11 Jun 2025
ReFlexPro, designed by Industrial Design student Ziqi Yan?at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, is a revolutionary American football glove that protects players’ fingers while enabling rehabilitation. Conceived, developed, and executed during his final year at the Department?of Industrial Design, it stands as a prime example of how academia and industry, theory and practice, can be successfully linked.
Each year, graduating students pitch their dream projects to a tutor assigned for the final semester. Ziqi approached Ivan Parati, an associate professor at the department, whose experience with therapeutic wearables made him a perfect fit.
As an American football player, Ziqi has seen firsthand how often players suffer from different injuries in such a high-impact sport.
“These injuries can be persistent and frustrating, especially during recovery. I’ve witnessed many teammates rush back to the field before their fingers are fully healed, leading to even more serious injuries. This sparked the idea for a glove that not only protects during recovery but also prevents further damage,” he says.
However, turning sketches into reality demanded a partner as bold as the vision itself. Ziqi pitched ReFlexPro to XX BEAST, a Chinese brand dedicated to American Football equipment, who saw its potential and was willing to turn it into a patented product.
XX BEAST’s engineers redefined ReFlexPro’s core, integrating their D3O damping layer with Ziqi’s adaptive brace design. The final result consists of a “sandwich structure” that absorbs 75% of impact energy while maintaining fingertip sensitivity, which is critical for catching drills. XX BEAST’s material expertise elevated prototypes: breathable neoprene, carbon-fiber reinforcement, and silicone grips to ensure players could tackle and rehabilitate without compromise.
By May 2025, patents were secured, contracts were signed, and mass production will begin in 2026. Bold colors like Stadium Light Yellow are used, and the taglines - “Unleash the Beast, Dominate the Field” - turned ReFlexPro into a symbol of athlete empowerment.
That weekend, Ziqi played his last college football game - the CUAFL National Championship. He says: “Four years of grinding had led me to that moment. Just like my Final Year Project - four years of studying, researching, sketching, modeling, rendering… and finally bringing that vision to life. I often ask myself: Is it perfect? Of course not. But it is my blood and sweat of the past four years.”
“None of this could happen without the people who believed in the vision. I’m grateful for the professors who helped me perfect my drafts, and my teammates who tested the early prototypes.”
Ziqi’s tutor, Ivan Parati, encouraged him to pitch his work to XX BEAST: “Your design deserves patents and commercial success, not just grades.”
“The Final Year Project module was a natural and logical platform?- and a key milestone?- on the path to success. All students should approach it with boldness and ambition?like Ziqi did, using it as a launchpad to propel themselves into the job market or further studies from a position of advantage,” Parati says.
By Yi Qian
Images courtesy of Ziqi Yan
11 Jun 2025