It’s HAI (pronounced ‘high’) time a brand tackled the growing demand for clean formulas that solve the skin, beauty and hygiene issues caused by sweat. Founder and sports enthusiast Grace De Alvaro started Sports HAI with a mission to do just that, creating luxurious skincare that doesn’t block pores or budge even after the most high intensity workouts.
However, since embarking on her journey, Grace realised her brand’s reach was much bigger than anticipated. ‘Athletes were sending me selfies in clubs after dancing all night, and yacht-side pics after swims and a full day in the sun, flabbergasted the products stayed put. That’s when I realised “sweat is sweat” and some of us sweat quite a lot when not working-out at all.’
Fresh from winning the Influential Businesswoman Award by Acquisition International last year, Grace is now working on Sports HAI’s expansion. ‘We want to help anyone who is overheating and sweaty and wants a clean, high-performance formula that works.’ Brand team members Gina Ciampa, Head of Marketing, and Marina Doherty, Head of Sales, echo this sentiment noting fans have raved long and hard about how their products perform even through hot flushes and extreme heat.
Grace’s team also includes Margaret Dabbs; new partner Ian Richardson, known for his extensive entrepreneurial experience and success with Aromatherapy Associates (he’s no stranger to sweat, having run 12 marathons in only four years); and Stratos Chatzigiannis, a growth investor and entrepreneur with experience in start-ups.
To champion Sports HAI’s evolution and innovation, Grace called upon industry expert Laura DiGirolamo. ‘The industry has yet to fully explore the science, physiology and psychology of sweat giving us space to create really unique and efficacious products,’ says Grace. Laura’s international reach has proved vital in helping her creating the brand’s new ground-breaking range of products due to launch in 2022.
Sports HAI’s current homeruns include SPF-50 Protection, winner of ‘Best SPF – Sport’ by Attracta Beauty Awards 2020, and a recently launched revolutionary non-greasy hyaluronic for parched skin. The formulation can increase hydration by 130 per cent – 60 times more than standard hyaluronic. Results can be seen immediately, penetrating the skin deeply, giving 72-hour hydration. These tried and tested formulae helped to create Sports HAI’s fan base of top athletes including Ruth Osborn of the 2021 British AIDA Freediving World Championships team.
There are some things about Sports HAI that will never change: ‘We believe what you put on your skin should be as healthy as what you put in your body,’ says Grace. This commitment has seen its products used across the globe, from England’s polo fields to yachts in Spain. Also, high up on the agenda is Sports HAI’s support of mental health – an issue Grace says is very prevalent in sport and sweaty situations. ‘There’s a natural connection between sweat, stress, and mental health and our 360-degree commitment to a healthy mind, body and soul will always anchor Sports HAI with meaningful purpose that goes beyond the product.’
‘Take the Sports HAI road’ is the brand’s tagline for when you find yourself in a sweaty situation. And if their action-packed past year is anything to go by, it will be a path well-travelled.
