Episode Transcript

Claire Murigande
00:00:08

Welcome back to Narratives of Purpose. It's been a few months since the end of season six back in December and I am really excited to bring you a very special series of the podcast.

Throughout this month of April we will be doing things a little differently in order to showcase even more unique stories of change makers. You won't be listening to me and my guests.

Instead you will hear from fellow podcasters who are creating some amazing content I absolutely want you to listen to. So I will drop you some of their episodes as introduction to their shows. Today I start with an episode from Made for Us hosted by Tosin Suleiman.

Made for Us is an award winning podcast exploring the intersection of innovation and inclusion. It is for anyone who is curious about how to develop products that work better for all of us now.

In the episode I share with you today, Tosin speaks with Tina Singh, the founder of Bold helmets. Back in 2022, Bold Helmets launched the first safety certified Multi sport helmet for sick kids who keep the hair uncut because of their faith.

Tina tells Tosin how she started the project without any experience or contacts in the helmet industry and why she believes many more people beyond the Sikh community could benefit from her reinvention of the helmets. Take a listen to this very insightful conversation.

Tina Singh
00:01:41

I think there's people who are just used to doing things the way they've always been done. And you know, I can't tell you the number of people who told me that you'll never get to the end of this.

I had a design engineer firm tell me that they wouldn't work with me because they didn't think I would get to the end of it.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:01:59

Welcome to Made for Us, a podcast about the intersection of innovation and inclusion. It's for anyone who's curious about how to develop products that work better for all of us. I'm your host, Tosin Suleiman.

My guest today is Tina Singh, the founder of bold helmets. In 2022, the company launched the first safety certified multi sport helmet for seat kids who keep their hair uncut because of their fai.

As an occupational therapist who worked in the area of head and brain injuries, Tina wasn't willing to compromise on a helmet for her three boys. When she couldn't find one to fit her kids, she made her own.

In our conversation, Tina tells me how she started the project without any experience or contacts in the helmet industry and why she believes many more people beyond the Seek community could benefit from her reinvention of the helmet. This is the first of two episodes on inclusive helmets.

Look out for my conversation with Randy Swart, director of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, an advocacy program explaining helmet technology to consumers.

Randy Swart
00:03:01

We've always had quite an appreciation for the need for helmets to fit a broad range of heads. If you can't get a helmet that fits your head, you get trouble.

Tosin Sulaiman

00:03:15

Now here's my conversation with Tina. She started by telling me what life was like before bald helmets.

Tina Singh

00:03:28

So my name is Tina Singh. I'm an occupational therapist, digital content creator, mom of three, and founder and CEO of Bold Helmets.

So I'm an occupational therapist by profession. And so I spent many years working in the area of head injury. And so I had my own practice that I ran for several years and then I became a mom.

And I say that's a, a really important part of my career trajectory, or it is for anyone, because it really does impact the way you do work and how you, how you work. And so I had three kids pretty, pretty close together. And so I was continuing sort of that part time work.

But in between I focused on becoming a digital content creator and really just journaling my life through, through parenting and my experience with my kids. I think many people can probably relate to the feeling of, you know, the days are long, but the years are short.

I felt like months were falling off the calendar and there's no real footage or memory of me actually in anything. It was always like, oh, here's a great photo of my kids. But, you know, the parents are nowhere to be seen.

And so I wanted to sort of document that journey. And so that's what I started doing and I continue to do even while bull helmets is sort of in full force.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:04:36

So when did your son start cycling? And can you explain the issue that you had with traditional helmets and, and why they didn't fit?

Tina Singh

00:04:44

Yeah. So when my oldest son was about 5 years old and now my eldest son, he was very quick to like learn scooters and skateboards, all those things.

But when he was really young, you know, my boys are sick, they keep their hair so they have, you know, a top knot, or we call it a judah, and they wear a patka, which is small cloth head covering. And when they were really young, their hair wasn't that long. And so we used to use traditional bike helmets. And it wasn't perfect, but it was okay.

But as my son hit about 5 years old and he was also becoming more adventurous on bikes, I think that's when a lot of kids are learning to ride bikes.

But this, this one kid was like ahead of the game with that and so when he was becoming more adventurous and I wanted to encourage that, but said, you know, well, you have to wear a helmet. And you know, of course as an occupational therapist working in head injury, that wasn't something I was willing to compromise on.

I realized what a big issue it was and so I tried tying his hair in in different ways to get the helmet to fit. And needless to say, he hated it because he wasn't used to it as a parent. It wasn't convenient for me either.

Every time he wanted to jump on his bike or do something different to make that change as well.

And the traditional bike helmets, they would just sit so high up on his forehead that they weren't actually offering the level of protection that he needed. Right.

If he was to fall on the floor, his head would actually, his face would hit the floor because helmets are sitting so high up because the top knot doesn't allow them to come down all the way.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:06:07

Given that you were an occupational therapist, were you working with kids? Can you talk a little bit about that and how that brought the issue of safety home to you?

Tina Singh

00:06:16

Yeah.

So when I was working with clients with head injury in the community, I was doing a lot of assessment and treatment for those who've been in motor vehicle accidents. So not a lot of bike related injuries, however many people with different head and brain injuries sustained from different areas.

And I worked with a wide range of clients actually, so I did the full spectrum from kids all the way up to seniors actually. So, you know, for me I think it's more the long term impact of that.

It's, you know, I think when people think of head injuries, they think of something that's like sudden and severe.

And it can be, but there's a lot of, you know, lifelong challenges that come from a closed traumatic head injury, which is not, you know, a gashed of head, it's a closed head injury.

And so when we think about biking and cycling, I'm like, it just, to me it just makes sense to wear a helmet to protect yourself, you know, and we know a helmet can't protect you in every situation, but we know a well fitting helmet can help reduce your risk by up to like 69%. And so for my kids, I wanted to make sure they had an option. And I knew that I was not the only parent dealing with the same struggle.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:07:17

So you discussed this with other parents and you're from the same community and how were they getting around the challenge themselves?

Tina Singh

00:07:24

So my husband is a turban wearer as well and so he talked about a little bit of, you know, his experience growing up and that, you know, they kind of just made do. And I'm Talking about the 80s and 90s where a lot of people didn't wear helmets. And you know, we know more, more now. So we do more now.

But, you know, I talked to him a little bit. I knew my. In my own family, my husband has four brothers and we all have kids or most of them have kids.

And so I talked to them and got their experience and it just seemed like a struggle we just faced. And I talked to a couple other people in the community that told me that they would just cut holes in the foam of helmets. That's what we did.

So initially we would just try to shave out the foam a little bit the best we could. You know, knowing what I know now, I would never do that. But at that time it felt like the best solution.

But it seemed like parents around me were just making do and then they would, for example, change the way they tied their kids hair for things like hockey, which is a helmet mandated sport. And then at a certain age their kids just leave hockey. Right. So that's what it seems to be the trend.

I don't have research on that, but that seems to be the trend from the people that I've spoken to. And then, you know, my husband shared his own experience of, you know, wanting to play organized baseball. Right.

And this was a time when the Blue Jays, so our team here in Toronto was in the World Series. And so, you know, baseball was top of mind for everyone.

And so he would, he could play with friends, but he couldn't play in any organized fashion because of the helmet issue. And so that seems to be an issue for our community in that parents are choosing sports in which there is no mandated helmet.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:08:53

Effy, do you think some people feel they have to choose between participating in sports and observing their religious practices?

Tina Singh

00:09:02

I think there is a level of that, yes.

I do think, you know, even when we talk about parents who, who choose to put their kids in soccer and basketball, even though their kids might be interested in baseball or hockey, I think there's a level of choice there. That's one thing I do think. You know, I've noticed from people that at a certain age they are leaving.

So when they're younger and their parents can tie their hair to the back or do something different, they'll participate in the sport and then they start leaving the sport. I do think that there's a level of choice that they're making and the choice that they're making is to not participate in sport.

And we want to move away from kids and families and parents having to make that choice based on a piece of equipment. Right. If you want to participate and you want to wear a helmet, there should be an option for you.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:09:44

And I read in previous interviews that you've done that you had the idea for bold helmets for about five years before you actually started working on it. Can you tell me about what was going on during that time and what was it that actually made you decide to work, write a business plan and.

And say, I'm going to do this now.

Tina Singh
00:10:03

Yeah. So it was a long journey from the first thought to when it actually came to life. So it's actually been more than five years. My oldest son is 11 now.

So about six years ago, I said to my husband, there has to be a really easy modification to make this work. It doesn't seem that hard. That's what I said to him. And, you know, him, the way he grew up, his experience, he said, you know, I think it's fine.

And I was like, I don't think it's fine. So, you know, we went along with that for a while. Then we started pulling, you know, some of the foam out of the helmet, made it fit a little bit.

It wasn't perfect, but that it wasn't until about, you know, honestly, I think, you know, the whole pandemic actually helped propel this a little bit.

Like, just before the pandemic, I turned to my husband, said, I feel like I've sat on this for so long that I should just, you know, pull the plug on this and do it. And, you know, he kind of said to me, well, what are you waiting for? And, you know, it just felt like such an overwhelming thing.

So I'm an occupational therapist. Yes. I know about head injury, but I don't know about product. I don't know about how to run this kind of business. I've run a social media business.

I've run an occupational therapy business, but I don't know how to do this. And he said, you know, just, well, look into it. Right. So that's. I started doing the research really, actually even before that point.

So what does it take to build a helmet? I reached out to, you know, different helmet manufacturers, and I was just cold emailing.

I didn't have contacts with anyone to say, you know, I want to build this specific type of. Type of helmet. Can you point me in the right direction? Is this something you are willing to help with or whatever?

And I really didn't know where to start. So I collected a lot of information, did a lot of research in terms of standards, what's required, who even does this. And so I did a lot of that.

Then I sat on it some more. Honestly, the truth is, it felt overwhelming. It still feels overwhelming. But then eventually I found enough information.

I drew out, like, very rough and ugly, what I thought the helmet should look like, which I think should just follow the shape of the kids, but head covering. And, you know, I talked it over with my husband and then we.

I found a design engineer and it was extremely expensive as a startup to take that plunge, but because I made that commitment and sort of let it span over so many years. But, yeah, it took a long time to actually get started from when I had the first idea of it. It's been a long time.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:12:17

And when you did your research, did you sort of look to see if anyone else in the world was doing this? And, like, what did you come up with?

Tina Singh

00:12:24

Yeah, the first thing I did was try to look for a helmet like this. And then I saw that there was nothing available. And I thought, how can there be nothing available?

There's nothing that seemed like it would work for AR kids. I kind of thought, okay, let's just let this pass. It's fine. They're going to learn how to ride. It'll be okay.

And just then my boys got into hockey, my older two. And then I thought to myself, okay, this is like an ongoing thing. And so we tried to tie the hair, like, super loose so the helmet would fit on.

And a hockey helmet is, you know, there's a face mask involved, so there's much more involved in the fitting of that. And that's when I realized I'm like, this is not going to stop. This is going to get worse and worse.

And I want my kids to pursue whatever they want to pursue. And I'm a firm believer in having your kids in sports. Keeps them focused on positive things versus all the outside influences they might be getting.

Has to be something they care about, and so I didn't want to lose that. Now my older two have kind of stepped away from hockey a little bit, but I have a feeling they're gonna go back still.

I know many kids like mine who are into hockey, and I want to make sure that they have access to. To what they need. It was really when I realized the problem wasn't going away that I put things more into full force.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:13:28

How confident were you that there were enough people with this problem? And that the market was big enough and that this was a sustainable business.

Tina Singh

00:13:36

I'm going to say I didn't know. I'm going to say that I knew that there's people around me face this issue. I knew that it was bigger than me.

And I went into this, I said to my husband, who was much more level headed than me, that, you know, I'm worried that we're investing all this time, all this money and what if we don't get to the end of it? Like, what if we don't get to the end of a product that's actually certified that we can use? Or what if we do and then no one wants Johnson?

And he said, you know, if we help like one family and one kid, just go in with that mindset, you go in with, you're going to help your own kids and one other kid. So I'm very thankful that we did get to the end of it and a safety certified product.

But we went in with the mindset that even if it works for one, that's good enough. And this could be a form of seva, which we call it in, in Sikhi seva, selfless community service.

And so this would be my form of selfless community service if that's all I did with it.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:14:29

And I'm just curious to get your take on why do you think none of the helmet manufacturers had done this before?

Tina Singh

00:14:37

So I think that there, I think there is, it is a smaller market. There's no question. That is a smaller market of sick kids who are needing helmets. Like we look at Canada, there's 800,000 Sikhs in Canada.

The UK, there's about 500,000. US there's 500,000. I mean, India, it's like 26 million. Right.

So I think that we are a underrepresented community in sport and I don't think we're the only one. I'll say that I think there's many groups that could require some modified equipment who have been making do with what they have.

I'm thinking of a woman who was recently talking about the fact that she's an equestrian and can't get a big enough helmet to fit her dreads into. And that was a big conversation that her and I had. And so we're definitely not the only group.

And I think that one of the reasons that the big helmet manufacturers didn't tackle this is A, could be they don't think it's a big enough market or B, I think there's people who are used to doing things the way they've always been done. And, you know, I can't tell you the number of people who told me that you'll never get to the end of this.

I had a design engineer firm tell me that they wouldn't work with me because they didn't think I would get to the end of it. So I think that there's a lot of people that don't want to change the way they do things, or they don't have 100% faith in what you're doing.

And so I think we, you know, we are an underrepresented community, and that is probably the biggest reason.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:15:55

And you said earlier that when you started this, when you embarked on the journey, you didn't really know much about design or about the industry. Can you talk a little bit about the learning curve that you had to go through?

Tina Singh

00:16:09

So I'm still learning every single day, every minute of every day in this space. Again, because it's very new for me.

I think the learning curve was so steep that I am okay to admit that my mental health was really not in a great place for a lot of it, because it constantly felt like every day something would, like, show up in my inbox and I'd be like, oh, my goodness, I missed this, or, oh, my goodness, this is something I had to think about, or, you know, I didn't know about, you know, this test or that, you know, whatever it may be, I felt like I was challenged every single day. It was an extremely steep learning curve, and I wish that I had had a mentor in this space.

The helmet industry is one where there's, like, some really big key players and then there's very few small, independent brands.

Recently, I have reached out to some of those small, independent brands, and they've been extremely supportive and helpful, which I'm really happy to report. But I wish I'd had a mentor through the process because it would have made it so much less painful.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:17:06

And I guess also, like, you were trying to do something that's completely new, that hasn't been done before, and you're essentially challenging people's perceptions of what a helmet should look like. Yeah.

I mean, I'm just curious to know, like, what did that feel like when you spoke to people that said, you know, you're not going to get to the end of this?

Tina Singh
00:17:24

Honestly, it was really discouraging because they were like, the person or the one firm that said to me, and this is a design firm I'm going to pay money to to create this design, who was like, we won't take your money because we don't think you're going to get to the end of this. So that for me was a little bit disheartening, but I think it taught me early on that you need to find the right people.

Like I think finding the right people who believe in your vision, who believe that it's possible, who like me, felt like this wasn't a major change and would significantly improve the chances of kids wearing helmets from this group. And it's what we've designed is 100% better than not wearing a helmet at all. Right.

And so I think I learned the importance of finding the right team early on. And even though it was discouraging to hear that, ultimately it helped me be selective as to who I work with.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:18:06

And I'm curious, what was their reason? Why were they so certain that you wouldn't succeed?

Tina Singh

00:18:12

So their email to me, which I didn't follow up on naturally, their email to me was like, you know, Tina, we're really happy that you're taking this on. However, we've just seen helmet projects end up in multiple iterations and you keep having to modify and adapt it that you run out of money.

Right, because it does get very expensive. And you know, I knew that that was a possibility, but I was still willing to try.

And so that response right away to me meant you are already prepared to not have this succeed. And so they were not the right partner for me. And I did find the right partner eventually, but it wasn't them.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:18:48

And so how, how did you fund that? Did you keep working as an occupational therapist the whole time?

Tina Singh

00:18:55

So I was working very part time as an occupational therapist doing direct client treatment.

Now I've moved to a completely non clinical role, so I consider myself non clinical ot but it was more the social media work is kind of what funded this project. And then on top of that, it was also personally funded by us as well.

We're now at a point where we can no longer personally fund it, but thankfully we have a product now.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:19:18

So you eventually got to the stage where you had a final product that was ready to launch. Can you describe V1 of the product? Who can use it? What does it look like? What can it be used for?

Tina Singh

00:19:31

Yeah, so it looks like a traditional bicycle helmet with a little bit of a, a dome feature on the top where the hair goes. Imagine you have your hair in a top knot. It could be anyone, Right.

So right now, the very first product we have is in a size small, it's 48 to 56 centimeters. In our testing, it f kids about. It's 5 and up, so 5 to about 12. It really depends on the child.

There could be kids who have, you know, maybe a more circular head shape, which can happen, and so things fit differently. So we always encourage all of our customers to measure their child's head before ordering because it's only currently online.

We sell in three colors right now. Metallic red, metallic blue, and matte black. For the upcoming year, we will have a size medium as well.

So the current product that is available is a multisport helmet in that you can use it for a bicycle kick, scooter, inline skating and skateboarding, I would say. It's currently available on our website only www.boldhelmets.com.

we do have a few select retailers that are carrying it, but very select in select locations.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:20:33

You got a lot of media attention when, when this happened. You know, I came across the story as well here in the uk. What was that like for you and your family?

Tina Singh

00:20:43

It was very overwhelming, I can say that.

And I can also say that I'm really glad that I had, like seven years of social media behind putting my face on the Internet to prepare me for that, because with the good comes the bad. And, you know, it was just a lot all at once.

I think in the month of January, like I think I did, I don't know, 30, 50 interviews and like, it kept going. It slowed down a little bit now, but I still have the occasional, you know, media engagements that I do, and it's wonderful.

It helped propel, you know, our story, our brand, our product.

And I think the reason why it got so much media attention is because, again, it's trying to do something different from the way that we've been doing it before. And so I think this whole idea of not participating in sport because you don't have access to equipment, I think it really brought that to light.

And like I said, it's. We are not the only underserved group. And so I think that's really why it got a lot of attention.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:21:34

And what's the reaction been like from consumers?

Tina Singh

00:21:37

Yeah, so I think parents saying, you know, thank you, you solved the problem for my child, or, you know, people saying, I wish I had this when I was a kid, I would have, you know, done this, or this is really important. And, you know, our kids should have this, they should have access.

I think that's what stands out to me because it helps me see that, you know, all of that overwhelm or all of that work that I didn't know how to do that. I was scared to take on. Did, in the end, help at least that one person. That was my initial goal. So I think, for me, that's what stands out.

The parents who feel like they have a solution for their kids.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:22:08

And you mentioned that, you know, you had sort of the good as well as the bad. And I guess every entrepreneur has to face this. Can you talk a little bit about that?

The other side of it, the criticism that you face and how you coped with that?

Tina Singh
00:22:20

Yeah. So for us, there was. When we first went into the media, there was a distinction that had to be made.

And I think that maybe I should have done a better job of doing this. So this could be on me. It could be on part of the reporters and all that as well.

So there is a difference between a turban, so a full turban, and a pukka, which is a small cloth head covering. Our product is made for people who wear vodka. Right. So not a full turban.

So there's this idea that you're not supposed to cover a turban, or some people feel that you shouldn't cover a full turban. That was never the purpose of this product. And I think that people get worried that their rights are going to be jeopardized. Right.

So I think when you say, oh, here's a helmet for this, then people get worried that we are going to be mandated to wear helmets across aboard, all ages, every sport, everything. That's not the case. And I think that that issue is going to just have to sort of, like, resolve itself.

The law here in Ontario and many other places, kids under the age of 18 riding bike need to wear a helmet. That is what it is. And then in addition to that, there was also the naming of the product. So originally, our product launched as Sick Helmets.

And although I still feel like it is 100% what the product is meant to do, and so it's a good name for it. People felt like associated the religion, associating the religion with the product created confusion.

And so, you know, we wanted to be mindful of those community sentiments. And we ended up just pivoting our brand name to Bold Helmets.

And it's actually, you know, a blessing in disguise because it's worked out much better for us. It helps it aligns with our brand and what we're trying to do long term. And so, you know, all these things happen, but I think they happen for.

For the best. And, you know, we had to face those initial challenges, which were hard in the very early name Pivot.

But in the end, we are still doing what we need to do, which is create helmets for sick kids who wear parkas.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:24:12

So what's next? What, what are the other products that you have lined up?

Tina Singh

00:24:16

So we'll have a size medium option for our kids who are a little bit older, or maybe the small size didn't work for them. We also have initiated our project for hockey. So a hockey helmet design. It's very early stages, but the designing is happening right now.

We also have a ski and snowboard option, which is kind of an easier one for us to tackle because it uses the same shell design as our current bike helmet. It's just the interior that's different. And so that may be a product for 2024. It's still, I'm still not sure yet, but the medium for sure.

And hockey is in development and I hope we have hockey towards the fall of 2024. But again, all these things depend on, you know, how testing happens and everything else. But we are, we are doing the work to make that happen.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:25:01

I remember reading that there are other potential use cases. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Tina Singh

00:25:07

Yeah. So we've actually had some people reach out to us and, you know, I haven't tested this yet. This is very early.

We've had people reach out to us and say that this is a product that I would actually use for myself because, for example, it's so hot in Australia. We always tie our hair up when we're trying to ride our bike and we've never been able to.

Or people just with long hair like me, like, I like to keep my hair tied up, especially on a hot day. Right. So we've had people reach out with things like that.

We've had people with either if they have dreadlocks or something like that, depending on how their kids keep their hair. They said this would actually really work well for my child or my mixed race child who has a lot of hair.

Those are some of the specific messages that I've gotten. We have to test in those community groups as well.

I do think that there's a potential for other people to use the product as well, which is also why I like the pivot to bold helmets. Because we don't want to exclude people that could make use of the helmet. We want people to know that we made it with sick kids in mind.

But if it works for you, if it works for your specific, your hair type, your situation, whatever that may be, then I think that's wonderful.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:26:03

Effy and while we're on that topic, can you talk about what kind of demand and interest you've had from countries outside of Canada?

Tina Singh

00:26:10

So we have huge demand from the US and from the UK as well.

One of the challenges that I face with the UK and which is why I want some retailers to carry our product is more like the shipping costs and timeline, right? And then plus there's like the conversion rate, all that. And so I want to make it, you know, cost effective for our customers.

And so that's one of the reasons I want to push for some more retailers in the uk, Canada and US has been pretty steady because our shipping from here is not that hard. But when we get to the uk, to Germany, that gets much more challenging.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:26:43

How can people follow your work?

Tina Singh

00:26:46

So if you'd like to know more about our product, hear what's coming up next, we do have a newsletter or an email sign up that you can do on our website www. Boldhelmets.com. that's where we will share any new information.

If you want the most up to date information, be sure you follow us over on Instagram at Bold Helmets. We share any new products, new shipping locations, anything that's happening there as well.

Tosin Sulaiman
00:27:10

That was Tina Singh, the founder of Bald Helmets. You'll find all the links to learn more in the show. Notes if you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with a friend or colleague week?

And don't forget to leave a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify. I'm Tosin Suleiman. Thanks for joining me on Made for Us.

Tina Singh
00:27:29

Book recommendation. I can give this recommendation, but I'm not all the way through it yet. It's Shoe Dog, right?

And it's all about how Nike became a company, which is incredibly interesting, especially as he goes through finding his manufacturers and all that. It helps me feel not alone in my journey.

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