Behind the brand: Kymira, the infrared sportswear company

His wearable tech garments are used from Premier League footballers and NFL athletes to club bouncers and care home residents. Yet, Tim Brownstone never intended to start a company embracing such diverse industries, despite his pioneering technology being praised by scientists.

Indeed, the Briton had started out as a talented sportsman in equestrian, sprinting at a low international level as a teenager, before rowing as a university lightweight. The change came in early 2013, having worked on his idea for five years in parallel to his animal science degree at University of Reading.

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“It was the formative research that led to setting up Kymira,” he says. “It was all from academic and impact motivation. My speciality was applying infrared light for wound healing applications and I never intended to start a company.

"But I was more interested in developing the fundamental technology to help people as opposed to sticking in academia.”

Kymira, he says, started with a question. “Could I use a non or lesser regulated market to bring a would be medical technology market and translate it into therapeutic and medical applications. With technology, the answer was ‘yes’."

With a projected turnover of £3.5m in both 2022 and 2023, Brownstone has also raised £5.2m in investment since launch, including £3.7m led by UK investor and former Saracens Rugby club owner, Nigel Wray, in February.

Kymira talks to prospective clients in different ways. For scientists and highly qualified S&C coaches, discussions will be more feature focused. “They will want to interrogate the science, the chemical reactions that will occur in the body such as pain relief responses and increase in circulation,” adds Brownstone.

“For consumers, athletes and coaches, it will be more application focused. How it will help athletes, reducing injuries, recovery anywhere in the world, performance improvement and talking about the outcome.”

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Kymira’s direction has now shifted to the user rather than consumers going to motion capture labs or saunas, while its bio tracking products have sensors built into garments.

The infrared technology is used by a number of elite organisations including a raft of teams in the NFL, MLS and MLB. In the UK, the likes of Swansea FC and rugby league’s Warrington Wolves use products while England Rugby internationals Jonny May and Henry Arundell, currently playing at the World Cup in France, are company ambassadors.

Brownstone, who was awarded Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for Innovation in 2021, says that it was only when a top, undisclosed rugby team got on board that Kymira’s orders took off.

“We had confidence in the science,” admits Brownstone, “it was hitting a critical mass of users in terms of market presence that the referrals and reference base is now so strong.”

It helps, too, that athletes such as May use Kymira’s infrared performance and recovery garments day and night.

In warm-ups, for instance, Brownstone says the tech primes his muscles and improves circulation. In game activity will see extended endurance, reduction in injury and, hopefully, managing any injury niggles. After the match, Kymira provide immediate post exercise tights, increasing blood flow and reducing swelling.

The wearable garments are also used for travel and at night. “If you have an athlete in a training centre for four hours per day, what about the other 20?” notes Brownstone. “That starts with daywear clothing and finishes the day with our sleep system, with pyjamas and bed sheets to maximsise the value overnight.”

Kymira had eight staff in the pandemic but after navigating a tough few months, there are around 35 staff at its Reading headquarters, with goods produced in Mansfield. The US remains its top consumer destination, with 3,000 products shipped in August alone.

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Kymira has also proved effective in preventative healthcare. Pilot programmes have taken place with hospital porters, warehouse staff and even club doormen wearing Kymira socks to reduce foot pain on shift.

Bed sheets are also used by Olympians and the elderly. In another pilot in Kent, 60% of care home residents were able to reduce pain medication after three days, while 80% reported better sleep quality.

“This is why I started Kymira,” adds Brownstone. “One product is servicing completely polar ends of the market but having really impactful benefits, be it extending an athlete’s career or helping a pensioner walk again. Our technology doesn’t discriminate.”

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