We know how confusing the goalkeeper glove market can be, even when you’ve been in the game for years. So, with that in mind, we wanted to give you an insight on our brand and the reasons why we began our business in May 2021.
About Us
In August 2019 our founder Callum Hawkins, who is a goalkeeper at Burton Albion, suffered a ruptured ACL. This injury lead to Callum being sidelined for 6 months, so during this time pursuing his rehabilitation process it allowed him time to research more in depth around the whole goalkeeper glove industry. Extensive research began in the following months to find what goalkeepers really wanted in their gloves, including the modifications that many top goalkeepers requested when being presented with new gloves. This research lead to some surprising discoveries on how different the retail models are from the professional models, some of which we have covered in our Glove Showcase blogs.
During the following months, the first prototypes of our 1NS Range were produced, this allowed for us to finally test out our research and see what our final product would consist of. The first prototypes were first tested following the first lockdown, which delayed our process by a several months due to setbacks in manufacturing and delivery times. These initial prototypes were very similar to the 1NS Hybrids which were brought to retail. Following this long process we were finally able to bring our first gloves to market: the 1NS Hybrid.
As a business that is owned by goalkeepers for goalkeepers, we believe that it should be affordable for everyone. So we made in our mission to give every goalkeeper an opportunity to wear professional standard goalkeeper gloves without the price tag of mainstream brands, many of these brands are now charging £150+ for a pair of gloves, much of this cost is for the name of the brand and not for the quality that the gloves offer, this is not to say that the gloves are not good quality but it is to say that the price tag is extortionate for the final products. For this reason, our gloves are produced with top quality German latex without the massive price tags, with our top range costing £44.95.
Why Hawk Goalkeeping?
Now you've heard about our backstory, we move on to the reasons why you should consider a pair of our gloves as your next purchase.
As we stated above, the price tags are rising for gloves with every release, with some gloves increasing in price by over £15 per generation in recent years. With that in mind, our gloves are reasonable priced compared to gloves of the same quality. Our gloves use the same top quality latex used by many top brands, combined with our extensive research which allows us to provide SMU (Special Make-Up) level gloves for less price.
Along with this, we provide the flexibility to customise the fit of your gloves with the removable finger spines that can be found on all of our gloves. This is uncommon in goalkeeping as brands choose to offer different models with finger spines without the wide range of features being available, we wanted to provide goalkeepers with a flexible option to use the spines as they wish. So you can wear your gloves without spines like Ederson Moraes, wear just two spines (Middle and Ring fingers) like Kasper Schmeichel or opt for the full set like Łukasz Fabiański.
Another reason why we are set apart from many other small brands is our insight of the market with professional backing. This is due to a combination of extensive research, conversations with professional goalkeepers and a wide knowledge of the demands of what goalkeepers gloves are expected to withstand in various parts of the season, including the hard surfaces in pre-season to the wet muddy surfaces in those winter months. This combination has allowed us to produce goalkeeper gloves that withstand continuous use as well as providing the grip that professionals look for in their gloves. With our connections to many professional goalkeepers and goalkeeper coaches we were able to create gloves with cuts that are requested by goalkeepers, such as our WRAP4 range which features a cut widely used by goalkeepers past and present.
As a family owned brand, we don't have the big names endorsing our gloves however we work hard to ensure that customer satisfaction is at the forefront of our brand. We don't make you pay extra for the name on the gloves, just the quality of the gloves that we provide. If there is any issues with your order we will help you rectify this as soon as possible with a personal touch, no marketing gimmicks or tricks; just the facts. Our aim is to treat every goalkeeper like the professionals, giving you the best opportunity to succeed whether you just play for fun or you’re chasing a trophy.
If you have any more questions about our brand feel free to message us or comment on this post and we will do our best to get back to you
CLICK THE PHOTO TO DISCOVER EACH RANGE
Or read more in our About Our Gloves blog
