After three years of development, Hydra-Guard inventor and CEO Joseph Tucker is taking his new specially designed hydrating mouthguard out on the road to meet with athletes and coaches while revving up for the product’s official launch toward the end of July.
Tucker says he has already visited with high school, college and professional teams in Louisiana, Texas and California. Hydra-Guard signed its first contract with a school last week to outfit a Lake Charles area high school football team with the mouthguards.
“We landed them day one of being out on the road,” says Tucker, whose company is based at LSU’s Louisiana Business and Technology Center. “NFL is a huge market force, but there are a ton of high schools. That is the bigger market I would say, and the response that we got from the kids and the athletes and the parents was tremendous. It was great motivation for Hydra-Guard.”
The fitted mouthguard features a small pouch that rests in the roof of the athlete’s mouth. By pushing their tongue against the pouch, water or a sports drink is released, allowing athletes to keep more hydrated without having to leave the game. The 0.06-ounce pouches are filled and refilled by pouring a drink over them or squeezing them in a cup of the drink.
Tucker, a Louisiana native, says he was inspired to create the mouthguard from his own experience as an athlete. When he played sports he would often chew on his mouthguard to keep his mouth from getting too dry. He set out with his business partner Geoff Begnaud to develop a way to keep athletes refreshed while wearing their mouthguards.
After three years of product development and six months of drumming up awareness, Hydra-Guard will launch sales online in the next few weeks. Tucker hopes the product will be available in retail stores soon. It will sell for $34.99.
“We’re trying to change the perspective of athletes. Some say they can’t stand mouthguards, there was no incentive to wear it,” Tucker says. “We are the mouthguard that keeps your mouth wet. It’s flush with the roof of your mouth, and you can talk with it in.”
One surprise since launching Hydra-Guard, Tucker says, is the interest health care professionals have shown in it.
“We’ve had quite the demand as far as patients going through radiation and maybe dealing with dry mouth,” he says. “I started getting phone calls from doctors and dentists. Something I’ve always been passionate about is health, and I’m happy they are reaching out.”
Tucker says Hydra-Guard will continue to meet with athletes and coaches over the next couple of weeks. Though he’s not an official spokesman, Odell Beckham Jr., a former LSU Tiger and now New York Giants wide receiver, endorsed Hydra-Guard on his Facebook page, praising the company for encouraging athletes to stay hydrated.
“We’re trying to let them know who we are and what we’re doing,” Tucker says.
—Deanna Narveson
