Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Bloeme.
Hi Peter, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hyperflite and Skyhoundz are sister companies with complementary missions. Hyperflite is a premium flying disc manufacturer – we engineer competition-grade discs specifically for canine athletes. Skyhoundz runs the world’s largest disc dog competition series, creating opportunities for teams to compete at every level from local events to world championships.
My path to founding these companies really started in the 1970s when I was competing at the highest levels of disc sports. In 1976, I won both the Men’s World Frisbee Championship and the World Frisbee Accuracy Championship. In 1977, I was runner-up in both the Men’s World Frisbee Championship and Disc Golf World Championship. That competitive experience across multiple disc disciplines gave me a deep understanding of what makes a great flying disc.
In 1984, I won the World Canine Disc Championship with my dog Wizard, and that opened my eyes to how special the disc dog community was – incredibly passionate athletes (both human and canine) who deserved equipment that could keep up with their dedication and skill.
Between competing and starting Hyperflite, I spent over 25 years in action sports marketing. I was also one of the founders of Atlanta Rocks!, Atlanta’s first indoor rock climbing gym. That experience taught me how to build authentic sports brands and connect with competitive communities.
We founded Hyperflite in 2000 because the disc dog world needed better equipment. Competitors were dealing with discs that would crack in cold weather or couldn’t handle the intensity of hard biting dogs. We developed innovations like the K-10 and Pup disc models, and Jawz, and FrostBite formulations – discs specifically engineered for the demands of canine athletes.
Skyhoundz grew naturally alongside Hyperflite as we wanted to create more competitive opportunities for disc dog teams. Today it’s the world’s largest disc dog competition series, with the World Championship in Chattanooga in September each year and I’m proud that we’ve helped elevate the sport while maintaining its inclusive, family-friendly spirit.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Far from it. Building a niche sports equipment company and competition series has had plenty of challenges.
One of the biggest early hurdles was simply educating the market. When we started Hyperflite in 2000, many competitors didn’t realize that disc design specifically matters for dogs – that canine teeth, jaw pressure, and catching mechanics require different engineering than human disc sports. We had to prove that premium, purpose-built discs were worth the investment.
Manufacturing has been another ongoing challenge. All of our discs are made right here in Georgia, which we’re proud of, but it comes with its own set of hurdles. We’re not making millions of units like mainstream sporting goods companies, so we don’t have the same economies of scale. Finding manufacturing partners in Georgia willing to work with our specialized formulations and smaller production runs, while maintaining the quality standards we demand, took years to get right.
The economics of running a competition series like Skyhoundz are tough too. We’re organizing events across the country through local hosts for a relatively small but passionate community.
Then there’s the broader challenge of growing the sport itself. Unlike mainstream sports, disc dog doesn’t get much media coverage or sponsor support. Every new competitor we bring into the sport is someone we’ve had to reach individually through grassroots marketing, social media, and word of mouth.
But honestly, the challenges have made us better. When you can’t rely on massive budgets or market size, you have to out-innovate and out-care the competition. That’s become our strength.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Hyperflite/Skyhoundz?
Hyperflite/Skyhoundz
At our core, we’re a family business built by competitors, for competitors. Hyperflite manufactures premium flying discs engineered specifically for canine athletes, while Skyhoundz operates the world’s largest disc dog competition series. Together, we’ve spent over two decades elevating disc dog from a backyard pastime into a legitimate competitive sport.
What We Specialize In
Hyperflite is known for creating the most durable, high-performance competition discs in the sport. Our flagship models – the K-10, Pup and Z-Disc – aren’t just flying discs; they’re precision tools engineered to withstand the unique demands of canine athletes. We’re talking about dogs catching discs at full speed with jaw pressure that would destroy ordinary recreational discs. Our formulations prevent cracking in cold weather, resist punctures from hard-biting dogs, and maintain consistent flight characteristics through hundreds of catches.
Skyhoundz specializes in creating competition opportunities for every skill level. From local qualifiers to our World Championship in Chattanooga each September, we’ve built a competition structure that welcomes first-time competitors while still providing elite athletes a path to world-class competition.
What Sets Us Apart
First, all of our discs are made right here in Georgia. In an era when most sporting goods are manufactured overseas, we’ve maintained domestic production because it gives us complete control over quality and allows us to innovate faster.
Second, our engineering is purpose-built for dogs. Many competitors don’t realize that disc design matters differently for canine athletics than human disc sports. Dogs catch with their mouths, not hands. They generate tremendous bite force. They’re running at full speed. Every aspect of our discs – from plastic formulation to rim geometry – is optimized for these specific demands.
Third, we have authentic competitive credibility. I won world championships in both human disc sports and canine disc before starting these companies. We’re not a corporate entity that researched a market opportunity; we’re lifelong disc athletes who saw a need in our own community and solved it.
Big Box Retailers Need Not Apply
Since time immemorial, the business model for small manufacturers has been to grow as fast as possible via sales to small retailers, get noticed by the Big Box retailers, and then begin selling to the Big Box retailers at the expense of your relationships with the companies that helped build your brand in the first place. Basically, this time-honored approach to business requires that a small manufacturer essentially “dump on” the very folks who took a chance on the small manufacturer in the first place.
Now, we’ve certainly sinned in our hearts by flirting with a couple of medium-sized boxes, and we’ve even asked a few Big Boxes to the prom. But, on the drive home from a pitch to one of those Big Boxes, we caught ourselves dreading the possibility of having the Big Box as a customer. What if they say yes? As we began to consider what that really meant for us, we had an epiphany. We like to think of it as our Jerry Maguire moment. We decided that it’s OK not to sell our products to Big Box Chain stores and that the way we measure our success doesn’t have to fit the traditional model. The bottom line for Hyperflite is, we’re content to stay modestly sized, make our products in the U.S., and nurture the relationships we’ve developed with hundreds of smaller pet retailers who, like us, strive to deliver superior service to their customers. If that’s not a success, then we don’t know what is.
What We’re Most Proud Of
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that “Hyperflite” has become synonymous with quality in the disc dog world. When serious competitors talk about their equipment, they don’t say “flying disc” – they say “Hyperflite,” even when referring to the generic category. That kind of brand strength can’t be bought; it’s earned through decades of consistent quality and innovation.
I’m equally proud of what Skyhoundz has done for the sport’s culture. We’ve grown competitive disc dog while maintaining its inclusive, family-friendly spirit. You can show up to a Skyhoundz event as a complete beginner and feel welcomed, or you can compete at the highest levels of athletic performance. That range is rare in competitive sports.
What Readers Should Know
If you’re considering getting into disc dog – whether recreationally or competitively – know that equipment quality genuinely matters. A $5 promotional disc from a pet store isn’t just lower quality; it can actually be unsafe for your dog. Our discs are designed with your dog’s safety and performance in mind.
For current competitors, know that we’re constantly innovating. We listen to feedback from the field and use it to improve our products and competition formats. We also offer resources on Skyhoundz.com for new competitors, including guides on getting started, training tips, and rules for various competition formats.
Most importantly, we’re a small company that genuinely cares about this sport and this community. When you buy a Hyperflite disc or compete in a Skyhoundz event, you’re supporting a business that’s reinvesting in the growth and development of disc dog sports. Every purchase helps us create more competition opportunities, better products, and a stronger community for canine athletes and their handlers.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
For us, success isn’t measured by how many units we ship or whether we’re in every big-box store. Success is waking up every day and still being excited about what we do. It’s maintaining relationships with the independent retailers who believed in us from the beginning. It’s seeing a competitor make their first catch at a local event, then watching them progress to World Championships. It’s getting an email from a handler thanking us because our disc held up through an entire season of hard training.
Success is making products in Georgia that we’re genuinely proud of – discs that we’d use ourselves and trust with our own dogs. It’s being able to innovate and improve our products because we control our manufacturing, not because we’re chasing quarterly growth targets set by investors or corporate overlords.
On the Skyhoundz side, success is the growth we’ve achieved while staying true to our values. We’ve grown the World Championship from a three-hour event with 12 competitors from throughout the U.S. to hosting events worldwide with international competitors. Our World Championship now includes over 1,000 competitive entries and runs a week in length. But what matters most is that we’ve maintained the family-friendly, inclusive culture that makes disc dog special, even as the athletic level continues to rise. When a first-time competitor competes at the same event as elite world-class teams and everyone feels like they belong there – that’s success.
Ultimately, success for us is staying true to our values while building something sustainable. We’re not trying to “exit” or cash out. We’re trying to build something that matters to our community and that we can be proud of for decades to come. Twenty-five years in, we’re still independently owned, still making discs in the U.S., still supporting independent retailers, and still growing the sport we love. By those measures, we’re succeeding.
Pricing:
- Hyperflite Discs: Standard size competition discs typically range from $7-26 per disc depending on the model. Our most popular models include the K-10 Competition Standard disc (light and inexpensive for soft biting dogs), K-10 Jawz disc (for hard-biting dogs), and K-10 FrostBite discs (for cold weather performance).
- Skyhoundz Competition: World Championship Qualifier events typically have entry fees around $25 per dog, making competitive disc dog one of the most accessible canine sports. We do not charge entry fees for World Championship competitors.
- Where to Buy: Hyperflite discs are available through independent pet retailers nationwide and direct from hyperflite.com and skyhoundz.com. We support local retailers who provide expert guidance to customers. Our websites even offer a Disc Finder tool that will help you determine the disc best suited for your dog.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hyperflite.com and https://skyhoundz.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hyperflite & https://www.facebook.com/Skyhoundz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sportyguy2009
Image Credits
Disc Group Image-No Credit
All action shots-Walcutt Sharp Shots
