Meet Tim O’Day of ThighPro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim O’Day.

Tim, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My love for baseball started at an early age. Once a year, my dad would take me to the old Oakland Coliseum to watch “Billy Ball” and the Bash Brothers take on the rest of the American League. My passion for baseball continued through my youth. Later in life, by chance, I was asked to umpire a Little League game by a coworker. It was that first game that sparked my passion to umpire and my desire to learn everything there was about the craft.

What started as a fun little side gig quickly turned into something more as I learned more and more about umpiring. For the next 10 years, umpiring was my second income, and I worked 8-10 youth games a week. I was a single dad raising two children, Tyler and Marissa, on my own. I wanted them to be able to have the things I didn’t as a child. You know, the basics like braces, computers, and family trips!

While working baseball games for the last 15 years, I’ve umpired many levels of baseball including Little League, High School, and College baseball in Northern California, Southern California, Middle Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky.

After years of standing behind the plate, I repeatedly took hits to my thighs from stray pitches and foul balls. These hits left painful and ugly bruises, especially with no protective gear. So the idea for ThighPro was born. As my love for umpiring grew, so did the desire to protect myself.

I constantly upgraded my protective equipment, and I was always trying something new – and there were some products available – but they were bulky, uncomfortable, or not meant for baseball. I saw the need and created ThighPro to protect umpires and catchers from bad pitches and injuries.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Finding a manufacturer was a very difficult process. Several companies just said no, some said there was a 3+ month-long backlog for new product development, and others wanted a 30,000-piece minimum order. After what seemed like months, I found a small woman-owned factory in Los Angeles that would start with a reasonable run, price, and most importantly, within a reasonable amount of time. On December 22, 2022, we had a meeting, and on February 1st, I had a sample in hand!

The day finally came when I had my first pair of ThighPro in hand. Now, I understand the “influencer unboxing” and immediately tried them on and went to the closet to get a baseball bat. My girlfriend looked at me like I was crazy because I sat down in the chair and hit each leg HARD a few times. I had to see if they worked. Sure enough, no bruising or pain. The next day, still no bruises. ThighPro works!

I wore ThighPro to a few games I umpired, and of course, I didn’t get hit. I wanted to get them on some players and I had the opportunity to meet with some of the staff at Vandy. They were excited about the product and catcher, Alan Espinal, agreed to wear them. We’re approaching the end of the season and Alan’s worn them for every game. “I don’t want to play without them.” is what he has said about ThighPro.

ThighPro caught the attention of MLB Catching Coach Bobby Wilson of the Texas Rangers and former MLB catcher. After some back and forth over Instagram messaging, I sent him a couple of samples. Bobby gave a pair to Rangers Catcher Mitchell Garver who wore them and hit two home runs in his first game wearing them. I was in Lexington, KY at the time and the only place to see the game was Buffalo Wild Wings – I wanted to watch that game to see him wearing them. Sure enough! There they were. Live and in person. ThighPro made its MLB debut!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
ThighPro is the only product on the market designed specifically to protect baseball/softball catchers and umpires from painful bruises and injuries caused when hit by a baseball. ThighPro is a Veteran owned company and our products are proudly manufactured in the USA at a woman-owned factory in Los Angeles. I created ThighPro as a catcher and umpire for catchers and umpires.

Extensive research and testing went into the development of ThighPro and was done so across many conferences including the SEC, the Mid-South Conference, the Big East, and the Atlantic-10 conference. ThighPro is currently worn by players on the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals, the Kansas City Royals, and the Washington Nationals, as well as the Vandyboys (Vanderbilt). Thigh Pro is currently available in men’s sizes XS-4XL and limited women’s sizes S-L and ships from Nashville, Tennessee.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I have to say I could not have done all of this without the help of Amy Zawacki. Her ability to help me come up with promotions, her help with my socials, and her unending support have kept me going.

As a Veteran of the US Army, there are some resources available to me that I never knew existed. Rob Corrigan at the Veterans Resource Outreach Center (VBOC) was a great help in providing some direction and business planning resources. They have a great 2-day class at Fort Campbell, KY I took, which then allowed me to take a 6-week long online class through the Boots to Business program at Mississippi State. If you are a Veteran or a family member of a Veteran, I would encourage you to reach out to the Veterans Center and get the help they offer.

ThighPro would not be what it is today without the input and feedback of Alan Espinal, an all-around nice guy who happens to be a catcher for the Vandyboys! He was the 1st college D1 baseball player to wear ThighPro and his feedback went into versions 2 and 3 of ThighPro. Check out the non-profit he works with @hopekidsinc here in Nashville.

Contact Info:

• Website: thighpro.com
• Instagram: @thighPro
• Facebook: ThighPro
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-o-day-35745516/
• Twitter: @thighpro
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thighpro

Image Credits
Amy Zawacki