Amanda Capritto - fitness expert at Smarter Sweat and contributor for LIVESTRONG and Verywell Fit
Ekrin Athletics Co-Founders Dan Kozak and Elise Williams entered a saturated market. But that’s not stopping them from getting one of the best massage guns on the market into the hands of everyday athletes.
In this Q&A with the owner, conducted by Ekrin Athletics ambassador and personal trainer Amanda Capritto, Dan dives into the Ekrin Athletics mission to produce the highest quality percussive massage devices at the most affordable price point possible.
Amanda: What compelled you to start a new massage gun brand when brands like Theragun and Hyperice were already ruling the market?
Dan: My wife and I co-founded Ekrin Athletics in 2019 as a way to get an extremely high quality, yet affordable, product to the public. Athletics and general fitness are a staple in both of our lives, and at the time, we were searching for a great recovery tool to add to our arsenal at home. After tons of research, we found that the high-end brands were just too expensive, and the less expensive options didn’t offer the quality or performance we were looking for. We quickly realized there were a lot of other people who felt the same way we did, and that’s when we decided to start Ekrin Athletics. We believe that providing high-quality, high-performing recovery products at affordable prices offers a solution to the problem we were seeing in the recovery space.
Amanda: How does it feel to be consistently and exponentially growing in a saturated space? Seeing your brand grow—signing deals with Hollywood superstars, getting featured in big-name publications—in just a couple of years must be inspiring.
Dan: It’s been a phenomenal experience so far! Building something from the ground up and seeing people take notice of what you’re doing and being a fan of it—that’s a rewarding experience. Our team has made a lot of great strides over the last two years, and we feel this is just the beginning for Ekrin. We’re working on a few new products that we expect to launch over the next 12 months, so it’s definitely an exciting time.
Amanda: What are your main challenges as the co-founder and owner of Ekrin Athletics? I'm sure there are many, but what makes you stop and work through roadblocks the most? Supply chain? Marketing? Research and development? How do you work through your challenges related to Ekrin?
Dan: All of the above! There are challenges everywhere, no matter what business you’re in. For us specifically, we’ve put in a lot of effort and focus on research and development (R&D). That’s part of the reason why we currently only offer massage guns: We believe it’s better to be the best at one thing rather than mediocre at several things. The next challenge for us will be to evolve and continue to improve our products, while developing new ideas and solutions for muscle recovery.
Amanda: What has been the most gratifying part of this journey so far?
Dan: This whole journey has been inspiring and gratifying, but if I had to pick one thing, I would definitely say the feedback we receive from our customers. We get a lot of emails and reviews from people who are so grateful they found us because our product has helped them recover from an injury or reduce any pain they’re having. It’s rewarding to know we’re having a positive impact on the quality of life for so many people.
Amanda: What are your big-picture goals for Ekrin Athletics?
Dan: We’re still a pretty young company, so the plan is to obviously keep growing. We eventually want Ekrin Athletics to become a household brand. The positive impact I mentioned earlier is something we want to bring to millions of people around the world. We also want to become a go-to source for workout recovery and wellness, for both physical products and tips and advice. That’s part of the reason we’ve been working so hard on our guides to percussive therapy and keys to recovery series. We're also proud to partner with other sites such as Recovery Guru - they're such a great resource for anyone who prioritizes wellness.
Amanda: What do you say to the skeptics—people who don't believe percussive therapy actually works?
Dan: I always say don’t knock it until you try it. The science backs it up, the anecdotal stories back it up, so if someone is still skeptical I think the best thing to do is try it for yourself. Percussive therapy isn’t a new thing: It’s been around for a long time. What’s more recent is that now, we’ve been able to develop tools to help us more easily receive the benefits of percussive treatment.
This article is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended for use as medical or health advice. For any and all health concerns or conditions, please talk to your doctor.
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