Finding A Cure For Diabetes One Swing At A Time

By: Mitra Sorrells

When Steve Porter first developed his Swingdicator product more than a decade ago, he was simply looking for a cure for his golf swing.

“I was playing golf with my cousins and they kept telling me how to swing,” he said. “But none of them told me the same way. It was frustrating.” Porter started plotting checkpoints on the swinging sequences of professional golfers and came up with the Swingdicator to help him mimic their movements. “I figured if I had some sort of indicating device it would improve my game, which it did,” he said. “I carried it with me all the time and I had people starting to ask me what it was.”

After spending several years fine-tuning the product and its marketing, Porter unveiled his Swingdicator swing aid and instructional DVD at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando this past January. Now his invention to “cure” his swing could some day help find a cure for diabetes. Porter has type 1 diabetes, and he has decided to donate a portion of all sales of the Swingdicator to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. Because of this commitment to help others, Steve Porter and Swingdicator LLC are the recipient of this issue’s GFM Pay It Forward Award.

It was 22 years ago when Porter was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 25. Triggered by a viral infection, the telltale symptoms surfaced as he lost 50 pounds in a period of three months. The signs were all too familiar since his younger sister had lived with type 1 diabetes since the age of 16. Porter maintained control of his diabetes for several years while running a successful wood flooring company. Then a few years ago, while on a job, he stepped on a rusty screw. Due to diabetes-induced peripheral vascular disease, the injury became extremely infected. Consequently, he lost two toes, underwent 18 surgeries to try to save his leg, and dealt with skyrocketing blood sugars, culminating with the amputation of his right leg just below the knee in November of 2006.

“I was tired of being sick,” he explained. “I felt better the minute they cut it off.” That dramatic event convinced Porter to move ahead with the development of his Swingdicator product and to try to give back to the cause of helping others with diabetes.

“We wanted to find a place that wants to find a cure,” Porter said. “So many are treatment-based efforts, but the Diabetes Research Institute was basically the only one with the sole focus of finding a cure.”

The Swingdicator System DVD features PGA Tour Professional Scott Verplank, who also has type 1 diabetes. Verplank teaches viewers how to use the Swingdicator swing aid to properly align one’s grip and indicate the perfect swing plane, effectively eliminating slices and hooks. Due to its simplicity and portability– the product is just about ½” wide and 2 ½” long - the Swingdicator can be taken anywhere to quickly tune up a swing on the driving range or on the course.

“The Swingdicator System is going to help a lot of golfers stay on the cutting edge of their game. Likewise, the Diabetes Research Institute is on the cutting edge of cure-focused diabetes research. It’s a natural fit, and it’s because of the generosity of companies like Swingdicator and other concerned individuals that we’re one step closer to our ultimate goal – a cure for the millions of children and adults living with diabetes,” said Robert A. Pearlman, president and CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.

Since its inception in the early 1970s, the Diabetes Research Institute has made significant contributions to the field of diabetes research, pioneering many of the techniques used in islet transplantation. For more information on the Institute’s work, call 1-800-321-3437 or visit www.diabetesresearch.org.

Pay It Forward Award Winners!

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