WHO ARE THEY? BROTHERS JAMES (BRITISH CHAMP) & TOM MAYO (A SUB 4 MINUTE-MILER) BOTH WERE EX INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE DISTANCE ATHLETES & BLANCA MAYO (JAMES’S WIFE) WHO IS A QUALIFIED MEDICAL DOCTOR.
THE BACKGROUND
Back in 2004 it was an Olympic year, Tom was in the shape of his life and was racing in Southern Europe when he became severely dehydrated due to the hot summer temperatures. On his return to the UK, Tom was consoled by his older brother James who himself was a former international athlete. They discussed the ‘Why’s and what if’s’ after Toms experience, having ultimately missed out on a huge opportunity to run a personal best and gain Olympic selection due to poor preparation and fundamentally, the lack of a decent retail sports hydration product on the market.
It was here that the brothers vowed to embark on a life-long quest for a suitable alternative to the mass market sugary sports drinks and maybe, just maybe, they could create a ‘best in class’ product for sports hydration. They began comparing notes, researching and mixing different products together, from the classic ‘flat coke and salts mix’ used by athletes in the past, to mixing ‘one part orange juice to four parts water and a pinch of salt’, however no one experiment seemed to offer a complete solution that could help the active sports person or solve high level performance hydration requirements.
Some years later in 2011, by pure chance, a seminal moment happened in Tom’s living room. Whilst Tom, James and Blanca were chatting about the quest to find a better hydration solution for athletes, James turned on the news. It was reporting the drought in East Africa and the critical issue of dehydration in children. It was this ’eureka’ moment that Blanca turned their attention to begin the journey using medical formulas that combat extreme dehydration in disaster zones and ER Departments – and from this moment – the first foundations of SOS were born
THE PROBLEM
Dehydration can lead to a 25% loss in performance, which is BIG. 6,7,8. Sports drinks don’t replace the correct amount of electrolytes in the body. 13,5. We (and most runners) used to make our own concoctions because the sports sugar based drinks just don’t work. The so-called sports drink companies have formulas that are almost 40 years old.
We know of some sports drink companies who sponsor ‘Teams’ and complete ‘self fulfilling research’ at universities which they pay, that endorse the ‘sugar is needed’ myth to please the general population’s artificial sweet taste buds – in the meantime contributing to kids obesity and poor dental health – ignoring the fact that their sponsored elite athletes don’t use their products (We know. You should see our SOS delivery address book).
We can honestly say that we’ve never met ANY athlete on the world circuit in our day, that said “WOW, that sports drink helped me to perform better today.” Because they DON’T until NOW!
THE SOLUTION
So with real medical credentials for combating dehydration and first hand world-class athletic experience, SOS have a team who could test and medically trial the best formulas to solve dehydration once and for all. Please see our research and reference page.
(Doctor) Blanca set to work creating a hydration formula specifically designed for active lifestyles based off the best medical science and the best sporting research into seat loss using Tom, James and friends as the product testers.
THE RESULT
A hydration drink mix as effective as an IV drip. 3,4. A hydration drink that replaces the correct amount of electrolytes and not a token gesture. 2,5,9. A hydration drink that is Low in calories / Low in sugar product. A hydration drink that’s focus is purely and only electrolyte replacement for the athlete. Oh, and it’s also good for active lifestyles and the odd celebratory next day hangover too (yes, we know, we tested it, it works).
THE WISH
If dehydration can lead to a 25% loss in performance, what could we have achieved had we used SOS back in 2004?