The Invictus Gloves Story: Built on Belief, Backed by Hustle

I’m Karl, the founder of Invictus Gloves, and this is my story. No flashy slogans, no polished marketing, just the raw journey of building something from nothing, the grind, the setbacks, the wins, and the moments that made it all worth it.

The First Post: Three Likes, Two Were Us

It was 2016. I had this idea, custom gloves that weren’t just equipment but a way for athletes to express themselves.

At the time, custom gear wasn’t really a thing. Big brands dominated, selling the same generic gloves to everyone. I wanted to change that.

So, I did what any entrepreneur would do.

I made a Facebook post.

It got three likes.

👍 One was me,
👍 One was my friend, Ludo.

That’s where Invictus started, not with a viral moment or an instant breakthrough, but with three likes and a stubborn belief that this could be something.

Figuring It Out: The Hustle Years (2016-2018)

I didn’t have connections in the sports industry, I had zero experience in textile manufacturing, and I wasn’t a tech guru.

What I did have was an obsession with making the best gloves possible.

I spent months researching materials, grip technology, and design concepts. I cold-called manufacturers all over the world, trying to find one willing to work with me on small custom orders.

❌ Most ignored me,
😂 Some laughed,
✅ One gave me a shot.

The first samples were trash. I remember hours and hours with my sister and ex-girlfriend helping me remove plastics off the grip of gloves. They had to put plastic on the grip because the paint wouldn’t stay on otherwise during transportation…

But I kept refining them.

On July 22, 2016, Invictus Gloves took a major step forward, I launched our first-ever website. It wasn’t perfect, but it was ours.

We had a 2D glove creator, allowing athletes to design their own gloves for the first time. Looking back, it was basic compared to what we have now, but at the time, it felt like a revolution.

I remember hitting publish and thinking, “This is it. Invictus is real.”

It was no longer just an idea, a Facebook post, or some prototypes, it was a brand. Athletes could now visit our site, customize their gloves, and place an order.

That first version of the website set the foundation for everything we’ve built since. It wasn’t just about selling gloves, it was about giving athletes the power to express themselves on the field.

That moment changed everything. 🚀

In 2017, the gloves were “good enough” to sell. To be honest, I called them the gardening gloves because they were to thick and bad. But they were a start.

🏈 One of the first players to wear Invictus Gloves was my friend Mikhaïl Davidson, who played professionally with the Montreal Alouettes (CFL).

I still can’t believe he was playing at that level with those garbage gloves. That’s how good he was.

The first team order came in from the Montreal Blitz, a women’s football team.

Seeing entire squads take the field wearing Invictus gloves? That was surreal.

Then, something big happened… our first official partnership with an NFL player.

🔥 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a Canadian NFL offensive lineman, became the first pro athlete to officially make a post with an Invictus Gloves.

That was the moment I knew we weren’t just a side project anymore.

And in 2017, our slogan was born, Stick.To.Your.Game. 🎯 Shoutout to our first intern, Francis Chabot, for coining it.

By 2018, we had our first real branded glove, The Armis 1.0.

And then, something crazy happened.

The First Real Break: Teams Started Noticing (2018-2019)

Up until then, Invictus was just a side project.

But then, the gloves started popping up on football fields. Players weren’t just buying them, they were talking about them.

In January 2018, Invictus made its first appearance at the AFCA Football Coaches Convention in North Carolina. This was a huge milestone, because I had the biggest and most impressive booth… NOT! Fun fact, I fitted everything into a carry-on suitcase! I was stepping into a room full of elite football minds, showcasing gloves that were still in their early stages.

On the way back, I had a long conversation with Glen Constantin, the head coach of Laval’s Rouge et Or. That talk stuck with me. He was one of the first high-level coaches to take the time to hear what we were trying to build. It reminded me: this was just the beginning.

And then came the two moments I’ll never forget.

🔥 Mason Foster became the first player to wear Invictus Gloves in a game. The funny part? They weren’t even legal. But he wore them anyway. That’s the kind of energy we built this brand on.

Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins. October 21th 2018

The second moment is when I quitted my job to commit 100% to the project. Can’t explain, but it was a mix of the biggest relief sensation with stress level rising knowing there was no more paycheck.

Fortunately, my friend Jean-Daniel, who had a Valet Parking company, hired me to work in a fancy restaurant during the weekends. It was a great side revenue to drive luxury cars. 

By 2019, Invictus wasn’t just making gloves, we were setting a new standard in custom performance gloves.

And then, just as things were taking off, the world shut down.

2020: The Hardest Decision of My Life

Like everyone in the sports industry, 2020 hit hard.

🚫 No games, teams and orders

I had spent years building this company from nothing, and suddenly, everything stopped.

At that moment, I had two options:

🔴 Option 1: Shut it down, walk away, accept that this might not work.
🟢 Option 2: Invest, risk everything.

I chose Option 2.

Right before the pandemic, I took out a “massive” loan from the BDC. And I bet everything on Invictus, building our 3D gloves creator, improving our products and branding, and stocking up on our branded gloves.

💰 Biggest bet of my life.
💥 Scariest decision ever.

Because if it failed,

I’d have nothing left.

2021: Fighting to Survive

For months, there were no guarantees.

But slowly, things started coming back, and we finished a great new website, branding, and products.

📩 Teams started reaching out again.
🧤 Athletes wanted custom gloves.

I worked day and night to rebuild momentum, knowing that every sale, every team order, every new customer mattered.

I also knew that if Invictus was going to survive, we needed to think bigger.

That’s when we made our move into golf gloves. ⛳️

And then, we secured a huge partnership with Montreal native Benjamin St-Juste, who was drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders.

🔥 Another Canadian in the NFL, another step forward for Invictus.

2022-2023: Redefining the Game

Our objective for 2022, was no longer about just surviving, it was about taking over.

🚀 We launched Armis 3.0, our best football glove yet. The grip, the durability, the fit, everything leveled up.

But we weren’t stopping at football, flag football, and golf.

⚾️ We expanded into baseball and softball.
We weren’t just a football brand anymore, we were becoming a sports performance brand.

And at the end of 2023, we officially launched custom baseball gloves.

🔥 Another sport. Another level. Another step forward.

Invictus Gloves = BE.YOU.

This brand started from nothing. 

🚫 No outside investors,
🚫 No corporate backing,
💡 Just an idea, a Facebook post, and a belief that athletes deserved better.

If there’s one thing to remember, it took help from amazing people to put this project in place. Thanks Alexis, Karine, Nathan, Élane, Martin, Noémie, Alex, Clara, Maude, Émile, Carlos, Rémi, Arthur, Jordan, Thomas, Malick, Steph, trace, Quaid, Clément, and so many more.

And now?

We’re here to help every athlete express who they are through the gloves they wear.

That’s why our motto is simple,
🚀 BE.YOU.

💪 If you’ve ever felt like the underdog,
🗣️ If you’ve ever had people doubt your vision,
🔥 If you believe that sports bring more than just winning, it’s about identity, passion, and self-expression,

Then you’re part of our story, too.

👊 Welcome to Invictus.

👉 Design your custom gloves today.

Karl Lavallée-Rodrigue, Founder