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| By Alan Dorich | |
 IHT's helmets feature 3-D graphics and internal power systems that allow for internal cooling, LEDs and wireless communications. Based in San Antonio, IHT offers headgear products that range from helmets to backpacks. Through Akuma, the company sells helmets that feature 3-D airbrushed graphics and internal power systems that allow for internal cooling, LEDs, electroluminescent panels, electrochromic visors and wireless communications systems. Some may call these features gimmicks, but Harris asserts that the helmets will still protect their wearers in a crash. “If you have three-dimensional graphics you’ve never seen before on a helmet, why not do it?” he asks. “If you can do it at a price most people can afford, why not do it? That’s what we’ve done.” ‘The Mad Scientist’ IHT was founded in late 2005, while Akuma was formed one year later. According to Harris, the concept behind the companies’ helmets came while he was a U.S. Navy pilot stationed in Japan. There, Harris traded in his car for a motorcycle. “I taught myself to ride it in about 20 minutes,” he remembers. But when riding the motorcycle, Harris found that he needed to raise his visor when making stops, since it became fogged up. This happens because cool air travels inside the helmet through vents, and stops circulating when the wearer is no longer in motion. Harris says he got “the wild idea” to put fans inside the helmet to keep the air circulating and prevent the visor from becoming fogged. “It went pretty well,” Harris says, noting that he enjoys inventing. “They call me ‘the mad scientist.’” After his success with the fans, Harris decided to add small LEDs inside the helmet, as well. “The LEDs were placed right above my eyes,” he remembers. “It looked real robotic, real futuristic. I literally would have people in the street stop [and stare].” Before long, people asked Harris to make the same modifications to their helmets. When Harris returned to the United States, he was stationed at the Strike Fighter Weapons School in Lemoore, Calif. There, he founded IHT and began perfecting his technology. Harris then developed a custom-made power system that could power multiple electronic devices on or inside the helmets. Afterward, he tried without success to market it to large manufacturers of helmets. “This is an industry that hadn’t changed in 35 years,” he explains. “There’s always a resistance to something new.” The time he spent pitching the technology was not wasted, however. “In the course of dealing with these companies and dealing with the presidents and heads of R&D, I had learned the industry,” he explains. “I had learned how it’s done.” With the motorcycle knowledge of his staff at IHT, Harris decided the company was capable of making its helmets on its own. “We keep our finger on the pulse of the street,” he says, adding that his entire staff is composed of motorcycle riders. Akuma hired Michael Lavallee, an airbrush artist and owner of KILLERPAINT Airbrush Studio, to exclusively paint the graphics on its helmets. “They all look three-dimensional,” Harris says. Akuma does not use major distributors, which allows it to offer its helmets at $300, as opposed to its more expensive competitors who offer much less technology and innovation at twice the price, he says. Although brand recognition and market saturation is a bit slower, “We haven’t given up any quality,” Harris asserts. “We’ve actually given you more than you’re used to paying [for],” he continues, adding that the company also can react to clients faster than its larger competitors. “The other guys have got to go through the red tape and bureaucracy.” ‘Changing the Industry’ IHT and Akuma’s work has paid off, Harris says. “We’re actually changing the industry,” he states. “We can’t keep our helmets on the shelf.” He notes that IHT and Akuma Helmets have made 12,000 helmets so far this year. The companies have applied the same technology to bicycle and welding helmets and goggles, with red, green and blue LEDs as well as electroluminescent panels and cooling systems. “We’re doing some very, very innovative things,” Harris says. “They’re being very well accepted across the law enforcement, bicycle and power sports industries.” In addition, Akuma has received critical acclaim. In 2006, its V-1 Ghost Rider helmet was named the Motorcycle Helmet of the Year by webBikeWorld. The Web site praised the helmet for its functionality and its graphics, which were inspired by the F-14 Tomcat fighter. Akuma recently signed a deal to be the exclusive helmet manufacturer for Orange County Choppers Inc., the custom motorcycle company featured on the Discovery Channel series “American Chopper.” Harris says he is gratified by the success of IHT and Akuma. “We have major companies and clients come to us and say, ‘Can you help us do this?’” he says. IHT and Akuma’s success is due to “plain old imagination and innovation,” Harris says. “It’s not rocket science, but [then] again, rocket scientists didn’t think of it.” Harris also credits the success to his family, including his wife, Kendall Harris. “I can't give her enough credit,” he says. “[She] has really been my rock, putting up with 'the mad scientist,' as they call me.” He also lauds his cousin, C. Mack. “He's been like an angel on my shoulder,” Kerry Harris says. “He's advised me financially [and] he's advised me personally.” Harris also praises IHT Executive Reggie Johnson, who he knew while Johnson served in the U.S. Marines. “He flew F-18s for the Marine Corps,” Harris says. “He's in charge of the day-to-day operations in IHT. Another key staff member is Akuma Sales Manager Tessie Thomas. “If you look at any of the blogs [or] any of the forums online, you'll find that Akuma's customer service is top rated,” Harris says. “All that credit goes to her. She really takes the time to treat each customer as if they're our only customer, and that's our company policy.” IHT and Akuma have benefited from a resurgence of interest in motorcycles, thanks to their increased exposure in movies, “American Chopper” and advertising. “That's made motorcycles cool again,” he says. The image of motorcycles has changed, as well. “It's not the rebel, bad-boy thing it used to be,” he says. “[Now,] it's relaxing and a hobby enjoyed across all demographics and cultures regardless of income or profession.” In addition, the rise in gas prices has aided the industry, Harris says, since motorcycles consume less fuel than automobiles. The importance placed on motorcycle safety has benefited IHT and Akuma, as well. “Most knowledgeable riders and enthusiasts know that [safety is important] but cool and safe if optimal,” Harris says. IHT’s future offerings will include a helmet with a shock-absorbing system, which he developed for football and motorcycle helmets. “[It’s] designed after the arresting gear on an aircraft carrier,” he says. “If the system can stop an aircraft, why can’t you use [it] in a helmet?” Harris predicts that IHT will dominate multiple industries. “What we bring to the industry is a cutting-edge innovation based on a foundation [rather than components],” he says. “We’re going to give you a foundation to power all the latest components existing, and yet to be invented, [with] no need for components or electronics to carry batteries or their own power source because the helmet or product now is the power source.” Its Integrated Power System – or I.P.S. – can be applied to thousands of products across many industries, he says. |
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