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Murmors have circled around the web and twitter about a shoe that claims to make you jump higher since the start of this year. ? The claim does not come from an established footwear company or one making similar claims through toning footwear, but rather from a new startup Athletic Propulsion Labs. ?While on the surface the company might appear to be a new startup from two former USC walk-ons, the story of APL roots back more than a decade when the Goldston brothers (Adam and Ryan) were helping their father, Mark Goldston, a footwear designer for LA Gear and Reebok, with input on his footwear projects.
The claim by Athletic Propulsion Labs on their first model, the Concept 1, is that a special ?Load ?N Launch? pad on the forefoot of the shoe will make you jump higher. It should be noted that nearly two decades ago Mark Goldston, while with Reebok, designed a shoe that claimed a similar performance feature with ERS (Energy Response System). ?The company claims that the Athletic Propulsion Labs shoes feature the company?s breakthrough?Load ?N Launch? patent-pending technology designed to “instantly increase the vertical leap” of those who play in the shoes. ?At $300 per pair, many have been waiting for an independent review and test of the shoes before making such a major investment. ?Currently, the most expensive pair of performance basketball shoes by Nike is the Nike LeBron 8 which retails for $160 – almost half the price.
Earlier this year, Athletic Propulsion Labs began their PR and marketing campaigns on a few sites online (including Nice Kicks) for the Concept 1. ?In waves, there have been articles by such sports outlets as ESPN and CNBC Sports Business writer Darren Rovel, but besides a few mentions of the shoes seeming to improve their jump, there has yet to be a formal or scientific review done on the Athletic Propulsion Labs Concept 1 specifically to confirm whether or not the company’s claims are in fact true.
Last month,?Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard video taped himself wearing the shoes and reported that he saw minimal results jumping from one foot and just a slight difference leaping from two feet. ?The company claims to have filed a 200 page document for the patent on the technology, but all we could find through Google Patent Search was a patent on the design of the upper [view here] that lists both the Goldston brothers and their father as inventors of the product. ?It should be noted that pending patents do not populate in the results.
Earlier today the NBA prohibited its players from wearing “a new line of sneakers that claims to increase vertical leap.” ?The NBA stated that “players may not wear any shoe during a game that creates an undue competitive advantage.” ?It was not cited in the announcement whether or not the shoes would in fact increase vertical leap yet the NBA failed to address whether or not the shoes would in fact provide players with any competitive advantage.
We have reached out to APL to request a pair of the Concept 1 for a performance review where we plan to perform a scientific test on the product. ?We will keep you posted.
