Ep. 59 | Forbes 30 Under 30 at 23: The Real Story of founder of Swift Hockey, Zechariah Thomas

<p>Zechariah Thomas started building hockey sticks at 19 in a sport that wasn't waiting for him. At 23 he was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. This is what happened in between.A special Canada edition of Last Flight Out, hosted by Jay. Zechariah is the founder of Swift Hockey, a performance equipment brand out of Oshawa, Ontario that set out to challenge one of the most tradition-bound industries in sports. He's pitched on Dragons' Den, been recognized by the NHL, and named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2026.In this conversation, Zechariah walks through what day one of Swift actually looked like, the resistance he hit trying to innovate in a sport that likes things the way they are, and how he thought about funding and survival before there was any traction to point to. He gets into the Dragons' Den experience, what was going through his head before he walked out to pitch, and how television changes a pitch. He talks honestly about what recognition did and didn't fix, what it means to be underestimated because you don't fit the traditional mold of the sport, and what he wants Swift to mean for the next kid who feels like hockey wasn't built for them.And in the LFO segment, he answers the question this show is named after: the moment he stopped waiting for permission, what he left behind to take the leap, and what kept him from taking the return flight to something safer.FOLLOW OUR HOSTS: Jay ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUUIzekxUQjFxN1VaZ2R4TVF6ZEx1ZnxBR3JiS2FuTGFNdnY5YnNQU3AwYWpNcE1HN1RTWl9na1k1ZzFYaENoX0NaNTdqWUZ4amRHMnpyd0tFN0ZiODhCa0FIbXR0REllY28tdmFmUXlVVlBwdTNlc0JGWmdZUjdTbXhu&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2Fjloubriel26&amp;v=ODGzUN8tzlQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">  / jloubriel26  </a> Mike ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rU1UzQ3gzWTlibTdISzNoWmJld1lzNHxBR3JiS2FuX0FZWG1sSFAyV3BwSi1xcFVadUpDOEhwQW4wUE56UV9qVE16VWJLb2wzWVRaOFFTd3BEQjdaNVN0OHVEbEhSdXlUa19ZSWtJYTdVWHdtQV9LS0dxVzVZWTZXb3hG&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2Fifmikewashere&amp;v=ODGzUN8tzlQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">  / ifmikewashere  </a> FOLLOW LAST FLIGHT OUT PODCAST: YouTube ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdMlcL4UK895-oy-_3Y2lA" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">   / @lastflightoutpodcast  </a> Website ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVEFqRTdEczE1d19jblRrbnR6VmhOc3xBR3JiS2FuLXBWaUdZQ21LS3BxUVB3RkJva3U3NHNsTF9sdE5XMmJTTk5CYjVEQnZMSXc1MldNV0tyeXpnNEZSd1BsR0tWa2JHbjNrNWRYZU9aWGJqaC1KNFVLY2NXeXc3Sloz&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lastflightoutpodcast.com%2F&amp;v=ODGzUN8tzlQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.lastflightoutpodcast.com</a> Instagram ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVDF1WDdkczFfYUF3R2lvMWN4QU8yZ3xBR3JiS2FuNFdlZGY5SmZUNmIteGtZbXBtNnc0eVhWcmRFa0E5S2l4OUMzTmFvSnQxUkZaWlZsZWxHR2JaQkV6MlljUnh0dnU4elAtem9KTm9yYlpiN2xUeHVTOURVeEFXaVRu&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Flastflightoutpodcast%2F&amp;v=ODGzUN8tzlQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">  / lastflightoutpodcast  </a> TikTok ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVERPVGVLUXBMSDZqOENVdEctd1ZPbHxBR3JiS2FtdWxYS2ttX3R4UFNtSVdwLV9UTG44NGlvampwMUljLTdBblFqR0tKMC1mWmVIeG9yZGlHZHF6SHZ5Tm54c1MyZFNETmxYYll1ZF96VkVXRFNzdzFOREk3bjVhdWxQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40lastflightoutpodcast&amp;v=ODGzUN8tzlQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">  / lastflightoutpodcast  </a> Apple Podcasts ➡️ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVHpBY21VV0VHck8xOG1kV3lVeXRqdnxBR3JiS2FsQUdMLTI3a21wVWZRbkV3WElRQmlzMmRSMUE1clZlQWZySVJjZzhOcm05cm9aRURFNFFpQTRuMHp5RFdialJaQXVkWTMyUm5qVnkzRUc5RmpRVkJROExWbkNvM3N1&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodc