We fell into impact protection.
When I first started riding motorcycles on the street in 2016, I knew I wanted to be smart about safety gear. Little by little I learned what I needed to wear when it came to helmets, boots, and abrasion resistant fabrics. But the armor that came with my riding gear sucked. So I didn't wear it. It was made of bulky, rigid foam that was highly visible from the outside and uncomfortable, especially for summer riding. I even experienced knee pain from the tension of wearing the default armor in my pants. But I needed impact protection, that's an essential factor in reducing injuries from an accident.
I knew there had to be other options, so I sought them out. I learned a lot about PPE. I found reputable independent brands in Europe who were making huge strides in the industry. Eventually my personal riding journey grew into a business with a greater vision: providing innovative and effective protection to all the riders that I could reach. I launched Great Lake Supply Co. during the summer of 2018. In Milwaukee’s scene of old school riders, many had never heard of anything beyond leather. Our brand became a niche educational platform in modern motorcycle safety.
Now I wanted to dream bigger, imagining a protection system that could go from the daily commute, to a job site, to other high-impact hobbies.
In 2024 I decided to create the perfect multi-purpose protectors that would suit the rest of life off the bike. Even better, let's make it in the USA. I got my husband involved in the business to scale the vision. We wanted to kneel comfortably on our armor, we wanted it to reduce fatigue and for it to become a pain prevention tool. We consulted with construction companies, tradespeople, and manufacturers to develop a piece of PPE that offered the best protection and comfort possible, in an ergonomic form that slid discretely into protective pants. Stealth Guard was born! This prompted us to go back to the drawing board with the company. In order to serve a greater population and bring this technology to new industries, we expanded the vision of my motorcycle safety gear business into Stealth Armor Co., a company catering to active lifestyles.
We like learning how things work, and that’s how our love of motorcycles lead us down the rabbit hole into the exciting world of safety gear. You’ve found us along the journey in an endless pursuit of great design, evolving with each new technological breakthrough. Our goal is to improve quality of life and longevity through thoughtful product design, and each piece of intelligent equipment brings us one step closer to the tech utopia we dream of.
- Meghan Stark
Founder, Stealth Armor Co.