What started as a kitchen experiment inspired by his children’s track meets and soccer games has turned into a new business venture for Umatilla resident Bobby Stoneking.

Bobby says the idea came after watching his two children, now 11 and 13, struggle with sunscreen during outdoor sports.

“They kept complaining about it,” Bobby says. “It made them feel slimy and greasy and chemical sunscreens would burn their eyes when they would sweat when they were running in track.”

His family spends much of its time outdoors, whether it’s competing in sports, enjoying the lake or boating. Sun protection has always been important, he says, especially after his father was diagnosed with melanoma.

“Sun safety’s always been a big factor in our family,” Bobby says.

Determined to find an alternative, Bobby began experimenting at home.

“I started messing around in our kitchen, mixing stuff together and looking up different stuff,” he says.

After creating more than a dozen different formulas and sharing them with friends for feedback, Bobby discovered bringing a sunscreen product to market was more complicated than simply making it at home.

“I learned a lot more over the last 18 months,” he says. “Because it has active ingredients in it, it’s manufactured by the FDA. So you can’t just make it at your house and sell it.”

Instead, he partnered with a manufacturer to develop a custom mineral-based sunscreen with the characteristics he was looking for. Venture Performance Sunscreen was born.

“I couldn’t really find anything that was for athletes and health conscious or environmentally conscious, and that had a dry texture feel to it that wasn’t distracting whenever you were trying to perform,” Bobby says.

Rather than targeting beachgoers, Bobby envisioned something for people who spend their days outdoors working, competing or simply enjoying Florida’s climate.

“I wanted it to be more of a critical gear,” he says, “for your outdoor adventures and not seen as a hindrance.”

Although he still works full time as program manager, Bobby has spent evenings and weekends growing the business while balancing family life.

His wife, Jennifer, says the project has been a labor of love for the entire family.

“He works his traditional job and makes a lot of time to put into this, even now, trying to figure out how to get the word out,” she says. “Because we really believe in it. And he still makes time to train with our kids and spend quality time with us. I’m just so proud of him and all he’s done.”

Venture Performance Sunscreen can be found on Amazon or locally at Carter’s Ace Hardware. Find out more at venture-performance.com.