# Nicholas Esayian

> Nicholas 'Nick' Esayian is the founder and CEO of LIGHT Helmets, a Carlsbad sports-equipment company built from assets he and his partners acquired from SG Helmets in 2018. Before helmets, he worked in corporate sales, built direct-response and consumer-marketing ventures, and raced professionally for 27 years. He now applies lessons from motorsport, military and aviation materials, product testing, and direct-to-consumer selling to lighter protective headgear used from youth programs through the NFL.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at LIGHT Helmets
- **Organizations:** LIGHT Helmets, Revenue Solutions, Direct Path, Xerox, Automatic Data Processing, Executone Business Solutions, Real Marketing Services, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, San Diego County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, Sports Car Club of America
- **Education:** University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, MBA, University of Redlands
- **Known for:** Built and sold the direct-response marketing business Revenue Solutions., Raced professionally for 27 years, including programs involving BMW, Acura and Aston Martin., Finished second in the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GTS standings.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Began a sports-car racing career that later included the Pirelli World Challenge and drives for BMW, Acura and Aston Martin.
- **1994** — Moved to the San Diego area and continued a corporate sales and management career.
- **1998** — Started an entrepreneurial venture marketing products for other companies.
- **2000-2001** — Entered direct response independently and expanded into developing, selling and fulfilling consumer products through Revenue Solutions.
- **2003-2005** — Completed an MBA at the University of Redlands.
- **2004** — Began fundraising and creating motorsport experiences for Special Operations Warrior Foundation families.
- **2006-2016** — Served with the San Diego County Sheriff's Search and Rescue unit.
- **2010** — Finished second in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GTS standings while driving an Acura TSX.
- **2018** — Sold his marketing company and, with partners, acquired SG Helmets' assets and founded LIGHT Helmets.
- **2019** — Retired from professional racing.
- **2022** — LIGHT was selling three Virginia Tech five-star-rated helmet models and the top-ranked SS-1 soft headgear for flag football and soccer in the cited ratings.
- **2024** — Virginia Tech tested the LIGHT Apache at 3.5 pounds; its 0.46 STAR score ranked first among 38 varsity helmets in the latest published ranking.
- **2025** — The NFL listed the new LIGHT Apache Pro and LIGHT Gladiator Thunder in its top-performing group; Esayian was also named to the San Diego Business Journal's 2025 Leaders of Influence in Sports Business list.
- **2026** — The NFL-NFLPA all-position laboratory poster ranked the LIGHT Apache Pro 2025 fourth and the LIGHT Gladiator Thunder 2025 seventh among recommended models.

## Achievements

- Built and sold the direct-response marketing business Revenue Solutions.
- Raced professionally for 27 years, including programs involving BMW, Acura and Aston Martin.
- Finished second in the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GTS standings.
- Helped acquire SG Helmets' assets in 2018 and rebuilt the business as LIGHT Helmets.
- Led LIGHT as its Apache earned a 0.46 STAR value and the No. 1 position among 38 helmets in Virginia Tech's latest published varsity ratings.
- Led LIGHT as the Apache Pro 2025 and Gladiator Thunder 2025 entered the recommended group on the NFL-NFLPA 2026 all-position helmet poster.
- Received the 247th Honorary Frogman recognition in 2014 for support of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and maritime special operations community.
- Raised more than $300,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation through racing, company products and donations, according to his public LinkedIn profile.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — The NFL-NFLPA 2026 all-position laboratory testing poster placed LIGHT's Apache Pro 2025 fourth and Gladiator Thunder 2025 seventh in the recommended group.
- **2026-02** — LIGHT created a custom Apache helmet honoring Medal of Honor recipient and Navy aviator Royce Williams; Esayian shared the project publicly on LinkedIn.
- **2025-12** — In an SDVoyager interview, Esayian said LIGHT had more than 450 helmets in the NFL and was present in more than 100 NCAA locker rooms; these are company-reported figures.
- **2025-06** — Appeared on David Meltzer's Office Hours to discuss the connection between his racing background and LIGHT's growth.
- **2025-05** — Appeared on the Tools, Talents & Techniques podcast to discuss leadership, product development and sports equipment.
- **2025-03** — Named to the San Diego Business Journal's 2025 Leaders of Influence in Sports Business list.
- **2025-01** — Appeared on the Legends N Leaders podcast to discuss LIGHT's origin, materials and product-development approach.

## Links

- Website: https://lighthelmets.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esayian
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/TheLightHelmets
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lighthelmets
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lighthelmets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLightHelmets/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nicholas-esayian
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27