Let me start by saying, thank you to all the people who have used Eucatape so far. It started out as a passion project for me and it’s now turned into a worldwide sticky phenomenon! (I can’t promise, this will be the only sticky reference in this blog). Eucatape was originally a Hand Drum tape, then the Rowing community gravitated to it, after that, dancers started asking for it for their feet, and now, we are jumping into the golfing and running world! Why? People asked for it! You’ve got to love unexpected outcomes.
So, Eucatape, I know it’s not quite the catchiest title, not the easiest to spell and it’s always going to be pronounced incorrectly, but man do I love this product. It’s a strange feeling to put something on the market and hope that people dig it and use it as much as I do. It’s like the equivalent of telling a joke in public, it could go swimmingly and everyone could laugh or it could bomb horribly, and as we know, there is nothing worse than telling a joke to a crowd only to see them stare at you like you punched an ailing elderly person in the gut. So, I guess what I’m saying is, thanks for not making me feel like I punched an old person with declining health in the gut.
You might be asking, does he really use Eucatape? And if so, what is the reason he does? Well, I do, I really do, and it’s because I tour about 200 days a year with the band Gaelic Storm. I am not a soft hitter, almost to my detriment, so I use it all the time, and truthfully I love it. I know that might sound a little pompous, but it’s accurate. I love my product! There I said it. And, I want everyone out there to love it as much as I do.
Now, it’s not like I haven’t tried other tapes before, in fact, I had been using tape for years on the road and, it was “fine”. But why stick with “fine” when you can enhance your taping experience? Why not get some benefit from wearing the tape other than just protection? Well, that's what I did.
My buddy Steve Kamb who is the founder of the company Nerd Fitness (nerdfitness.com) wrote a book called Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story. It’s a book that taps perfectly into a certain type of person. He does it with grace, humility, and fun. I’m not only saying this because he is my friend, but it is an amazing resource for people like me that fit his target demographic. Meaning that if you’re a nerd or are interested in nerd culture, and you need a hand in keeping your mind and body in shape this is the book for you.
I ate this book up (ha, I know). I’ve been using Kamb’s concepts for years now and it has changed my life drastically. I’ve run 5 marathons with its help, I’ve (moderately) changed my eating habits. And I’ve used his online workout regime for traveling musicians (actually, it works for anyone who travels for work). So, what I am trying to say is, that Steve Kamb is a genius and everyone should bow down to him and pledge their loyalty, actually, Steve Kamb for president 2024!
And as everyone knows, genius comes from reading and studying other geniuses so who did Steve learn from to create Nerd Fitness? Well, it turns out he learned from another quite transformative writer, Tim Ferriss who is best known for his books such as 4 Hour Work Week, Tools of Titans, and The 4 Hour Body. He also has a wildly successful podcast called “The Tim Ferriss Show”. What’s great about Tim is that he is constantly giving suggestions on how to improve your life, he throws out music people might enjoy, books they may love, quotes that are important to him, and general life advice.
Why do I bring up Tim? It’s because he showed me a light that I never thought in a million years I’d see. He wrote a chapter in The 4 Hour Work Week that sparked my epiphany and I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life.
The concept was simple, and he laid it out perfectly. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is what I gathered from his writing-- he was addressing the readers of his book that wanted at some point to start a company, and as you can imagine, THAT WAS ME!!! But at the time, I didn’t really know it yet. And if you know how Timothy Ferriss writes, you’ll know it’s remarkably relatable. So I was tuned in completely when I read this part of the book. It's as if someone had turned his words up on the stereo and it was as Spinal Tap says “To 11”. He said if you want to come up with a product to start your company, look at your normal everyday life, and think about the things that you do that are unique to you. Now think about how you can enhance that!
Trust me, I know it’s a basic concept, but he was able to phrase it in such a way that made total sense to me. I sat and said well, I use tape to play drums, and not that many people do that. What can I do to enhance that? I said, well, I love essential oils, so I started there. After sifting through multiple combinations I eventually found my perfect essential oil blend staring me in the face. It has all the qualities that I would need, smells great, gives you a warm tingling feeling and it’s got a built-in anti-inflammatory that helps with the healing of your hands. I wanted to call Tim Ferriss myself and tell him that he was a genius, just like my buddy Steve Kamb and I wanted to take them both out for a reasonably priced meal (since I hadn’t started my company yet!) Now that Eucatape is up and running I feel like I can take them to a semi-upscale dinner, but with no dessert, which is great, since as far as I can tell, neither of them eat dessert, since they are so health-conscious, (said in air quotes).
So, thank you Steve Kamb, and thank you Tim Ferriss for being a couple of solid dudes with some insight. It’s amazing where a little reading will take you. Now, I feel like a guy with a tiny bit more insight, a patent, a successful company, a patent and trademark, and I accomplished something I had always wanted, to be my own boss with my own unique product.