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home > about > news/press> boston business journal - 02_01
Jill Lerner, Boston Business Journal Staff
CAMBRIDGE - When Vinu Malik caught a glimpse of a triathlete magazine in 1986, the college sophomore saw far more than a fit body.
Malik, then suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, saw the prospect of a new lifestyle in the photograph of Ironman champion, Dave Scott. "This dude was fit," said the 5-foot, 10-inch Malik, whose weight had plummeted from 160 to little more than 120 pounds during his illness. "I said, `He's so far from where I am.' "
Inspired by the picture of health incarnate, Malik set about to become a triathlete. Never a fitness buff before taking ill, Malik couldn't even swim a full lap his first time out. Nor could he bike more than two miles or run even half a mile. But with a determination he would later harness in the service of his sports-related company, Malik plugged away, and by the end of that summer was up to 35 full laps in the pool. As he slowly recovered, Malik entered his first triathlon on Cape Cod, placing 64th out of 67 contestants.
Today, Malik, 33, is training for his 11th Ironman competition, and the converted sports enthusiast recently signed a license agreement that designates his athletic hydration system, Fuel Belt, the official hydration system of the swimming, biking and running race.
Founded in 1998, Cambridge-based Fuel Belt Inc. is a manufacturer of hydration products for runners, triathletes and endurance athletes. Chief among those products is the Fuel Belt itself, a hydration system designed to replace traditional water bottle carriers. The Fuel Belt is made of a knit elastic that wraps around an athlete's waist and is fastened with Velcro. Fuel Belts can hold up to eight, 6-ounce flasks.
The company is administered primarily from Malik's office in Cambridge and includes five full-time employees in the United States, and more than 40 independent sales associates. While the majority of Fuel Belts are sold over the Internet at http://www.fuelbelt.com, the systems, which cost from $29.95 to $37.95, also can be found at retail stores, including Road Runner Sports.
Originally from Attleborough, Malik graduated from American University in Washington in 1990 with a degree in history and economics. After a series of sales jobs, he joined Boston-based college marketing and media firm Student Advantage Inc. in the mid-1990s, and held down various positions in the company throughout most of the rest of the decade.
As he was gaining hands-on business experience, Malik continued to train and participate in triathlon events. By then, he had set his sights on various Ironman Triathlon contests--considered the "mother of all triathlons" for which participants swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run a full 26.2-mile marathon.
During a 1998 Ironman competition in the Canary Islands, Malik caught a glimpse of another contestant's homemade hydration system. The wrap-around contraption held multiple bottles, as opposed to the traditional single-bottle holders that bounced up and down uncomfortably on a runner's back. Upon returning home, Malik borrowed his mother's sewing machine and began experimenting with fabrics. He found lotion bottles that fit perfectly into his crude invention, but honing its aesthetics proved more difficult."
I started making them in white which didn't look that nice," Malik remembered.
Malik switched to black, elastic fabric and, in January 1999, left Student Advantage to concentrate on his new business full-time. Using a combination of personal savings and proceeds from Student Advantage stock after that company had gone public, Malik began courting the 34 million-person running community.
He started by sending Fuel Belts to the world's top-ranked triathletes and their agents. Soon, the system was popping up in race photographs in magazines, and on television. It wasn't long before demand far outpaced production, and the entrepreneur nearly ran out of inventory."
You name it, any problem, I've had it," Malik said.
Later that year, Malik's brother, Neil, signed on to help manage the growing business, and shortly afterward Fuel Belt signed a licensing agreement with Florida-based Ironman Corp., allowing Malik to brand the belt, "The official hydration belt of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship."
Priscilla Fraiegari, public relations director for Ironman, said the designation speaks to Fuel Belt's quality."
It's probably one of the best designed," she said, adding that many Ironman triathletes apparently agree."
You look around and if you look at these athletes, you see a lot of Fuel Belts."
Despite his success, Malik doesn't harbor any plans to move his growing business to more corporate digs. His office set up allows him the flexibility to train for this summer's Ironman Brazil and Ironman USA in Lake Placid, N.Y., and that usually means a 5:30 a.m. run at the Harvard University track, post-lunch stationary bike ride and swimming laps in the evening.
While he expects to bring Fuel Belt to more than 1,200 retail stores in the coming year, the man who once suffered from an illness he described as "mono times five" is largely focused on one immediate goal: a separate category in the Lake Placid contest for chief executive officers, and the title, "Fittest CEO in North America."
"I'm shooting to win the whole division," said Malik. "Not only that, but I'll be wearing my own product." |
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