Despite being a professional, record-setting sprinter, it was Rick Beardsell’s recklessness that led him to create an innovative product that’s now reached over 20 countries and generated annual revenue of $3.5 million.
Though his product wasn’t necessarily anything new, Beardsell sought to solve key issues with which many athletes struggle. As he noticed gaps among his competitors, he designed an even better product that’s now been featured in distinguished media and news outlets like Men’s Health, BodyPower, Herbalife, and BBC.
But Beardsell acknowledges that his journey to success didn’t come without its challenges. From physical ailments to mental health struggles, Beardsell went through some of the most difficult trials in his life while running his business.
Fortunately, he didn’t let anything — not even a cancer diagnosis — stop him. Together with his wife, Beardsell produced an award-winning product and established a brand that reflects his passion for health and wellness — and it all started with an unlikely accident.
From College to Corporate
While working abroad, Rick Beardsell suffered a skiing accident that resulted in a broken leg and months of excessive rehabilitation. For an elite runner like Beardsell, such an accident could’ve been deemed as detrimental to his career — and for a time, it was. Many believed he would never be able to run again, including Beardsell himself.
However, due to his extreme determination, Beardsell focused on healing his injury one step at a time. Over the next few years, Beardsell progressed from gentle jogging to breaking 50 seconds for a 400-meter race. But as he continued racing, Beardsell noticed a heavy reliance on a single object — his shaker bottle.
For professional athletes, getting nutrition into your body as quickly as possible is crucial to achieving success in your sport. Enter, a shaker bottle.
Up to this point, every shaker bottle Beardsell had purchased seemed to have a key issue that never ceased to cause him frustration. Whether it was a poorly designed mixing ball, a leaky lid, or an unpleasant odor left lingering in the bottle, there wasn’t a single shaker that Beardsell was satisfied with.
So, Beardsell took the matter into his own hands and decided to reinvent the product entirely.
An Emphasis On Quality
After conducting extensive research and testing prototypes, Beardsell had designed the first version of his shaker bottle. “The ShakeSphere Original … was overly complex. People want simple, easy-to-understand, convenient things. This was a big learning curve,” explains Beardsell in an interview with Starter Story.
Beardsell decided to give his shaker bottle idea another shot, and after some more re-designing, produced a second shaker, the ShakeSphere Max, which used “the centrifugal force generated by a round, no-corners design to break down powder supplements in a mere five seconds of shaking.”
He continues, “Because there are no corners, nothing gets left in the bottle when you’ve finished with it. This not only means you spend less time cleaning it, but also saves you money as you need less powder in the long run. No waste also prevents the build-up of the foul smells which develop when undissolved powder lingers in the corners of your typical shaker bottle.”
Now that Beardsell had created a product he was confident in, the next step was launching the business.
Online: The Way Forward
Using what little money he had, Beardsell purchased patents, trademarks, and design registrations to ensure his product was protected. Then, he turned his focus to sales.
Beardsell knew his product was effective, and he knew he could convince protein supplement companies to mix their powders using his shaker. “All I needed to do was to show strong enough visuals of what ShakeSphere could do for their brand compellingly to secure further interest.”
After securing a deal with Herbalife, a global nutrition company, Beardsell’s shaker bottle company skyrocketed. From accumulating customer-focused sales to landing more deals with health and wellness companies, to even receiving awards from Men’s Health and Amazon, ShakeSphere was “shaking up” the world of protein shaker bottles. ShakeSphere was now a multi-million dollar business.
When it seemed as though nothing could impede Beardsell’s path to success, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2019. Soon after the initial diagnosis, he was told that cancer had spread to his lungs and pancreas. Worried that his condition would force him to shut down ShakeSphere, Beardsell turned all his attention and energy to stay positive.
Just like with his skiing accident, Beardsell relied on his determination and mental toughness to persevere through what seemed like an intimidating threat to his life. Except for this time, he had the additional support of his wife, Eszter, and his newborn son, Sebastian. By May 2020, Beardsell had beat cancer, and ShakeSphere was still operating as a successful business.
The Ingredients to Success
What began as a single idea to improve a product evolved into an international success story. “Our mission at ShakeSphere is to revolutionize the shaker bottle market and create innovative products which improve the health, wellbeing and happiness of everyone who uses them,” reads Beardsell’s mission statement.
With over a million sales globally, ShakeSphere has certainly established itself as a reliable brand that’s passionate about its product.
Though his company has already reached multi-million dollar status, Beardsell knows he’s not done growing. “We are still growing at a rapid rate signing further global contracts,” he comments. “We’re looking to launch onto Amazon Europe and hope to match the 300 units per day of sales to the USA.”
But it’s thanks to their continuous commitment to their vision that the Beardsell’s can look to the future with such high hopes — aiming for perfection with each step.