53. Zechariah Thomas - Swift Hockey

Zechariah Thomas from Swift Hockey shares his story . Playing hockey in Canada and starting a premium hockey stick company priced competitively . 

https://swifthockey.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zechariah-thomas/ 

Edited & Produced by Daisie Media 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome to the Trevor Buck Podcast, episode 53, and we have Zachariah Thomas from Swift Hockey with us today. Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Hey, yeah. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Yeah. And uh you were named Forbes magazine 30 under 30, and you've also been featured on the CBC TV series, The Dragon Den for your hockey company. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Yeah, I guess um over the last little bit, the Swift hockey has grown. It's my baby. It's kind of grown from when I was, I started when I was 19 years old, and we've been growing year after year and kind of been getting worldwide recognition for what we've done here as well. We're really kind of make the difference in the community and make hockey more affordable, more accessible, and really give a really premium product as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

And I love that. And you grew up in uh Canada playing hockey?

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Yeah, yeah, I grew up in Canada playing hockey. Uh I was in Ontario Ontario, like Toronto area.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Yep, yep. And uh so did you play youth hockey, you played junior hockey, you played some professional hockey. Tell me about your hockey playing career.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Yeah, um I guess throughout my hockey career, we I have kind of consistently I I started at 10 years old, all went all the way up through eight house leagues, triple A to playing pro hockey in about five years or so, five, six years after that.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

And I've always gone through the ranks and hockey been it was a sport I was the best at, to be transparent. I was not too good at all the other sports, but hockey I was I ended up being good at.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Okay. And what other sports did you uh try out or did you enjoy playing?

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Yeah, I really um I liked, you know, I was decent at lacrosse as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

Um, but like throughout my childhood, I played, I played soccer, I tried some of these other sports as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

And uh at what age did you decide that or how did the concept of making your own hockey uh line of sticks how did that enter your uh idea or how did that come into conception?

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Yeah, I guess making my own hockey line of everything has it has a lot to do with where I was where I grew up, to be honest. Okay um I went through I played a lot of like I played a lot of hockey throughout my career and consistently seeing the same problems break, seeing the same items break, same hockey sticks break, and where I grew up, a lot of people just couldn't afford that as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yep. And that's not just in your area, that that's in a lot of areas. Hockey is an expensive sport and it's a um obstacle for people to get involved with.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, it's it's a very, it's a very, very expensive sport overall. And a lot of kids, you know, everyone, even if you're rich, it's still you don't nobody really want you don't really want to do all of that, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

So what year did you start Swift hockey? And uh how did how did you start how does one start a company like this and say, hey, I'm gonna make a hockey stick that's high performance but more affordable than some of the other top-of-the-line sticks that are available?

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Yeah, and you know what we like within our company, we really focus on being very premium. Like that that's that's all we want to do. We want to make something, we want to make a product that's extremely premium, and we just want to charge the right products ultimately. And when I started Switzer, it was it was a mission of mine to really make a stick for myself. Like that was kind of my main goal was to create a stick that I was being I would be able to use and I would be willing to pay as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

And uh, and how how and plus also you uh part of your uh company culture is you give back. So when somebody buys a stick, you give back to the community to help others uh get into the sport. Tell me about how that program works.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Yeah, we give away we give away thousands of sticks every year, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

And we really want to make like within within everything we do, we want to make such a big difference. And we will consistently I probably give away too many sticks every year.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Our goal is our goal is pretty simple, is like we just we want to expand hockey as a whole and consistently bring other people into the sport so they can kind of experience what I have done within the hockey as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Right. And I I seen a post on uh a LinkedIn today that was very cool of you, but uh I I've never played goalie, but I didn't realize that high-end goalie sticks were so expensive.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Yeah, extremely expensive. And you know what a lot of people you don't really realize why it's extremely expensive, but it's like it's a lot more material than the players do.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

And it's made a different way as well. So it's yeah, it's a lot, and goalies are just that's such an such an equipment piece, like such a position in the sport that they're paying almost triple what players pay, to be honest, just on equipment.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

J just for the equipment alone, because they have the whole pad set up and then I I like I said, I did not realize that just the stick alone was what double the price, triple the price as a a forward stick?

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Yeah, no, exactly. It's pretty it's pretty insane with what what they're doing, like the stick-wise, and then on top of the stick-wise, they're doing very similar things with um their pads, like the goalie pads for like five to ten thousand dollars for a set of pads, and don't go always replacing them on every two season season or so.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

I had no idea that just the pads were that expensive. That is crazy. Yeah, crazy expensive. No, it's truly insane. So, how did you come up with the name Swift? What what's behind the name? Because I like it and I like your uh your colors, and I I like your your sticks, are they attractive uh to the eye.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Yeah, I know I appreciate that. Swift has um the meaning of Swift, it wasn't it didn't resonate with us when we first started it. Like when we first started Swift, but there was when when I started Swift, um, I wanted I really want I always had an idea of doing this company from a long time, but like I could never find the best way to I never find a name's one of the hardest things. Finding a name that's gonna stick and resonate. And on top of resonating, just do well on do well as a name to Google and all those little analytics that that matter when you're creating a business, also where you're not dealing with competitors and things like that, trying to take things away from you.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

But Swift, I put a bunch of friends in a group chat, and I kind of paid paid the contest to whoever won got some money, and that that was kind of the name that stuck, and it's it's kind of stuck with us to date, and we've done really well recently.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

I I like it, and I like your branding, and you make some uh awesome looking apparel as well. You have a you have a nice looking website and you have a nice thing going.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

No, I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

And and I want to ask you this. So it I don't know the business. I mean, I enjoy playing hockey and uh I enjoy using some of the top-of-the-line sticks, but if there is a stick that uh for me, I'm I'm just a I'm not a professional or a high-level player, but I do enjoy the feel of a of a good stick. And some of the sticks that I've used, the the shaft and the flex is good, but the blade, it seems like the blade technology is where uh some of the entry-level sticks might not be up to par as the high-end sticks. Do you do you have any insight on that?

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Yeah, the blade is it's a difficult, it's a tricky part to make.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

And the blade is always it's always gonna be the part that's going to like the player's gonna feel a lot more without really noticing if it gets weak. And that blade is that's something we have we've done a we've done a decent amount of work in creating creating a really strong, powerful blade that's going to feel good, but also not too stiff at the same time.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Right. That's that's what I think I've experienced is some that are too stiff. And it's probably a balancing. How do you uh how do you balance durability versus performance?

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Yeah, that's that's very it's very difficult to do those two because durability ultimately when you make a hockey stick heavier, the durability's gonna be better.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

And the lighter you make it, the higher it's gonna break. So it's really trying to find that balance. And with us, even though we're a more affordable company, we don't keep done on any corner with another brand.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

So we're consistently doing everything and anything to make the brand like do make the best product in the world.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Okay, and are you selling your sticks uh strictly online or are you in uh in bricks and mortar stores or what where do people find your sticks?

SPEAKER_02 9:06

We're about I would say 90% online right now.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Okay. And that's uh directly through SwiftHockey.com?

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Yes, yeah, directly through Swift Hockey. We're in about I would say 50 retailers within North America.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

But some of the local pro shops and play it again sports we're in currently.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

So Okay. And tell us the difference. You have a couple different lineups in your line. You have the the Swift ZT Pro. Is that uh after your initials, that name?

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yes, actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

That's great. Okay, and so and then you have the the spectra. What are the differences between those two sticks?

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yeah, one's a low kick low kick point flex, another one's a high kick point flex.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Okay, and and what what do you see people preferring out of those two the most?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

The low kick for sure. Okay. The low kick is by far the better one.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

And then um, do yours have uh grip? You might say the grip or the texture, or what do you how do you treat the shaft to where some players don't just love the smooth uh slippery feel?

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Yeah, it's you know, most people do like the like like the grip on the stick, and we're trying to we're trying to do a little bit of everything to I guess to do the best job possible when we when we make a stick where it's gonna fit majority of our customers. We can't give every option because we wish.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Sure, sure, sure. So so stock, stock, your shaft is w what what kind of feel would you uh describe it?

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Yeah, I would say we we are we have a rounder shaft of what we do.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

We add extra carbon layers through in our shaft as well so we can make the stick a lot more durable.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

And we really wanna work we we don't cheap, we use the best carbon fiber in the world as well.

unknown 10:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

Sure. And is that uh was that you yourself uh dealing with uh overseas to do the manufacturing process?

SPEAKER_02 11:05

Yes, yeah, yeah. That's um even two date, that's something I something I still do.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

So that can still be a lot better than that can be a challenge. That's not easy, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:16

No, no, it's not. It's um a lot of sleepless nights, and you know, because you can't just drive there a lot of the time, signal capture it's even really have to fix fix the communication, have good communication.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Right. And just so our listeners, uh, we've got listeners from all over the world, but people that are used to uh buying a high-end hockey stick, I suppose you're into a 400 or 450 dollar, but the Swift hockey stick, the top of the line is looks like 189.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

So so you're you're coming in about half price for a premium stick.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Yeah, about about half price. And I would obvious me obviously a little bit biased, I'd like to say we we're better than anyone else.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Well, I'm gonna have to uh I'm gonna have to order a couple up and get and give them a try. So and and I want to for sure. I I want to tell you this. Uh a podcast that just we dropped yesterday was from a fella from India. Uh Nittin uh came on the podcast, but he was saying that they have a hard time getting equipment over there, and he is growing the sport rapidly. So uh if there's opportunity, I can give you his uh information offline. But if you're interested in getting Swift hockey over into India, they're having a hard time getting equipment.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Wow. Well no, that'd be good.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

That would be good, and they're they're building, he mentioned off a cup, they're building ranks like crazy, and and this guy is awesome. I gotta get you in touch with him because that'd be a fun uh collaboration.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

No, no, that'd be great.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Yep. And you've got uh you've got guys playing in the O with your sticks, you've got some professional players, so it's definitely approved by high-end players.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Yes, yeah, yeah. It's consistently getting better day after day as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Okay. And I want to ask you this. So is some of the expense of some of the other brands, the high-end sticks, is that uh do they have to pay licensing for like can an NHL player use your stick in in the show per se without you having to pay a licensing fee? How does that work?

SPEAKER_02 13:22

Yeah, well we we have to pay a licensing fee, and that's kind of what um that's kind of what stops us and doesn't help us too much where there's obviously a decent size licensing fee to be in the NHL and get some of those players to use it.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Okay, so so if a player uses a brand of stick, the company has to pay the NHL a licensing fee?

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Or or you have to block it out or black it out or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Yeah, exactly. They use the actual brand of the stick, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Okay, okay. So that that's where, yeah, that that's your business, you know, threading threading the needle between what makes sense financially, but it looks like you're gonna try to keep these uh sticks affordable for people instead of uh competing with the high-end ones.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Yeah, no, that that's the mission. That's that's our mission is to uh to keep it as affordable as possible.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Right. And uh what do you see in the future for uh stick technology? Is it changing? Is it evolving? Like what's what's the next uh seems like hockey sticks every year there's something new and different coming out. What do you what are you seeing? I'm not asking you to uh share trade secrets, but what what are you seeing?

SPEAKER_02 14:37

Yeah, I guess you know we're we're at a point within hockey where the sticks can't they can't get too much lighter.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

And I'm starting to realize that where even if we look at some of the other companies, Dow or CCM, they're also they they're almost raising their weight on sticks.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Because it's they're losing durability, they're losing all the above for making it so light. So trying to find the proper balance and adding a bit more technology within the stick and different hit points to make it more beneficial.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Okay, so you're uh I think you're much younger than me because you were uh 30 under 30 of the Forbes magazine, but did you ever play with a wood stick growing up?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

No, you know what? I started I started playing like when I first started house league and things like that, and my dad just they got me in a wood stick for a little bit. That was kind of my that was my only experience with that.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Okay. How about uh did you ever use the two-piece, the shaft and the blade insert?

SPEAKER_02 15:42

I tried it, yeah. I tried it during like my early house league. Like my parents didn't come from the hockey background, yeah. We didn't really know what we were doing. Um we had no idea what we're doing, so we're almost getting whatever makes sense and affordable at that time as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Absolutely. And I I uh I do want to mention this. You are a supplier for the PWHL, which is the Professional Women's Hockey League.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Yeah, no, yeah, we are. That's definitely um it's definitely a big aspect of our brand, and they they they align with what we're trying to do and grow the game within within the female gender, they're trying to grow the game, and I think with us we're we're also trying to grow the game in different aspects. So the collaboration we have there makes sense and definitely aligns on many different levels.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

And that's that's super awesome. I appreciate doing that because uh so I live in Washington State here, and we've got the uh the Seattle, I think they're the Torrent. I think that's that that's our uh our women's national team up in the Seattle area. So that's great.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Yeah. So how did that uh uh relationship come about? How how did you get in with that group?

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Yeah, I was you know, it's something we've we've been trying to work a deal for the longest time. Okay, we found our brand was ready, and then we kind of reached out and made the situation work on a collaboration.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

That that is great. So I do want to share a note with you. Uh I also had Mark with uh chirpsticks on the podcast a while back, and he wanted me to send you a hello. He said you you were very helpful for his uh company, and uh he enjoyed the conversation that you and him shared.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

No, I appreciate that. Yeah, he's he's he's gonna he's a great guy and a great great hog.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

He's a good guy to connect with.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Yep, that's great. And I want to ask you this. So you uh you grew up in Canada from a youth youth age?

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Yes, yeah, I grew up in Canada kind of my whole life.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

Um going through ranks.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Okay, so so for our listeners around the world that don't know, what is uh poutine?

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Yeah, that's um that's the that's the Canadian Quebec special that's it's the gravy, the cheese, the fries.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Okay, so it's fries with gravy and cheese on it.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Yeah, cheese curds, it's it's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Okay, but is that that's a Quebec thing?

SPEAKER_02 18:11

Yeah, yeah, mostly. It's it's all across Canada. I think Quebec's the one that originated it.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Okay. How about uh Tim Hortons? Are you a Tim Hortons fan?

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Yeah, well, you know, I definitely am not the biggest fan, but it's extremely loved around here.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Okay. I I had to I had to throw that in there. So hey, I want to I want to thank you for uh taking the time, and I want fans listening to uh check out SwiftHockey.com and I I really appreciate you taking this time to do this.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

No, I appreciate that. Yeah, it was nice talking to you.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Likewise, thank you. Have a good night.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

No problem. Please walk, bye.