NEWS

By: Chris McLachlin, OHA Media

There has always been a dark and pungent part of hockey that people in the game have always known about, but never talked about. Everyone knows about it: players; coaches; parents and friends, and nobody has ever done anything about it… until now. The days of stinky hands from hockey gloves are coming to an end, thanks to Clap Balm, an exciting new product created and tested in the OHA by Dan Black and Matt Laberge.

Dan and Matt are the co-founders of Clap Balm, an all-natural hand cream that you apply to your hands after hockey to kill the unwanted smell left by gloves. Although Clap Balm has only been available since this summer, it is already making its mark and ridding the hockey world of that unwanted smell and you can get on with your day without dragging the smell of hockey around with you.

Dan Black is a 20 year old goaltender in the OHA playing for his hometown St. Thomas Stars in the GOJHL. Black has appeared in 60 GOJHL games over the span of 4 seasons and last season with the Stars, he won 14 games, including 4 shutouts. Before joining St. Thomas, Black played two seasons with the Aylmer Spitfires Junior C team. He is enrolled at Western University in the Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies program, but is taking the year off to focus on hockey and getting Clap Balm into the hands of as many hockey players as possible.

Matt Laberge, 21 years old from Strathroy, graduated from the Strathroy Rockets last season as their captain and patrolled the blue line for 155 GOJHL games over parts of 5 seasons. Matt also played 45 games in the OHA with the Alvinston Flyers Junior C team in 2012-13. Aside from his role with Clap Balm, Laberge is a first-year student in Fanshawe College’s four-year Business Management program, he is busy coaching a Peewee minor hockey team in Strathroy and he is also an assistant coach with the Strathroy Rockets in the GOJHL. 

What is Clap Balm? Laberge explained, “Clap balm is a hand cream that goes on your hands right after hockey to kill the stink. If you know a hockey player, you are a hockey player, the stink is something that you can't scrub, you can't wash, you can't shower it off, it's there and you need something to take it off and that's Clap Balm. It's all natural, it's portable, it's inexpensive, and it's got good value. One tin, for $9.99 will last you about two months.”

Everyone in hockey recognizes the stink as a problem, but until now no one has had a viable solution. Black said he started playing with the idea of finding a solution last November in his mom’s kitchen, “I would go to the local apothecary store and buy shea butter for the first time and make this little cream”. 

In March of 2016, Black told Laberge that he wanted to meet, but he didn’t say why. When they got together he showed him his first prototype and described what it was for and Laberge exclaimed, “Yeah finally, why has no one thought of this?” That was the moment when Laberge realized this could be something they could do, saying, “When it was in front of me it was a no-brainer, we have to do this, people will use that”. Laberge added, “Even if we don’t make money, we can give it to our teams. Someone needs to do this because it’s a good idea.”

Black added, “We started to formulate and we decided, everyone has their own unique way of solving it, but there’s no one clear, well-branded hockey solution, there’s not one thing that every hockey player can turn to… and we figured Clap Balm could be the solution”.

The pair came up with the name, a play on the hockey term “clap bomb”, finalized their formula, developed their marketing plans, created the #balmsquad, sourced a manufacturer, and officially launched Clap Balm in the summer. A lot of work in a short time, and the response so far has been incredible, selling out in some stores in one day. The challenge has been keeping up with demand for their new product.  Black explained, “We need to make sure we can get more, and that’s where we’re focusing our efforts on now, making sure that if you want Clap Balm, and you’re in any part of Canada, you can get it. That’s our goal, and we’re prepared to make it happen”.

Clap Balm is now being used by players in the NHL, NCAA, OHL, minor hockey and by players and teams across the OHA. 

Matt and Dan originally met a number of years ago when they were both at Steve McKichan’s Future Pro Goalie School, Dan as a young goaltender looking to improve his puck-stopping skills and Matt employed as a shooter. Dan eventually joined Future Pro as an employee and the two become co-workers and friends. Black said, “(at Future Pro) we had a good working relationship,” and added, “We teamed up to do this because we figured we both have similar interests and we both want to pursue similar goals. We thought we'd put our minds together and help each other out.”

Dan and Matt attribute a lot of their early success with Clap Balm to what they learned while at Future Pro, and view McKichan as a mentor and positive influence. Laberge said, “Steve is a big one (mentor), he'll give you the opportunity and he'll say ‘find a way’. That taught us to be independent and you might try something and it might not work the first or second or third time, but if you keep taking it from a little different angle, you're going to get there and that's how he got to where he is. I think we've taken that, in our own interpretation, and done the same thing.”

Black also said they learned a lot from McKichan’s experiences and what he’s shared with them over the years, saying :“(McKichan) told us to be a little bit stern in certain situations and to accept opportunity and to take advantage of opportunity at any time. Failure's not an option.”

Both young entrepreneurs recognize how much they have learned and developed through hockey. Laberge said, “Everyone says hockey teaches you on and off the ice, and that’s what this is. They don’t sit you down and teach you business skills, but they teach you how to talk to people, how to respect your coaches, how to deal with refs. That all ties in with business: networking, communication skills, and consistency”.

“Any sort of conversation I've ever had with a coach could easily have been applied to my experiences with developing Clap Balm” said Black. “There's going to be times you don't know what to do and the only thing you can do is keep your head down and find a solution.”

Laberge and Black also recognize how they are part of an important cycle in hockey, with Laberge saying that “hockey is truly former players teaching new players to be ex-players”. Black added, “local hockey brought us up, raised us, and we can be doing the same for others one day”. 

They see themselves and their budding business as parts of their communities. They have already sponsored a local AAA hockey player this season and they are helping a St. Thomas Panthers girls team attend a Canadian Women’s Hockey League game and meet the players. Black commented, “We’ve had just as many opportunities to speak to young people, to be leaders in our community and share our stories with them and how you can make a business into a reality.” Black added, “We’re a part of the hockey community and we want to keep it that way.”

With strong sales and strong demand for their product, what’s next for these two budding entrepreneurs? Black said, “We got a thrill off of developing and then launching and getting a product that we call ours into the hands of other people. I'm not sure if it will be more scents, or different products, different industries, we're not really sure at this point, although we do want to keep the train going.” They hope to expand throughout the North American market and eventually internationally as well, the demand is there and the awareness of their brand is beginning to spread as they received a message that morning from someone in Switzerland looking to purchase some of their product. 

Laberge said that some people might call them dreamers and at times he can’t believe how far they have come himself, but with good mentors and persistence they continue to surprise even themselves. He added, “That's what we tell people: If you believe it, you're going to have days where you might not believe it as much, but if you keep doing the right things, you're going to go in the right direction.”

Their early success has people now contacting them and saying they have an idea and suggesting ‘why don’t you guys do it?’ Laberge said, “We're always striving to find the next thing and that just comes with keeping your ear to the ground and staying involved in the (hockey) community. Time is on our side right now. If we can do one thing really, really well at the start, maybe that will lead to other things and we can just ride the wave.”

For now, Dan Black and Matt Laberge are enjoying the success of Clap Balm and their role in eliminating stinky hands from hockey gloves.

For more information on Clap Balm, please visit them at: www.clapbalm.com and join the #balmsquad.