Why We Started Heat Hydration

This blog post will be a bit different than typical. I want to dive into a question that comes up frequently. How did Heat Hydration start? And it's a pretty wild story.

Heat Hydration took shape in the deserts of Utah, but the idea started with a run in Mexico that went very wrong.

I was on spring break during my college ultimate season, trying to stay in shape while away from the team. There was a lighthouse about five miles from our hotel, and running there seemed like a great way to explore and get a workout in.

So I headed out at 2 p.m. In 95-degree heat. With a UV index of 11. Weather a kid from Northern Vermont was not used to.

Looking back, it wasn’t my best plan.

About 30 minutes in, I started feeling lightheaded. But I was a competitive college athlete, and my instinct was to push through discomfort. I wanted to finish the run.

By 50 minutes, things had changed. I was dizzy, weak, and overheating, with five miles between me and the hotel. In my head, continuing to run seemed like the fastest way back.

I eventually made it to my room, stripped off my drenched clothes, and collapsed onto the bed. The next thing I remember, roughly 5-10 minutes later, was a member of the cleaning staff shouting for help after finding me unconscious and completely naked.

It’s an embarrassing story to tell. It’s also frightening to think about how much worse it could have been.

Until that afternoon, I had treated heat like another challenge I could overcome through fitness and determination. That experience forced me to rethink that attitude. Being fit didn’t make me immune, and pushing harder wasn’t always the right answer.

It also made me curious. Why did I struggle so much in the heat? What was happening inside my body? How could I better support myself during the activities I loved?

Those questions eventually led us to create Heat Hydration.

As an athlete and an engineer, I wanted to turn that curiosity into something practical. Building the company became a way to bring together my love of being active, my interest in how the body works, and my desire to make something useful for other people.

Today, I think about more than athletes. I think about construction crews, emergency responders, and anyone whose day means spending hours in hot conditions.

Hydration is one part of that picture. So is knowing when to slow down, cool off, or stop.

I still love getting outside and pushing myself. I just have a lot more respect for the heat now.

Heat Hydration grew out of that lesson.