Earlier this month, the STA Group announced that our latest flagship headphones - the Aeropex - have been shortlisted for the prestigious Sports Technology Award. We were in good company: five other exceptional brands were nominated for the award “Best Technology for Injury Prevention or Rehabilitation” alongside us.
The awards, held annually, are now recognized as an international mark of excellence. They are known as a unique celebration of technology-led innovation across sport globally and are judged by over 50 leading influencers from the world of sport and technology.
With the awards taking place on the 25th of June we’re eagerly awaiting a final winner, but are already feeling immensely proud of the connection that is being made between our open-ear product and the word safety. It’s a reminder of how our product was able to help workers, an issue that dates back to 2016.
At that time, manufacturers were worried about worker’s situational awareness in their facilities. Workers and unions were wanting to be able to pick up a call or listen to music during long working hours. Typically, major manufactures forbade workers from wearing earphones in both of their ears on-site for safety and awareness reasons. Upon a management contract negotiation, they found a solution in AfterShokz bone conduction headphones. Because of the open ear design, workers were able to hear their surrounding world.
As a result, in many General Motor factories such as GM Fisher Body Facility in Lansing, GM Arlington Texas Assembly plant, and GM Lansing Grand River and Lansing Regional Stamping, AfterShokz bone conduction headphones are now the only headphones allowed for workers to use.
Later on many United Auto Workers (UAW) unions took a step further to include AfterShokz headphones in their fitness club vouchers and AfterShokz was also able to provide a special coupon for union members.
When AfterShokz first began our focus was primarily on providing the safest and best experience of sound in sport. To be acknowledged for providing safety in the workplace is another huge feat for us.
Back to today, and various groups are facing the same safety risks through all aspects of life. Road safety ranks amongst the highest in the EU concerns according to the report ‘How safe is walking and cycling in Europe’ published by European Transport Safety Council in January 2020. 40% of British people have their own bicycles yet only 4% choose cycling as commuting transport, citing safety as a major reason why they don’t. This isn’t without good reason: an unexpectedly high percentage of 45% cyclists get injured on their commutes and wind up in hospital as a result.
These figures indicate that there’s still a long way to go in road safety. We are actively improving the way people experience sound while they are out and about, increasing their awareness of their surroundings by keeping their ears open.
Music, podcasts and phone calls are all part of our daily existence now. With AfterShokz open-ear headphones, you’re able to lighten your life and stay connected without compromising on your safety by blocking the outside world around you.
Stay open. Stay safe!
Q&A
Q: I thought AfterShokz is a sports headphone brand?
A: AfterShokz headphones were originally designed with sports activities in mind and were made specifically to be sweatproof, light-weight and secure fitting. Nowadays, more and more people are using our headphones in lots of environments outside of sport due to the open-ear design that provides a safe experience of sound, such as commuting, working, etc.
Q: What is General Motors (GM)?
A: The GM company is the largest American automobile manufacturer, and one of the world's largest car manufacturers. It makes vehicles in 15 countries and its core automobile brands include Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. To have AfterShokz acknowledged by GM is a huge feat for us!
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