Hugh Davis (he/him)
Revolin Sports
Hugh, Founder & CEO of Revolin Sports, is a graduate of the Engineering School, where he studied Industrial and Operations as an undergrad, and attained a Masters in Design Science during his fifth year. As a student at U of M, Hugh’s involvement in the Supermileage team and the Solar Drones team sparked his interest in sustainable material engineering, which he combined with his love for tennis and pickleball to create Revolin Sports. Headquartered in Hugh’s hometown of Holland, Michigan, Revolin is a company that designs high performance, eco-friendly pickleball paddles. They launched their first commercial product, The Equinox Paddle, which is certified for tournament play, on September 22nd of this year.
You can learn more about Revolin Sports, or purchase the Equinox Paddle, on their website.
My senior year, when I got really into my venture, I started to look for what other resources were at Michigan (which I wish I had done earlier - there is so much here), and I thought, ‘Wow, optiMize looks really cool.’ I actually stayed on for a fifth year masters, and I really wanted to use that year to capitalize on U of M’s resources. From the very first conversation I had with Jeni (Associate Director), I was hooked; she was so open-minded, passionate and interested in what I was doing. What I realized is that having that incubation period of talking to peers and mentors is so important...I dove in.
Back in high school, when about 2% of the country knew about pickleball, I discovered [the sport] and loved it right away. My friend and I actually won a tournament, and through a Facebook post, we got a sponsorship from one of the few companies that were actually in pickleball. They sent me a paddle, but it broke four months later. Then I got sponsored by a new company, and that one broke. All these paddles were breaking. I figured that I came to school for material science, I have a love for sports and a love for invention: maybe I could try to make something better! I built my first 12 prototypes in my garage; while building these prototypes and learning about materials, I saw how wasteful the manufacturing process was...that’s what caused me to pivot into a sustainable sporting goods company. The summer of 2019, we officially became a company.
During the [Social Innovation Challenge], the first thing I noticed about optiMize is how resource rich, dedicated, and supportive the community and leadership are. I felt from day one that I could go back to mentors, and that I’ve built real relationships with other students. We’re even working on collaborations with other optiMize projects, such as Lillian Augusta, who is making hair out of natural fibers. After [the Social Innovation Challenge], we realized, “Oh, we can do this together.” Now we have monthly meetings. optiMize brought us together and made us talk about this stuff. It’s just so cool being surrounded by other students that are passionate, innovative, and challenging the status quo. That kind of stuff gets me so excited.
To students entering the challenge: spread your net wide. Learn a little about a lot of things; other students, other projects, and mentors. Then, over the course of the next few months, narrow it down. Find the things that really excite you, that you really want to do every day; find those mentors, and those students, and go for it.