By Rachel Dinh

He’s not just a teacher. Or Tempe City Councilman and part-time lawyer. TPA’s very own Mr. Granville is also an entrepreneur, launching a Kickstarter for his own line of running shirts.

The “Ice Shirt” has been in the making for about three months. It all started with an idea Mr. Granville had while driving home from the Boulder Half Ironman in June. “By the time I finished the race, it was easily 90-plus degrees.I was miserable in the heat.My time suffered, not because of my fitness level, but because of the heat.In response to that race, I started trying to think of ways to keep cool on hot runs.” After failed online searches for cooling running shirts, he realized that he couldn’t just find an ice shirt; he had to make one. So he worked with a local clothing company to make prototypes and even got a patent on the shirt.

Here’s how it works: compartments on the front and the back of the shirt store ice. Worried about the possibility of that ice shaking around while running? No problem, Mr. Granville’s got you covered. Not only does the shirt ensure stability of the ice, but it ensures even distribution of the melted ice using some temperature dispersion technology. Furthermore, this shirt is one of a kind. He explains, “It is the only shirt on the market that allows someone to simply grab ice from an aid station on a run and put it in their shirt.The ice keeps you cool, and is easy to replace when it melts.”

Mr. Granville is currently trying to raise $12,000 on Kickstarter from now until October 6th. The pre-orders from the website will help fund the initial startup cost to go into production. People will receive shirts depending on the amount of money pledged. Different shirts are available: the running shirt, multi-sport shirt, cycling jersey, and outdoor activity top. All are similar in that they have ice compartments and are for both men and women.The different versions have added features. The cycling jersey, for instance, also includes cycling pockets for extra tube and nutrition.

Despite his enormous capabilities, Mr. Granville could not have done this on his own. Reflecting on the entire process, he says, “I’ve been reminded of the value of friends.While I am the one who has coordinated all the work, I’ve had to rely on talented friends to do the things I’m not good at.For example, Mr. Sweet helped me with some of the science issues I was having, and another friend helped me by making the video for the shirt.There is no way I could have done all the various aspects of this on my own.”