Meet Taylor
Hi! My name is Taylor Ryan, and I am the CEO of Unstoppable.
I've created the first-ever wearable, flexible set of women's breast protective cups. I was getting tired of being slowed down by painful hits to the chest while playing lacrosse. But to be good in impact sports, you must roll with the punches. While men get to wear cups to protect their most sensitive areas, no such product exists for women's breasts. I decided to change that.
At 14, I interviewed to be in the Young Entrepreneur Academy in my city and was accepted into the program. I placed first in my class by winning the highest amount of investment by the judges and the opportunity to go on and compete nationally for the Saunders Award. I placed in the top 8 out of almost 1800 students in the program that year and was the youngest contestant in the finals. This experience helped me refine my Unstoppable Protective Cup and start my company.
When I am not in school or working on my business, I play club and varsity lacrosse, scuba dive, travel, and hang out with my friends.
Why we need to "Protect the Girls"
A note from Taylor's Mom
As a mom, while I thought it was important for Taylor to find a way not to be slowed down on the field by a hit to the chest, Chris (her dad) and I wondered about the impact the hit would have on the breast tissue. We were shocked at what we found in a research paper by the National Institute of Health. The paper's objective was to study the prevalence of injuries in female collegiate athletes and explore the magnitude of the injuries; they found that almost half of the 194 participants (47.9%) reported breast injury during their collegiate career (Smith, Eichelberger, and Kane, 2018). However, they found that only 2.1% of the athletes reported the injury to a coach or a trainer!
Another article explains what happens to the breast tissue when injured: Blunt force trauma to the breast tissue can cause fat necrosis in the breast; non-cancerous lumps that can appear in mammograms as tumors or on the surface of the breast. They are developed when the damaged tissue is replaced by cells that form firm scar tissue (Nall, 2018).
While we have not done a broad study to determine if Unstoppable Protective Cups™ can prevent breast tissue damage, Taylor will not go the field without them because they give her confidence to play harder. And we feel better knowing she is protected.
Please see some of the research and articles below.
Join us in Protecting the Girls!
- Shannon Ryan
References
Akkas, B. & Vural, G. (2018) Fat necrosis may mimic local recurrence of breast cancer in FDG PET/CT.
Brisbine BR, Steele JR, Phillips EJ, and McGhee (2020). Breast pain affects the performance of elite female athletes. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(5):1-6.
Brisbine BR, Steele JR, Phillips E, and McGhee DE, (2020). Use and perception of breast protective equipment by female contact football players, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.
Davis, L. (2022) An Overview of Breast Fat Necrosis: This harmless condition results when fatty breast tissue is damaged.
Nall, R. (2018). What is trauma to the breast?
Smith, L., Eichelberger, T., & Kane, E. (2018). Breast Injuries in Female Collegiate Basketball, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball Athletes: Prevalence, Type, and Impact on Sports Participation.
Smith, L., Eichelberger, T., Miller, E., & Kane, E. (2018). Breast Injury During Sport Participation.
