Marcus Hays has been widely known in Marin for his relentless innovation around zero emission mobility, from co-invention of the eye-catching, human-powered waterbike and co-founding PiMobility, which produced electric bicycles and light motorcycles to the creation of Orbis, which developed a revolutionary in-wheel, motor-driven propulsion system for electric and hybrid automobiles and trucks.
And then the COVID-19 crisis happened. Hays, wanting to keep his engineers busy, saw an opportunity to address a massive need for masks amidst the pandemic. He brought in a team of doctors who now serve on the BiOAID advisory board. They provided the scientific guidance needed to create the patented BiOAID95 adhesive, replaceable KN95 filters that can be deployed within existing masks, particularly cloth masks, which have been deemed less effective.
Hays and his team went through a ton of iterations over the many months that followed, relentlessly seeking a mask and filter system that turns an everyday cloth mask into a KN95. The result after all that iterating is the reusable BiOAID Traveler Mask and a replaceable, adhesive KN95 filter that turns any cloth mask into a scientifically-rated KN95 to help protect you from viruses, bacteria, dust, pollen, smoke and other airborne particles with a patented FDA-lab certified adhesive insert.
In 2021, Hays hired Chance Claxton, whose career has largely focused on brand management and product development. She was one of the first employees at innovative home decor firm Design Within Reach, co-founder of the U•Konserve line of waste-free lunch and food packaging solutions.
Claxton’s role is to get BiOAID95 products onto as many faces as possible. Larry “the Hat” Lautzker’s Famous4 shop at 31 Sunnyside Ave ,#4, currently sells them.
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“We’ve had some exciting, high-level conversations taking place right now, and it has certainly helped that public health officials have started to emphasize that KN95 filtration is most effective.
BiOAID95’s long play is working toward a technology for filtration that is washable and reusable, “but we feel really good about the product we have now,” Claxton says. “It’s incredibly timely and easy to use. And going forward, I think I would always wear something in situations like air travel – I see it as a new way of being.”