I had gout. I couldn't find what I needed. So I built it.

I didn't start FlareGuard because I was looking for a business idea.

I started it at 3 a.m., when I couldn't put my foot on the floor.

The flare had come out of nowhere. By morning, the joint at the base of my big toe was so inflamed that even the weight of a bedsheet felt unbearable.

I knew about gout medication. I knew about diet.

What I wasn't prepared for was the mechanical reality of a flare — the moment you have to get up, get dressed, and somehow put on a shoe.

I started searching for something designed specifically for that moment. Something that could protect the joint, reduce pressure, and help me move without making everything worse.

I couldn't find it.

I looked for months.

There were braces. Insoles. Compression sleeves. Medications. Information.

But nothing built around the specific problem I was experiencing:

How do you protect a joint that is extremely sensitive to pressure when pressure is almost impossible to avoid?

That question became FlareGuard.

What followed was months of research, patent filings, engineering work, and CAD development. Physical prototyping is now underway.

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Because the footwear problem was only part of it.

Once I started living with gout, I realized people need more than one answer.

During a flare, people search everywhere — medical websites, forums, articles, social media — and the information can feel scattered and overwhelming.

I decided FlareGuard should become more than a wearable.

getflareguard.com is being built as a practical home for people living with gout — before a flare, during a flare, and between flares.

One place to understand what's happening, what questions to ask, and what options exist.

FlareGuard started because I needed one product.

It's becoming something bigger because I realized how many people need better answers.