Hawkesbury local Nathan Rawling has started-up a unique sports socks company from his home in Bligh Park.
Xtreme Gripz is providing high performance grip socks, worn by professional athletes, to the Australian market at an affordable price.
Nathan is the owner of the company and designer of the socks, and he is helped out by his partner as they run the business completely from their home.
"We provide non-slip grip socks for athletes of all sports," he said. "Whether it's soccer, league, basketball or boxing, they are good for all of them.
Nathan plays soccer and came up with the idea when he saw that there was a high demand for the style of socks in Europe but noticed that there was no one providing it at an affordable price in Australia.
"So, I thought I would design some and sell them here in Australia at a lower price than competitors," he said.
"They want you to pay something like $35 dollars for one pair of socks, and we only charge $24.95 so it's more affordable."
Nathan has been running the operation for six months and is hoping to expand in the coming few years as he has already gained some great support.
"We have about 10 or 12 professional athletes wearing them, including; Nathan Lyon, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and a few of the Wanderers players," he said.
"The socks are for anyone and everyone. We've found that tradies love them and some think they're the best work socks they've ever had.
"We try to get them as cheap as we can so local club players can buy and use them as well."
The socks features include; breathable panels on the tops, mid-foot elastic for tight fit, compression to help blood flow and reduce discomfort, comfortable elastic and innovative non-slip grip pads on the sole.
"The design stops your feet moving while in shoes. They're good especially when changing direction or moving side to side," said Nathan.
"This allows for greater agility and explosive speed, as weight bearing on a single foot before movement is easier with less movement inside the shoe."
Xtreme Gripz socks come in various sizes and colours.
"We have sizes ranging from seven US to 12 or 13 US for adults ... and we have youth sizes which a lot of our competitors don't. They're sizes five to eight US," said Nathan.
"We have seven colours; White, Black, Blue, Pink, Red, Yellow and Maroon."
Xtreme Gripz are available for $24.95 from https://xtremegripz.com/?fbclid=IwAR1nUGvGhGg96Jz5DaZ6Lb9iuORhAV6Z-nSesb4roZcTVCCtAXH-YoKgFS0 or follow them on Facebook and Instagram