Drinking has arguably become a ritual that many students partake in as an integral part of their college experience. According to the Alcohol Rehab Guide, roughly 80% of college students consume alcohol to some degree.
And colleges are doing their best to ensure students experiment safely, as over 800 institutions use online safety programs such as AlcoholEdu to drive education about high-risk drinking. Unfortunately, they can’t account for every student, as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that over 1,500 students (ages 18 to 24) die from alcohol-related, unintentional injuries each year.
After experiencing firsthand the consequences of alcohol abuse, Duke University graduate Cade Spector wanted to create a solution that would not only bolster responsible drinking but would also empower individuals to be proactive about their health. Using his previous experience in patenting health tech, Spector is on track to creating the world’s first wearable breathalyzer called the GreyBand.
Spector’s startup GreySun Technologies was created in honor of his older brother Greyson, who took his life in the spring of 2020. Determined to put his mind, energy and love somewhere after his brother’s passing, Spector co-founded the company not only for his own outlet but also as a tribute to his brother’s legacy and to continue Greyson’s life philosophy, which was to always be proactive.
Thus, the Raleigh-based startup is dedicated to using evidence-based approaches toward proactive mental and physical health solutions. In June 2020, Spector co-founded GreySun Tech with his best friend and fellow Duke graduate Jack Mulcrone. The startup was named a recipient of one of NC IDEA’s $10K MICRO grants in October.
“Not only was [the company] a way for me to use that energy, but it’s also a way to channel some of what Grey taught me,” Spector said. “I’m doing my best job to figure out what [happiness] really is but it definitely seems like purpose and helping others is what it’s all about. And I think that Grey gave me purpose. By taking his life, I kind of felt that he would have created great change and now it’s my responsibility to take that upon myself somehow.”
Before going to college, Spector said that his “very cool” mother got him and his brothers breathalyzers for Christmas. When he started bringing it to parties, people were immediately interested in this new “party trick,” so much so that he sometimes never got it back at the end of the night.
Spector quickly realized how much people enjoyed using breathalyzers for fun, even though the device is meant to be used as a safety tool. People often use breathalyzers to see just how drunk they are.
Spector was inspired by the practicality and “fun” of breathalyzers, but realized that most aren’t accessible. Most breathalyzer devices are bulky, big and can be an unnecessary weight in your pockets during a night out. Breathalyzers also often carry a stigma of alcoholism or association with drunk driving, due to the fact that most people who have used a breathalyzer are when they’re questioned by the police.
That’s why he created GreyBand to be a sleek and fashionable, FitBit-like device that users can blow into themselves. Spector said that the sleek and fashionable nature of the band is a necessity. If it’s not fashionable or slim, most people won’t wear it.
The GreyBand will also sync with its own app that allows users to incorporate responsible drinking behaviors such as setting desired limits, tracking friends, determining designated drivers and calling for Ubers.
Once a desired limit is set, throughout the night, users can blow into the band and it will shine three lights: green means below the set limit, yellow means approaching the limit and red means exceeding the limit. An important differentiator to this band compared to common breathalyzers is that it doesn’t show the user’s blood alcohol content (BAC) number. Spector said that breathalyzers can sometimes be used in party settings to encourage competitive drinking past the legal BAC limit, which is .08 in North Carolina.
By using colors instead of numbers to determine drink limit, the GreyBand bolsters further responsible drinking since it indicates the user’s relative degree of intoxication to an already set intention. The set limits are also linked to other users in the app to hold each person in that drinking party responsible for how much everyone drinks. For instance, it can alert friends if someone gets overly intoxicated.
“There’s no tool that exists to help people drink more responsibly,” Spector said. “What the NIH (National Institute of Health) says is that the number one way to bolster responsible drinking is to set a limit before you begin. The second thing is to implement social accountability.”
The GreyBand is still being developed but will be launching soon. Spector said that the band will be available through a B2C approach, selling directly to people. But he eventually wants the product to be used through a B2B model, sold to academic institutions to raise awareness on safe alcohol consumption.
For example, each year, Duke University distributes a “Blue Box” to their incoming students, which is a kit provided with supplies that support wellness such as pain relief medicines, bandaids, condoms and more. Spector said he could see the potential of adding the GreyBand in boxes similar to these in colleges in order to normalize responsible drinking.
“We see alcohol as incredibly prevalent and we don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Spector said. “We don’t think alcohol is evil. But in excess and too often it can be very dangerous and so we’re doing everything we can to address it from all angles. I want the company and this product to be a movement for mental health and the destigmatization and empowerment of people to band together.”
