It’s been almost four years since San Francisco-based SKULLY Inc. promised investors through the crowdfunding website Indiegogo it would build the world’s first smart motorcycle helmet.
Instead, its owners allegedly blew the money on sports cars and strip clubs, leaving helmetless those who pitched in $1,500 toward the project.
But almost two years after folding, SKULLY was resurrected, thanks to the efforts of co-founders Ivan Contreras and Rafael Contreras, who also chose to locate the company’s headquarters to Atlanta.
The pair knew the SKULLY name was a big deal as far as motorcycle helmets go. They wanted to capitalize on that name.
But they also wanted to sell helmets.
SKULLY’s Chief Operating Officer, John Lauten, says that left them with just one option.
“The cornerstone of relaunching this company under the name SKULLY Technologies was to start out by making it right.”
Making it right means setting aside a helmet for upwards of 2,000 of the project’s original backers.
At no charge.
Lauten says the goodwill gesture worked, and in the first 10 minutes of accepting claims, about half of those who were eligible took the company up on the offer.
“The word of mouth spreads so quickly,” he says. “It went from disbelief to saying, ‘Can I order a second one?’”
At a retail price of $1,899, SKULLY’s smart helmet brings with it features you’d find in a car — like GPS, Bluetooth and a 180-degree rearview camera. All of that information is beamed to a heads-up display on the rider’s visor.
At first, the technology threw Terry Stickler, SKULLY’s development director who also has 40 years experience on a motorcycle. He said it took him a few weeks to get used to having all that information without having to look down.
But now?
“I just don’t even do a head check or look at the mirrors,” Stickler says. “I trust it that much.”
SKULLY’s offices in Northeast Atlanta will eventually house its retail showroom. For now, paying customers will see their helmets shipped directly to them.
And while SKULLY’s smart helmet might be the first to go to market (expected this summer, the company says), several competitors are right on SKULLY’s heels — including a company known for its own motorcycle mojo: BMW.
