Serious Multitasking

Dennis Lleedom's idea for a multisport helmet has really gotten off the ground-4,304 feet, to be precise. That's how high snowboardcross champion Seth Wescott was when he grabbed gold at Italy's 2006 Winter Olympic Games while wearing the helmet. The victory was particularly sweet for Leedom's $2 million Duxbury, Massachusetts, business, Bern Unlimited LLC; its patent-pending helmets had just hit retail shelves.

Leedom, a helmet-industry veteran, regularly criss-crosses the country with co-founders Josh Walker, 30, and Adam Godwin, 34, signing endorsements with the hottest athletes in wakeboarding, BMX cycling, snowboarding, mountain biking and skateboarding. An interchangeable liner lets wearers don one helmet for all sports in all seasons, "so kids in multiple sports are more likely to wear a helmet," says Leedom, 41. They get more protection; he gets more sales.

This article was originally published in the October 2006 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Serious Multitasking.