Dieter Thellmann, native of Central Ohio and inventor of Quik Hands fitness gloves, grew up playing soccer at Pickerington High School. He never realized his childhood diversion would turn into a lifelong pursuit. “I played soccer in one of the first youth soccer leagues in Columbus,” he says. “I played until my thirties and then felt the urge to become a coach.” All of that experience paid off when he became assistant coach of The Ohio State University soccer team in 1996 and 1997.

 

While coaching at OSU, he started brainstorming ways to increase the reaction time of his goalkeepers. He wondered if adding small resistance weights to their hands and wrists would quicken their response time. After checking with Dr. Peter Edwards to ensure he wouldn’t cause any damage to his players’ joints, he started building prototypes for gloves that carried four to seven ounce weights—weights that were small enough to increase muscle tone without burdening the individual.

“I did my research to find out if there was anything else like them out in the marketplace, and there wasn’t,” he says. “It was around 1995 when I was doing the research on the benefits of overload training. That’s when I decided that I needed a manufacturer. There really wasn’t anything like this around.”

A few years later, with prototypes and patent in hand, he started marketing the gloves at health and wellness expos all over the east coast. 

 

A young lady uses the gloves to elevate her heart rate

“Goalkeepers loved the idea,” he says. “Now, six MLS goalkeepers train with the glove.” Among those who strap on the gloves include John Busch, 2008 goaltender of the year, a former Columbus Crew goalie and current player for the San Jose Sharks—and he’s not the only one. Portugal’s national team, the Polish national team and the backup goalkeeper for Barcelona, train with it too.

 The glove, that can be worn running, walking, doing household chores or really during any normal exercise routine, has been shown to have results far and beyond wearing them during a brisk walk or a jog.

“We made a presentation to the arthritis organization at the local level, and they thought it was a great idea. It gets more blood moving to areas that need the circulation. Before we knew it we were talking to the Arthritis Foundation at the national level," Thellman says. "It’s not going to cure arthritis, but the key to managing it is staying active, making sure bloods getting to those areas. In raising your heart rate more quickly, these gloves help to alleviate the pain.”

But there were unseen therapeutic values to the gloves that he almost overlooked.

“These gloves can even help in the physical therapy of the first few stages of Parkinson’s. There was a man, a Parkinson’s patient, who had to give up woodworking because of his tremors. Wearing these gloves let him take it back up again.”

These gloves even helped his colleague, the coach of Mt. Vernon Nazarene’s soccer program, after he suffered a heart attack.

 

The gloves can be worn by anyone, of any age and fitness level

“It’s such a small amount of weight, but it’s still resistance training. They’re giving them to people who’ve had open-heart surgery.”

Now, the founder and inventor of Quik Hands, promotes his product full-time.

“My main focus is Quik Hands,” Thellman says, “but if time allows, I’ll try and coach the Pickerington North soccer program. I’d really like to get out there and coach again.”