”, practical to put on and available in several sizes. With its LEDs that light up indicating where to hit, it is undeniably fun and acts as an ideal stress reliever. It is mainly linked to a smartphone app where the coach can pre-record sequences, more or less fast. Then inquire about the technical data of the training round: “strength, speed, responsiveness and volume of strikes”. “That way, the coach can focus on something else, the posture, the angle of shot”, underlines Olivier as a connoisseur.
The gym market to start
“It will never replace the presence of a coach to check if the fist is well turned and the hip well engaged, but I find the idea great”, confides Victor-Emmanuel who officiates in two Boxing Center halls in Toulouse. He had the opportunity to test the I-Perskin with practitioners of different levels and to deliver his own program to enter into the app. “There is a playful side, especially for beginners, and motivating. The data is very interesting to exploit,” says the professor. Gladly recognizing himself as “old school”, he likes the idea of being able to check on the app that the sessions are well attended as the competitions approach. He would like to test the invention over several months to really assess its technical contribution, but according to him “all the testers had a positive reaction”. On the other hand, they remained a little wobbly when they discovered the price: “790 euros” for the moment, announces Maryline, who with Olivier, waited a long time, Covid-19 obliges, Chinese electronic components but is supplied in Occitania for the soft sensors, tailoring and fabric.
The couple, who also imagine that the longitudinal cover is perfect for hosting a sponsor, is initially targeting the sports hall market. Before the Christmas holidays, he had taken 112 firm orders and was able to ship his first 500 covers. Olivier and Maryline, already winners of the special prize for innovation at the Inosport show in Grenoblewhere they went just to warm up, almost like tourists, are “delighted” to go and compete against the world’s best in Las Vegas.