The idea behind VETTEX began with a problem Mike Pullen remembered from his own days playing football: Arm sleeves protected players from turf burns, but they could also make the ball harder to secure. As a high school receiver, Pullen saw firsthand how athletes were often forced to choose between protection and performance.
Years later, while studying biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, that problem resurfaced in an unexpected place: a classroom.
Pullen was enrolled in Materials Science and Engineering of Sports, a course taught by materials researcher Jud Ready, that explored how engineering principles and materials influence athletic performance. For the course Capstone project, students were challenged to design a novel, rules-compliant piece of sports equipment.