Juan of Unit 1: Reinventing the Bike Helmet

We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup________________________Gerry sits down with Juan, co-founder of Unit 1, the company behind the smart helmets Gerry's whole family now wears. They cover the pandemic pivot from ski helmets to cycling, why people don't wear helmets (and how design fixes that), what MIPS actually does, teaching drivers to read turn signals on a cyclist's head, and the newly announced Bosch partnership connecting helmet and e-bike. Plus the 35-minute customer support call that convinced Gerry this is what human-centred business looks like.The conversation digs into what "smart" really means — and why Juan is trying to retire the word. They unpack MIPS and rotational impact protection in plain language, the logic of putting turn signals and brake lights above the roofline of cars so riders speak the driver's language, and the mental-model shift required before motorists instinctively read a signal on a cyclist's head. Gerry raises the questions his friends actually asked: do we need a smart helmet? Are they tracking you? (No, they're not.) And what about speakers for music — how does a safety company decide which customer requests to act on?Gerry also tells the story that sparked this episode: a 35-minute Zoom support call with Anna from Unit 1 after an app update, and the philosophy behind it — "we don't see this as a problem, we see it as an opportunity." Juan explains why the founders still hop on customer calls themselves, and how those conversations turn customers into the brand's best salespeople, one traffic-light conversation at a time.Unit1 have kindly given you, the listener of This is HCD, a 10% discount ($100 minimum) HCDPODCAST-10https://www.unit1gear.com/________________________BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION→ Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training→ Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses→ Coaching Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/members→ Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/________________________BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this→ FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion (Sign up for free with an email)https://www.thisishcd.com/dashboard/learning/introduction-to-journey-management→ Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory→ Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partnersGerry wears clothes from Sutsu, and has a coupon code for them, as well as Smaply, Scenario Cards, Unit 1 and more...________________________All episodes have been produced by This is Podcasting.