From Gardening Gloves to the best Football glove and the best Flag-Football Glove
When my friend recently sent me photos of the first versions Invictus gloves, I laughed out loud. I used to call them the gardening gloves and honestly, that’s exactly what they looked like. Rough seams, uneven fingers, zero finesse. But those gloves represent everything that Invictus stands for: persistence, resilience, and the courage to start even when you have nothing but a vision.
The Beginning: Chasing a Feeling
It all started around 2016.
I wasn’t trying to build a company yet, I was trying to solve a problem I’d felt my entire football career. Every glove I’d ever worn was off. Too thick. Too stiff. Too artificial. I wanted something that felt like a second skin, something that disappeared the moment you caught the ball.
That obsession became a prototype, stitched together from trial and error, random materials, and pure stubbornness.
When my friend Mikhaïl Davidson, whom I’d met while playing for the Carabins of the University of Montréal, saw them, he laughed too, but then he said, “Give me a pair.”
He was playing for the Montreal Alouettes at the time, and even though the gloves were objectively terrible, he wore them and even presented to CFL legends players like John Bowman.
That small act meant everything. It turned an idea into a mission.
Around the same time, my high-school friend JP Bolduc was playing for the Ottawa Redblacks. JP had always been brutally honest — the kind of friend who tells you exactly what’s wrong, then helps you fix it.
He tested early versions, pointed out every flaw, and introduced Invictus to players around the CFL. Through him, the Redblacks gave us our first real credibility and visibility. For a small startup working out of passion and prototypes, that was gold.
The NFL Moment
Then, in 2018, something happened that still gives me chills.
Mason Foster, linebacker for the Washington Commanders (then the Redskins), wore Invictus gloves in an actual NFL game.
I still remember seeing the broadcast, the same gloves that started as a backyard experiment were now under the stadium lights of the biggest football league in the world. It wasn’t about validation; it was about proof. Proof that all the late nights, failures, and design tweaks were leading somewhere real.
The White and Black Glove Era and the Long Wait
By 2022, we finally reached a turning point. The white and black Invictus Armis glove, the one that became our signature, was everything I had dreamed of: light, responsive, and seamless. It felt alive.
But after that, we hit another wall. The glove was far from perfect!
Developing new colors wasn’t just a cosmetic decision, it meant re-engineering grip compounds, stiches, dyes, and materials to maintain performance without compromise.
What should’ve taken months took over a year. We went through production delays, material rejections, tariffs, cash flow issues and factory setbacks. It tested every ounce of patience I had left.
But persistence wins.
Today: The Next Chapter
Nine years after those first “gardening gloves,” I’m proud to finally launch our new colored Invictus gloves.
They’re more than just new shades, they’re a symbol of how far we’ve come.
Every stitch carries the story of those who believed early, Mikhaïl on the Alouettes practice field, JP pushing us from Ottawa, Mason Foster wearing our dream on an NFL Sunday, and every player who kept faith when the product wasn’t perfect yet.
These gloves represent evolution, not just of design, but of belief.
From the first pair stitched in a small workspace to thousands of athletes now designing their own on our website, Invictus has always been about one thing: the pursuit of something better.
As I stood back, looking at where it all began, I realized something:
Perfection isn’t a destination. It’s a discipline.
Karl Lavallée – Founder
