Dan Eisenhardt is the CEO of FORM, the company behind the world’s first smart swim goggles. Dan is no stranger to swimming and emerging technology - before starting FORM, Dan swam competitively for 14 years and founded Recon Instruments, which introduced the world’s first smart eyewear for sports in 2010.

Recon made smart eyewear products for skiing, cycling, and running, and was acquired by Intel in 2015. FORM employs many of those from the original Intel-Recon squad, and thus leverages decades of combined expertise in sports-eyewear design, activity-tracking algorithms, and augmented-reality optics. Basically at FORM, they really know swimming, and really know tech.

Dan and I discussed his journey to creating FORM, all of the goggle’s features (metrics, build quality, open water functionality, etc.), their rigorous development and testing lifecycle, and other fun topics like Dan’s experience filming their promo commercial and his vision on the future of triathlon tech.

You might be wondering, what makes these goggles so special and…smart? Why should I ditch my Speed Vanquishers or Swedish goggles? Well at a minimum, the goggles are created with the highest quality of materials, giving you a swim companion that’s comfortable, durable, and built to last. In addition, the goggles can display all the swimming metrics that you’ll ever need, right in front of your eye as you swim, such as: split time, pace per 100, distance, interval time, rest time, total time, stroke rate, stroke count, distance per stroke, length count, calories burned, and even heart rate (with a Polar OH1 +). All those metrics you have while running and cycling? We have them now for swimming. That’s pretty cool!

The goggles use artificial intelligence and machine learning to be truly “set and forget”, meaning once you start, you won’t have to touch them until you’re done with your workout. It’s also 2020, which means YES, the goggles sync with Strava and TrainingPeaks and YES, the goggles come with its own app for both iOS and Android. The app breaks down all your metrics into easy-to-read tables and charts for you (and even your coach) to learn and improve upon for your next workout.

You can also follow other athletes with the goggles as well. I don’t remember seeing a “Share to Instagram Story” feature yet, but I’m sure that’s in the pipeline ;)

For open water functionality, as of July 29, 2020, with just the goggles itself - you get stroke rate, total time, calories, and heart rate (if you have a Polar OH1 +). For GPS features like distance and speed in the open water, you’ll need to pair your goggles via bluetooth with the following compatible smart watches: Garmin Forerunner 945, Garmin fēnix 5 Plus and fēnix 6 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 3, 4, and 5.

I’ve tested the goggles out in both the pool and open water, and I think they’re pretty amazing. They really do what they say they’re going to do, and work pretty damn well.

I had a great time with Dan, and it was a pleasure to have him on the podcast today! I really felt his passion and excitement for the goggles…and I hope that you do too.

Enjoy the chat!

Show Notes

OPEN WATER SWIM UPDATE (July 30, 2020): In the goggles, you’ll now see an “Open Water Swim” option in addition to the standard “Pool Swim” option! Prior to this update, you had to select “Pool Swim” and set an “Unknown” distance if you wanted to use the goggles in open water. This update formalizes FORM’s open water functionality in both the goggles and mobile phone app.
For open water functionality (as of July 30, 2020), with just the goggles itself - you get stroke rate, total time, calories, and heart rate (if you have a Polar OH1 +). For GPS features like distance and speed in the open water, you’ll need to pair your goggles via bluetooth with the following compatible smart watches: Garmin Forerunner 945, Garmin fēnix 5 Plus and fēnix 6 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 3, 4, and 5.
FORM Swim’s awesome commercial on YouTube
FORM Swim’s Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and website
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