When Werner Kunte, the eventual founder of Champion Grip, arrived in South Africa from Germany in 1957, he had no idea what life had in store for him. As an industrial chemist, he helped found the then Silhouette Chemicals in South Africa, which would eventually become the Schwartzkopf company of today.
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He was a keen athlete, and found real enjoyment on the tennis court. In April of 1961 he fell victim to an industrial explosion in his workplace, which cost him his eyesight. Having recovered from the devastating explosion, Werner set about making a life and a living, despite the darkness in which he found himself enveloped.
It would be several years before the topic of sport came up again and in the early 1970’s he found a new outlet in one of the few sports suitable for the blind - lawn bowls. The blind bowling community provided a wonderful opportunity for him to socialise, and to test his skills as an athlete. However, one thing soon became a problem - the grip.
Bowls were not readily available in the large range of sizes they are today and, having comparatively small hands, he sought to improve his grip using the products available in the day. This proved very difficult to do, since most of the products available at the time were supplied in tubes, much like toothpaste. This proved a really troublesome and messy affair for a blind bowler, and he ended up with more cream on his hands than on the bowl!
Additionally, the bowls became susceptible to picking up grass clippings and sand from the green and the ditch respectively, which necessitated more frequent cleaning, followed by reapplication. Werner knew there had to be a better way, so he set about finding one. And so, in 1978, Champion Grip Bowls Grip and Polish Spray was born!
With the aerosol spray formulation, applying a short, accurate burst to the tread of the bowl became child’s play. Followed by a quick polish with the bowls cloth, the new product became an instant success. It exhibited excellent grip, and imparted a deep sheen to the bowls. Remarkably, it resisted picking up the grass clippings and sand! It soon became a firm favourite in the club, as Werner shared it with his fellow bowlers.
On top of it all, Champion Grip was very economical, lasting many ends without having to be reapplied. And it did not end there - when the rainy season came, and the moist greens wreaked havoc with the players’ grip, Champion Grip again came to the rescue - it excelled in the wet, passing the “2-finger grip test” with flying colours!
Suffice it to say, Werner had created an amazing product, which soon garnered a country-wide following. Not long after this, he started exporting Champion Grip to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. To this day, it is the only aerosol bowls grip formulation, and remains the product of choice of many bowlers the world over.
In December of 2018, Werner, now aged 91, handed the business reins to his son, Michael, who took over the production and distribution of Champion Grip. Werner sadly passed away in March of 2019, marking the end of a remarkable era.
Today, Michael, together with his wife, Cheryl, and two sons, Craig and David, continues to provide the bowling community with an amazing product invented by an amazing man. This family-run concern is an homage to the man who gave so much to those around him, and who left a fitting legacy for all. The “new blood” in the business has been responsible for the recent repackaging and rebranding of Champion Grip Bowls Spray Polish, to make an excellent product even more economical and more widely available.
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