The GoPro Dummy Mount

GoPro mouth mount making waves

By Ken Lewis  

6 a.m.Aug. 30, 2014

Byron Rohrer is the inventor of Dummy Mount, a simple Mouth Mount solution to carry your GoPro Camera between your teeth. — Rick Nocon

Do you own a GoPro Hero 3? You know the one. It’s the little hi-definition camera that is the world’s best-selling camera. San Diego surfer Byron Rohrer has one, and after using it and finding that the accessories available to him didn’t meet his needs, he created the world’s first mouth mount for the device. The creation, called the Dummy Mount, is a molded mouthpiece made of soft silicone and rubber that the user can easily breathe through and film their favorite activity hands-free.
Every idea starts somewhere, and for Rohrer that moment came in early 2014 when he suffered a knee injury. During the recovery, he started tinkering in his garage, fabricating prototypes for a mouth-mounted accessory that would fit his GoPro camera. He wanted something that he could use and keep his hands free to push up on his surfboard. Eventually, it all clicked, and the breathable mouthpiece mount was ready for research and development.

Byron Rohrer is the inventor of Dummy Mount, a simple Mouth Mount solution to carry your GoPro Camera between your teeth. — Rick Nocon 

 

The little item with the funny name is making its debut to the public after months of R&D and grass roots marketing. I asked Rohrer how the name came about and the bushy-haired surfer said, “When I was first using the prototype, my buddies would give me a hard time saying that it looked like I had a baby pacifier in my mouth. On my trips to New Zealand I remembered that the Kiwis called pacifiers dummies, so right then and there I knew I had my name.”

I also asked what the response was like when he first used it in public, and with a smile Rohrer said, “Everyday, 15 people would paddle up to me and ask what it was and where they could buy one. It turns out many other people have GoPro cameras and share the same frustrations.” With that bit of inspiration, Rohrer rolled the dice, got a loan and decided to quit his dead-end job and make a fresh start. Within the week, he filed for a patent and started on the fast track to producing the world’s first breathable mouth mount for the GoPro camera.

After Roher got his production samples, he knew he needed to get some backing from professionals. The tenacious Rohrer booked himself a flight to Fiji at the same time as an ASP world-tour surf event, chartered a boat and paddled into the Cloudbreak lineup with his invention. He knew he had to make his own luck.

Right away, the pros were asking him the same question as the kids back in Pacific Beach, “What is it?” and “Where do I get one?” Rohrer passed out his samples and explained the device to top pros Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson and many others. The positive feedback was immediate, and it didn’t stop in the surf. The demand for the Dummy Mount has grown outside of water sports, finding traction in tennis, golf, fishing and biking. These are a few other sports that are discovering the little accessory with the unforgettable name, what would you use it for?

If you would like to learn more about the Dummy Mount visit their website dummymount.com and their Facebook page facebook.com/dummymount

You can find all my articles over at www.discoversd.com