SLAM: What muscle groups are emphasized with your product?
APL: The same muscle groups involved in every basketball shoe are involved with the APL Concept 1 basketball shoe as well. The difference is that most athletic shoes in general and basketball shoes in particular focus on the heel area of the shoe and not the forefoot. It’s important to stress that you jump from the forefoot. Therefore, if you develop a technology that is going to inc
rease vertical leap, it must be engineered to be placed in the forefoot of the shoe. The quadriceps, the calf and the front of the foot, what we call the toe-off area, are all critical in the jumping response. The advantage of Athletic Propulsion Labs™ shoes is that the Load ‘N Launch™ device provides a turbo-boost to the muscle groups, almost like a diving board effect and maximizes your ability to jump higher.
SLAM: What is the average increase in jumping ability as witnessed in your testing?
APL: We have seen some truly dramatic increases in vertical leap while testing the Athletic Propulsion Labs™ shoes. In our testing at a leading West Coast university under the supervision of two highly respected biomechanical PhD’s using many individuals with varying levels of athleticism, we saw an increase of up to 3.5 inches in the Athletic Propulsion Labs™ Concept 1 shoes that we will be selling on our website. We have a section on the website that will show photography of the product in action during the testing using the Kistler Force Plates and the Vertec device, which is similar to what is used in the NBA and NFL draft combines.
SLAM: How much will the shoe cost?
APL: We consider Athletic Propulsion Labs™ to be the Ferrari or Lamborghini of the athletic footwear industry. Our unique use of carbon fiber synthetic materials, complex engineering, superior workmanship and the revolutionary “Load ‘N Launch™” technology itself combine to make this perhaps the most expensive basketball shoe ever introduced. The APL Concept 1 basketball shoe will be priced at $300 and produced in limited quantities. The shoes will not be sold in retail stores and will only be available at our e-commerce website at aplbasketball.com.
SLAM: What inspired you to develop a product to help increase vertical leaping ability?
APL: As twins we have been very competitive athletically since very early on in our athletic careers. As basketball players we were always consumed by our desire to jump higher. It is a great advantage in terms of shooting, defense, rebounding and of course, dunking. We tried every single jump-training regimen you can imagine, bought every product and we are workout fanatics who take this very seriously. We felt that, through biomechanical engineering and the laws of physics we could help create an instant solution to the biggest question every basketball player has: how can I jump higher instantly? After many long, arduous hours of development with some of the top minds in the field we have developed what we believe to be one of the biggest breakthroughs the footwear market has ever seen. We have a product that will make you jump higher from the minute you put on the shoes.
SLAM: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
APL: The mission of our company is embodied in our tagline: “STOP DREAMING™. JUMP HIGHER. When we started Athletic Propulsion Labs™ we were extremely fortunate in that we had access to some of the greatest minds in the athletic footwear industry. Our extended team has been responsible for inventing, marketing or developing products such as inflatable pump shoes, lighted shoes, energy return systems, hexalite, with 17 global patents on innovative athletic footwear technology. We had the benefit of working with a world-class team of design, development and production executives and our products are manufactured by a company which is generally believed to be the finest footwear factory group in the world. Our technology patents were prepared by a leading intellectual property team and our vertical leap testing was performed under the supervision of two highly respected PhDs in biomechanics whose specialty for the past two decades has been the study of vertical leap. While Athletic Propulsion Labs™ is a new company, the experience base of those involved beyond ourselves as the founders is truly an asset of the company. What we have managed to create is a company that combines the knowledge and experience of world-class footwear minds with the unique perspective of a new generation of individuals who want to push the envelope and create products never before seen in the athletic footwear market.
