[Swim Series] Custom Swim Goggles Powered by Innovation With Rasmus Barfred

Rasmus Barfred is the Co-founder of THEMAGIC5, a company redefining athletic gear through custom-fit products powered by 3D scanning and robotic technology. He has helped grow the company into a global brand, securing investment on Shark Tank and expanding its reach worldwide. Building on this technology, he also helped launch Vayu Sleep, which applies custom-fit solutions to CPAP masks for sleep apnea patients. With a background in entrepreneurship, he focuses on scaling innovation across sports and healthcare.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [4:01] Rasmus Barfred on facial scanning technology for custom-fit swim goggles
• [11:36] The story behind evolving a product from Kickstarter roots
• [15:27] How combining hardware and software drives innovation in the industry
• [17:38] Why recreational swimmers became THEMAGIC5’s breakout audience
• [20:02] Olympic athletes joining the company as partners and investors
• [25:29] AI impact on customer service and backend operations
• [33:20] Role of paid social ads in scaling growth on Meta
• [38:27] Expansion vision beyond swimming into broader sports markets

In this episode…

What happens when a simple, everyday frustration turns into an opportunity to rethink an entire industry? How do you go from solving one small problem to building technology that reshapes how products are designed and delivered? And what does it take to turn customization into a true competitive advantage?

According to Rasmus Barfred, a visionary entrepreneur and product innovator, solving the issue of poor-fitting swim goggles meant reimagining the entire process through facial scanning and advanced technology. He highlights how starting with a Kickstarter campaign opened the door to diverse user insights, which helped refine both product and software through continuous feedback loops and AI-driven improvements. This approach transformed a niche idea into a scalable system that serves everyone from casual swimmers to elite athletes. He also shares how positioning the business as a tech platform unlocked new growth opportunities and credibility.

In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, host Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Rasmus Barfred to discuss building a tech-driven brand in sports gear. They explore scaling through hardware and software integration, using AI to enhance customer experience, and leveraging partnerships for growth. Rasmus also shares insights on expanding their technology into new industries.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Rasmus Barfred on LinkedIn
• THEMAGIC5  ✂ $20% Discount Code: Jeremy20
• Vayu Sleep
• Kickstarter
• Rapha
• “The Sharks BEG For A Deal With The Magic 5” | Shark Tank US | Shark Tank Global
• Shopify
• Daily News Dose Podcast
• The Daily Podcast

Special offer:

1. Go to https://themagic5.com/collections/swim-goggles
2. Pick your goggles and add them to your cart
3. At checkout, enter code ✂ Jeremy20 in the discount field to save 20%

Special mention(s):

• Mark Cuban on LinkedIn
• Nirav Tolia on LinkedIn
• Niklas Hedegaard on LinkedIn
• Bo Haaber on LinkedIn
• Matthew Grevers
• Jan Frodeno
• Casper Stornes
• Hayden Wilde
• David Walton on LinkedIn

Related episodes:

• “[Protein Bar Series] How To Start From Scratch With a Food Product Business with Peter Rahal Founder of RxBar” on Inspired Insider Podcast
• “[Protein Bar Series] Growing a Brain and Body Nutrition Company With Will Nitze” on Inspired Insider Podcast
• “[Beverage Series] Mastering The Ancient Art of Jun Kombucha with Holly Lyman, Founder of Wild Tonic” on Inspired Insider Podcast

Quotable moments:

• “Our ethos is bringing customization to the masses.”
• “Without authentic experiences, it’s hard to build a sports brand.”
• “Goggles should fit perfectly — comfortable and leak-free.”
• “If you don’t know something, you go out, learn it, and figure it out.”
• “AI tools have made us more efficient, even reducing the size of our marketing team.”

Action steps:

1. Collect and apply continuous user feedback: Regular input from diverse users helps refine both hardware and software, especially when early assumptions don’t match real-world use.
2. Use AI to improve efficiency and automate operations: AI can streamline customer support and backend processes, reducing manual workload and freeing teams to focus on higher-impact work.
3. Stay connected to real users and authentic experiences: Direct engagement with users in real environments helps maintain relevance and ensures the brand stays grounded in actual needs.
4. Let real data guide your target audience: Be open to shifting your core market based on actual adoption patterns rather than initial assumptions.
5. Build a team with diverse perspectives: Surrounding yourself with co-founders, mentors, and tools that challenge your thinking helps reduce blind spots and improve decision-making.

Episode Transcript

Intro 00:15

You are listening to Inspired Insider with your host, Dr. Jeremy Weisz.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz 00:22

Dr. Jeremy Weisz here. I am the Founder of InspiredInsider.com, where I talk with inspirational entrepreneurs and leaders. Today is no different. I have Rasmus Barfred. You can check him out THEMAGIC5. You can check out TheMagic5.com. If you can’t tell. I look a little different today. I’m wearing my magic5, which I got. I’m a huge fan of the product, and we’ll get into it. And how I stumbled across Rasmus, not only have a great product, they have great marketing too. So you guys tracked me down with your marketing, and I love it. So, before I formally introduce you, Rasmus, I always like to point out other episodes of the podcast people should check out, since I love to have some of my favorite products on the show.

I had the founder of our RxBar talking about their journey, the founder of IQBAR talking about their journey, and the founder of Wild Tonic Kombucha talking about how they started. And I don’t know if you want to give a shout-out, but what are some of your favorite products? I mean, THEMAGIC5 is obviously one of mine in the swim arena, or maybe the health arena. Maybe talk about some of your favorites. Rasmus. I like the Shokz headset and the Garmin Swim two watch are some of mine. What are some of your favorites, gonna be swimming or just health-related? Because I know you were a big athlete, triathlete, swimmer.

Rasmus Barfred: 01:42

So I’ll go a little bit outside of swimming. I’ll go into cycling. One of the brands that really inspired me, at least they really inspired me five, ten, ten years ago, maybe was Rapha, the British cycling brand? They went into an old industry, the cycling industry, that was dominated by a few, maybe a little sleepy brains, if you could put it that way, that made very, very similar products. They went in with a very clear brain strategy and fundamentally changed that market. And everyone basically follows what Rafa did 15 years ago. I’m super inspired by that. And I think they have done an amazing job in online business athlete partner activations, but also in events, creating their clubhouses. There’s a clubhouse in Denmark, there’s a clubhouse in New York, and clubhouses in London. So, that’s a brand that really inspires me today. They’ve become so big. So they do a lot of different things. But, but Rapha ten years ago to me is like super, super inspirational. Yeah.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 02:49

What about on the swim front? What are some of the brand companies?

Rasmus Barfred: 02:54

So on the, on the swim front, I would say one of, one of the things that I really. What I’m excited about in this film space is how we bring innovation to the market. You haven’t seen that a whole lot in swimming. So I mean, I’m inspired by those guys that do that cycle like headphones in swimming is a big part. I’m also inspired by one of our competitors that does AR goggles. It’s a different, more gadget kind of product for swimmers, right? But I think they do a good job. Someone that come in and wants to rock the boat just like we do. That inspires me. Yeah.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 03:38

I’ll get into the sponsor and your intro, but I, you know, on that line, really, if someone watches the Shark Tank episode that you’re on, Rasmus and Mark Cuban said, you know, you’re kind of like a tech company, really. And so talk a little bit about that. And, you know, you consider yourself a tech company, not like a goggle company per se.

Rasmus Barfred: 04:01

No, that’s totally right. And I think the pin drop on Shark Tank, when we got our 90s, where we did our pitch, and it was about goggles, and we mentioned valuation. And they were like, What’s going on here? But then we explained the difference in the USP, how to use your phone to scan your face. And we create a profile of your face. And we use robots to manufacture the product and manufacture a custom product in a minute and 40 seconds. And they were like, okay, this is not a goggle company.

This is a tech company. If you can develop this whole software infrastructure and manage this, then that’s like, that’s a core value of the business. So, so definitely we’re more tech business than, than, than a goggle business. We have a medical device arm as well, where we make custom fit CPAP mask for it. It’s a, it’s a joint venture called Vayu Sleep. Check that out if you have sleep apnea. Get a custom-fit CPAP mask. And so, the whole idea of how we bring customization to the masses is the ethos of the brand. Yeah.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 05:11

Talk about what you went in. I mean, in the Shark Tank for a second, I think it was $1 million for 7.5%. What were you going to ask for?

Rasmus Barfred: 05:22

So I can’t actually remember how I asked, to be honest. I think we said somewhere around, I think a million for maybe 5% or something. I actually can’t remember what the something around there is.

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