Mask Makers I Have ‘Known’

Ah, this is going to be a good one.  Lots of characters!  My best efforts to get them in the correct order and remember their names.  If I don’t, so much the better for them.

Target Sports International: I forget his name.  I was looking for someone to make masks for me since I had/have this wicked cool gel interior.  Everyone seems to know that a single component can not be tested, HECC wants the whole enchilada.  I bought one of his masks and if I remember correctly it was of the plastic variety.  The mask looked wide and had a short chin…something like the Badger Elite (remind me to include Steve Badger).  The mask came with this sliver closed cell foam and I remember putting it on my head of thinning hair and remarking, “Ouch!”  The padding was shaped like little triangles and lets just say it was my introduction to Rubatex options.  After that, I installed version one of the gel and the thing was just too big to work out all the possible ways to make it fit (no self adhesive foam ‘spacers’ at this time).  Came with a stock lightning paint job and I think I gave it to someone that needed A mask.

Dillon: Not too much to tell other than Bob and I couldn’t seem to get on the same page, but that’s probably due to Bob getting jaded by the stinko industry and its politics.  Although he did seem to provide one for every ECHL goalie.  More importantly though is Bob’s automotive business.  The real highlight of that attempt was finding John Pepe, a real top o’ the charts painter (we’ll get to him later).  So Bob was onboard, then overboard, no time, skittish all kinds of reasons for us not to collaborate.  But he did get a free gel interior out of it.  The only Dillon mask I ever saw or held was one he made for Kolzig.  That was the mask Kolizg allowed me to experiement before I put gel in his Pro’s Choice (we’ll get to him later too).

A short list of mask makers that I contacted about the use of the gel upon my discovery. Eddy masks. What can I say–he was as responsive as a blank wall, but as I may have mentioned, he did accost me verbally at the trade shows I attended. One show in particular he came over to our booth before the venue it opened. As it happened we were installing gel into a product of his, unbeknown to him. His rant went something like this, “You’re going to get us all hauled in to circuit court in Alaska! We know what you’re doing! Does Robin Burns know what you’re doing?!?!” All the while pacing like a caged animal. Then he was off. My sister and I looked at each other and shrugged.

I sent a sample of the gel to a guy now head of Brian’s masks. He used to make his own masks up there in Burlington, ON. I don’t know why his name escapes me, but he was a bit of a lunkhead anyway. So I send it off, wait weeks without hearing tweet. I call and speak to whathisname and he tells me that he’s seen this material before and it’s noting special. I asked if he put the gel in a mask and wore the mask? He told me he draped the gel over his hand and then hit his hand with a hammer. With that information, I asked him to send the gel back as he obviously did not get the idea at all.

Then, I called a guy I met at one of the trade shows. He worked for CCM when I sent a gel system to him to try in a mask. I gave the same instructions. Put in, try on. Weeks later, I call him and he tells me they put the gel in a helmet (not a mask) and his results were completely contrary to my own. So as it turned out, CCM didn’t like it, but they did want to keep it around. I had to inform the gentlemen that would not be at all acceptable with me and he need to send the gel back as quickly as possible. So it must have been around this time that I decided that I would have to be the one to get it out there as an aftermarket option.

Then there were the mask makers that contacted me about the use of my gel in their products. These were the most tantalizing of all the ‘carrots’ ever dangled before me, and there were lots of carrots!

Number one has to be a maker by the name of Stacey. This guy operates out of Holland, just to be clear.

So I get an email one day from this man. He’s very positive about my product and eager to get information. Based on his initial email I offered him this deal; send me your top of the line mask and I will install my gel system, wear the mask on the ice to test it out and then send the entire setup back to him for his evaluation. His reply to my offer was a 180 degree turn in attitude. His email was accusatory and maniacally hostile. I can’t remember the diatribe verbatim, but we have the gist.

Some time afterward I got a call from my gel supplier telling me that Stacey had found them and asked them to make him my product for his use. He had gone behind my back to try to secure gel for his own purposes and cut me out of my due. From that time on he had done what he could to undermine my efforts for hinting to the reveal my source of the gel.

I had never ever heard of him before he contacted me and once I had seen his site, I wasn’t too sure I wanted my gel mixing with his efforts. The pix did not do him any great favors. His site was slipshod, but no one else had shown an interest in my gel…so what the hell.

Then I actually saw a product of his owned by a man named Marc Wells. I am not exaggerating when I say I laughed out loud when I held it. It was not symmetrical at all. The thickness varied. It looked amateurish and Marc paid good coin for that mask. Stacey’s website DID do his product justice–sad to say. So I looked at the events to have worked themselves out and was glad he turned out to be a kook.

As it turns out, later Marc became involved in my business, which was a welcome thought at the time. As part of his involvement he asked , no, begged me to give Stacey another chance at masking masks for my company. here’s the problem with having a guy in Europe making any product for you…what if there are physical problems that require than man to make physical changes to his product. Sending masks back and forth would prove to be NOT cost efficient. Feeling an obligation to Marc, I agreed to three masks from Stacey. I don’t remember the exact cost, but they weren’t inexpensive. Plus let me throw in now that I DO NOT believe in aramid (Kevlar) as a proper chioce as a material for masks. I think the use of it is purely a marketing ploy and nothing more. The marketing idea behind Kevlar as a material for masks is the mentality if Kevlar can stop a bullet, well by cracky it’ll stop a puck!! balderdash and pure twaddle!

I get one of the three. The one I got first was for a customer that Stacey was familiar with, her name is Becky. He sends me the mask and I gel it up and send it to her. She gets it and it way too big for her. Now I’m thinking, why did Stacey send me a mask for a customer he’s familiar with that is way too big? he knows it’s a woman. he knows my gel is thinner than any foam. Why is the mask too big? What am I supposed to do now? Send the bad mask all the way back to Holland? I’m mad at myself for being talked into a situation I knew would go badly. I’m none too happy with Wells and Stacey for that matter either!

I have Becky send me the mask she wanted back to me and I send her a properly fitting mask that is more expensive the Stacey. Nice deal for me, but I do the right thing. Is there compensation for me from either two gentlemen…no. I have two more of these masks coming to me and when they get here, each has it’s own issues, that if made closer to me, sat Canada, I could have sent back to be put right. But no, I have a mask maker in bloody Europe and I’m forked.

The second mask maker to contact me, I believe was Sportmask. So this guy’s name is Tony Priolo, he tells me. He currently works for Ticketmaster up there in Canada. He tells me he’s read good things about my products and needs to latch onto someone to help with his credibility. I’m liking what I’m hearing and promptly ask him to send me a sample of his product. I think he tells me he can’t afford to or something , but my West Coast guy (Michael Oke) has arranged to buy one and have it come to me first. I’ll do just what I told Stacey. Put gel in it, test it out on the ice and then send it along to Michael for his evaluation.

Tony, I call him that instead of what I’d like to call him, begin speaking on a daily basis. He seems more friendly, is Italian and is positive. I’m looking for a way to boost sales, so I’m going to listen.

Time passes and Tony and I find a lot of common ground, like hating a lot of the other mask makers we’ve both encountered. he says positive things about my product and chances for success. I am the type to help others and HOPE they reciprocate at some moment along our mutual journey. I am such an ass! I’ve blocked out a lot of our relationship, so some details may not be included, but I’ll put down all that I can recall.

Still at Ticketmaster, but making progress, Tony begins to gain ground. As it happens a goalie by the name of Tim Thomas calls me out of the blue because he’s back from Finland and trying to make in the NHL once again. he calls because he doesn’t want to be made fun of for wearing a helmet/cage combo in the “show”. Guys in the show wear masks. In Finland, wearing a helmet/cage combo doesn’t bring jeers from your fellow players or the fan’s, but here in North America, you’re career can be decided by your appearance. So Tim has a problem. His chin is of the Jay Leno type and getting masks to fit, custom or otherwise is a major issue and he thought my gel would help with this. What do I do? I tell him about Tony Priolo and his masks. Why? Because I’m in cahoots with Mr. Priolo and that’s how I roll–I help! In fact, I name Mr. Priolo’s new product the mask/cage combo or as I called it…”The Mage”. point of fact, I got that name from someone else in the NHL at the time of the transition from molded face masks to the combination of that type mask to the addition of a cage to cover the huge window for the eyes and nose. nevertheless Mr. Tony never heard of it before I ,mentioned it to him.

Tim calls him and they get along so well, they decide to swap wives…they’re that close. Okay, the wife swapping I made up, but you get my drift. So I’m like, “Hey Tony, you’re welcome for me sending you Thomas.”, and he’s like, “What?” All the while I’m pushing for Tony to make my gel interior an option for his masks and he strings me along like a real pro, but why should I doubt his intentions. I help him, he helps me. Right?

We can jump ahead to where Tony gets to quit his Ticketmaster job and do masks full time now. He has an idea to make a molded fiberglass player’s helmet. Asks me for any naming ideas. I help, that’s what I do for a “partner” (I’m using that term in the slightest of ways). I offer him my thoughts based on the appearance of the shape, which I believe is a knock-off of the old Copper/Winnewell/Mark Messier style and I call it the “Centurion.” He likes it and boom the Centurion is born. I think it flopped in point of fact, but you get the idea. Still I push him to offer my gel as an option and still he gives me excuses.

So now we’re at a time when he’s ready to submit his mask to CSA. The Canadian version of HECC, which certifies head protection for participants under the age of 21. I’m like, “hey Tony, you going to submit your mask with my gel in and we can split the costs?” He’s like, “NO.” I ask why not and he gives me some bullshit about insurnace or the appearance …it doesn’t matter, it’s starting to dawn on me that Tony’s a prick who only cares about himself, no matter how much help he’s received.

He does offer to sell my three masks I’ll need to make my own submission to HECC for certification. He’s some humanitarian, eh? What choice do I have so I buy masks from him. We submit our own versions weeks apart. When I submit mine, two different engineers at the testing center tell me that if my mask fails, it’ll most likely be the result of my pad placement. You see, I don’t go for the conventional wisdom of slathering the entire inside of a mask with foam. Oh no, I determine that my head only touches in certain spots of the interior. The rest retains the heat my body is expelling. So I’ve been warned and I accept this because if my mask does fail on the first try, I can resubmit until it DOES pass. I can’t remember if there’s a cost for each attempt, but knowing my industry as I do, I doubt they’d not want to be paid each time.

I forget how long it takes to go through the certification process, but I finally get results and my Priolo mask with the OTNY cage and my gel passes HECC on it’s first try! I guess I didn’t get the placement of those pads incorrectly. I call Tony. “Hey Tone my mask passed on it’s first try, how you doin?” He tells me he’s on like his sixth try or more. Turns out, all things being equal, the interior padding is what made mine and broke his. But does Tony support me and buy into the gel as an option…no!

Okay, Tony’s a real ‘all-for-me-and-none-for-you’ type a guy. Whatever, my mask has proven that I’m right. So Tony offer’s to sell me masks at 10 masks per order. Not what I wanted, but can you expect from a guy like that. Interestingly enough, the masks Tony sent me for my certified HECC masks were not the same quality he sent me for the certification process. Am I pissed! The sonofabitch bait and switched on me. I sent the pieces of shite back to him and ended my relationship with that asshole.

I’m not even going to get into the ‘Arctic” reception my wife and I got when we went to Toronto to see Kevin Weekes and Tony.

During the time of my supporting Tony, I also had interest from a shop called Pro’s Choice. This guy’s name is Dom Malerba.

The highlight of this time is a little war going on between Tony and Dom. The claim is Mr Tony Priolo is not actually making his own masks. This war goes on via bulletin boards and not between these two men, but their shills, trollers…whatevers. I spent time on the phone with Dom stupidly defending Priolo. I guess my blind trust/faith that a guy I was sure had integrity would not outsource his work and claim he had done all the work himself. Whereas, Malerba’s masks were not in stores like Priolo’s because I guess Malerba would not be able to keep up with the demand and still make his masks himself, but Tony did…curious.

I guess I called Pro’s Choice rather than Dom call me. Since I put gel in Olaf Kolzig’s masks (Pro’s Choice) Dom was willing to entertain me for a bit. I sent him a gel system, he said he liked it and would offer it as an option. Might have even gone so far as to post something about it on his website. All I know is nothing ever came from that. I didn’t even ask for a mask to evaluate, like I normally do!

Then it was Quantum Masks turn to contact me about the gel. A guy named Mark seemed very interested but couldn’t get his shit together because his business was too busy to get a mask sent out to me. As it tuns out, I heard through the grapevine that Quantum was the one making masks for Priolo, so i guess Dom Malerba was right and I was wrong…again.

In the end when customers would ask me if I could recommend a mask, I’d have to tell them no. Sportmask was the one I was most familiar with, but based on my experience with that man, I could no longer recommend that mask in good conscience.

Then I heard good things about a mask maker named Hackva. My WCG (Oke) said that he felt it was a very good mask and the owner had values, which is rare so I decide to try one more time. I was finally sent a mask, but no back plate strapping and the shell was huge, so I never got a chance to wear it on ice. I also decide to sell Gabe’s masks on my site with the gel already installed as a way to sell his mask with my gel. To date I’ve sold exactly one.

I sell my gel ‘kits’ to individuals and have never stocked any pro shop with my goods for any real period of time.