Speed Bag History Lesson, The Thrasher House and Jim Bradley Collaboration
- Jeff Thrasher
- Oct 2, 2024
- 4 min read
As I was viewing the plethora of Jim Bradley Speed Balls in my personal collection, I started wondering if anyone would be interested in the story behind the design of our TTH pro ball.
In 2020, I reached out to Nick at Jim Bradley and told him about my interest in being the U.S. supplier of their speed balls. That conversation is still going! Started with Nick and now James. There have been many trials, lessons and design changes throughout this time.
Steve Jobs once said, "Innovation comes from saying NO to 1000 things." And he was not joking!
Here is my latest Youtube video explaining the process behind the ball. The 1000 little things and the magic of innovation and creativity! I hope you enjoy it and, welcome to our blog!
Thank you to everyone that has helped both The Thrasher House and Jim Bradley along the way. We wouldn't have made it this far without the amazing support from the speed bag community.
Dates when I received my Jim Bradley Balls
August 24, 2020
1. Black 25 cm pre 2015 Jim Bradley Signature series speed ball.
Leather - Cow leather
Loop Material - Heavy duty car seatbelt strap material, stitched in place.
Loop Length - Short / set standard for future Thrasher loop length standard.
Zipper - Non-mechanical, large hole air pump needle fits. Bowtie stitching around zipper.
April 16, 2021
2. Red 25cm Pro Speed Ball. Proball was only available in red and 25cm (6x9) at this point in time.
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place.
Loop Length - longer than the signature series ball.
Zipper - Mechanical zipper, fits air pump needle. This ball started the square stitching around zipper.
July 2021
We receive our first batch of Jim Bradley Proballs. We could only afford to get 10 at a time for our first couple of orders. They only came in red.
Leather material- Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place.
Loop Length - longer than the signature series ball.
Type of zipper - Mechanical, fits air pump needle.
August 2021
3. At the time The Thrasher House Exclusive Assorted color 25cm Pro Speed Ball.
Leather material- Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place.
Loop Length - longer than the signature series ball.
Type of zipper - Mech. zipper, fits air pump needle.
May 31, 2022
4. First generation of two tone color bags
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place.
Loop Length - Introduction of The Thrasher Loop Length, Standard. They did not always meet this standard. It was a start in the right direction.
Zipper - Mech., fits air pump needle.
July 7, 2022
5. First Prototypes of the 5X8 arrive. I absolutely loved them.
Leather material- Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., fits air pump needle
Aug 2022
6. First batch of tri-color balls arrive as well as, first batch of 5X8 for public.
Leather material- Sheep Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material sewn into place.
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., fits air pump needle
Nov 2022
7. Small batch of cow leather 5X8.
Leather - Cow Skin
Loop - strong ratchet strap material, sewn into place.
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., fits air pump needle
April 2023
8. Revamped 5X8 Prototype
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - soft ratchet strap material
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., fits air pump needle
June 2023
9. The rebirth of the 5X8 pro ball. Almost killed it too.
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - soft ratchet strap material
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., DOES NOT fit air pump needle, requires paperclip to zip up or down.
October 2023
10. The first 2 Pro balls to have The Thrasher House lightning bolt on them and the TTH on the bottom patch.
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - soft ratchet strap material
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., DOES NOT fit air pump needle
December 2023
11. Small Batch with new Loop and new Logo
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - Rubber coated Nylon web
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., DOES NOT fit air pump needle
April 2024
12. Break Thru 5X8
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - Rubber coated Nylon web
Loop Length - Thrasher loop specs
Zipper - Mech., FITS air pump needle again
BLADDER - NEW SIZE SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR 5X8. All 5x8s prior to this had a 6x9 bladder.
Aug 2024
13. Quality Control Heaven 6x9
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - Rubber coated Nylon web
Loop Length - SHORTER THAN Thrasher loop specs!
Zipper - Mech., FITS air pump needle
BLADDER - NEW SIZE SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR 6X9
September 2024
14. The 5X8 chop top PROTOTYPE
Leather - Sheep Skin
Loop - Rubber coated Nylon web
Loop Length - SHORTER THAN Thrasher loop specs!
Zipper - Mech., FITS air pump needle
Bonus fact, a batch of pro balls went to Italy to be sold. Somehow there was a mix up at the factory and they set the loops at the wrong length. They set them to their standard not The Thrasher House specs. Those 30 bags all have loops longer than what I would normally have on a bag. They still hit great, just not to my specs.
From time to time you may find bags with my personal signature on the bottom. That means I used it as a test bag to make sure the rebound was on point.
Another gem to look for are the rare bags that the factory forgot to put the TTH lettering on the bottom patch. These are quite hard to find.
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